Now in its 30th year, the Roman Oasis restaurant is now almost a Manilva landmark. It’s one of those places where, unless you know where it is, you probably won’t find it, but having discovered it, you won’t forget it…
It’s located on the Sunday market road (inland from Lidls) or it can be accessed via the motorway – take exit 142 and follow the signs.
We had not been for several years, but were invited our to dinner last week and our friends took us there. The owner, Paul, is a bit of a character to say the least, but he welcomes every guest personally. It is not necessarily the food, that makes this restaurant special, it’s the atmosphere. All tables are outside, amongst the palm trees, which are adorned with twinkling lights and there are roman statues, holding aloft torches. You feel as if you are a million miles away from the Costa del Sol…
The staff are really attentive and advised us about the different food options. There is an a la carte menu but most guests opt for one of the buffet options.
There is a huge starter / salad buffet bar where you can have a huge variety of different salads, cold meats and shellfish. You can, if you want just choose to have just this (obviously, you can go back as often as you like…) or you can mix it with the BBQ buffet. This is a large selection of barbecues meats including chicken, ribs, pork kebabs and sausages. To accompany the meats, there is either jacket or roast potatoes, as well as a selection of sauces and vegetable dishes.
If you have any room left after all that, then there is a great dessert menu which has a definite Belgium influence, thanks to Paul’s new wife Kaat who owns Miels restaurant in Sabinillas. You can certainly see that Kaat has given the place “the woman’s touch..
Belgium pancakes, Belgium chocolate mouse, and a great apple pie. A really nice touch was that the desserts were served and then cream was served separately so you could have a as much or as little as you wanted.
Once finished your meal, you are offered the chance to spin the wheel of fortune. One member of your party (which happened to be me) spins the wheel and you win a complimentary drink for every member of your party. You can win champagne, cocktails, liquors, shot and mixer but I won us a glass of cava each… a fun end to the evening..
If you are a large group or are holding a special function, there is a large round table, in its own area, surrounded by trees and lights which would be ideal…
You really should give this restaurant a try – to be honest, the food is no different form what you would get anywhere else, but for atmosphere it wins hands down…
They are open from every evening from 7.30pm from June 1st to September 30th. You can book a table on 952892380 or visit their website. http://www.romanoasismanilva.com/