Moana Seafood Restaurant

It was a good surprise (being just one of the restaurants inside the Sofitel Palm territory) : very nice seafood, both taste and serving. Good service and friendly personnel.
Interior is just OK, nothing special.

Everything was super delicious. We tried salmon tartar, sushi, tempura, grilled seabass - they were very tasty, and well prepared.

I loved the meals and the staff is very polite and professional, but only when it comes to talking: why do you only serve big families well? I dined in Moana two nights in a row and I was alone, I had to make several eye contacts and turn around for staff to actually notice me the second time. The first night I was seated right in the middle of the terrace, asked 3 staff members for a blanket and only one of them actually told me they don’t have them. The first two asked me to wait and disappeared into the unknown. That’s not a way to go for a restaurant with such high standards. Thank you anyway, I’m a very laidback customer but I would’ve called this restaurant my favorite during my stay in Sofitel had the staff not ignored my presence.

Exceptional service. Enjoyed a thoroughly great evening here. The Tilapia was tasty and the drinks selection was good

Exquisite! And limited time only! 50Best LATAM Chef Manu Buffra join forces wth resident Head Chef Jacob Nava Villarreal…so defo go!? Wagyu Nigiri wth Black Truffle Chilean Sea Bass‍️ and more!

Made a reservation on 2/22/23 for 1: 30 pm. 15 minutes before our reservation, we get an email canceling the reservation. Absolutely unprofessional. Reservation staff rude and dismissive.

I love the food and atmosfere, we went for dinner and luckily, they have avaliable seat in their semi outdoor area. Service and food portion are good

Great cuisine. Tuna tartar starter is absolutely out of this world! For a seafood restaurant they also have a great choice of meat options. Staff is so kind and make this restaurant a great place.

The food was delicious, the service was wonderful and best of all they played light background music that didn't ruin your dinner. So many restaurants blast terrible music and you can't talk to you dinner companions. But Moana did not. The ambiance was perfect.

Best experience in the whole Sofitel complex. Table for us (group of 10) arranged perfectly. Waiter service perfect. Food taste and portion size excellent. Thank you to all the staff in Moana.

Amazing professional staff
Walked past chef in glass gave me a huge smile
Super food
Nice ambience and setting

Food was hit and miss.

But the main reason for two star is the shocking level of service.

1. It was poor from start to finish.
2. No clear explanation of the menu, a menu which doesn't even come on QR Scan. They had a sushi night they explained the cost but couldn't explain what you would get, apart from look at our menu online which didn't show a great deal.
3. Staff idling, it took an age to get anything done, we asked for a bill and had to ask three times in 20 mins, the restaurant wasn't busy.
4. A basic order for dessert, we requested to bring the ice cream out first for my youngest, who has a nut allergy; they failed miserably. Not only they did they bring out the wrong order ice cream with chocolate sauce which had nuts, they then had three sets of different people state that Vanilla ice cream may have trace amounts nuts and we kept explaining it wasn't issue.
5. In the end, after the rest of the party had finished there, desserts, and we had paid. There was still had no sign of a single scoop of Vanilla ice cream, we decided to leave where one supervisor attempted to shameless blame the situation on the poor English of one the staff, this was unacceptable as we had already spoken to said supervisor half an earlier that we had no issue with trace amounts of nuts.

It's not like the restaurant is making the ice cream; the request was for one single scoop of plain Vanilla ice cream, no toppings or sauce. It could have been resolved within 5 minutes.

The fact that we spoke to three sets of staff over 30 minutes, unfortunately, shows gross competence. Not once did the management show any interest in either resolving the issue or at least give an apology.

This isn't a reflection on the Sofitel the Hotel as our stay has been excellent, just the Moana Restaurant.

This is the best restaurant in the resort. The food is almost Michelin standard and the staff are super helpful and great with kids. Try the sushi and the cooked fish, they are delicious and the chef clearly has a great sense of flavour combinations.

Amazing dinner.
I reserved a table for the first time in this restaurant for my partner's birthday, and I am satisfied with my choice.
The quality of the food is remarkable, you can feel that the raw materials used are fresh and the sushi is really good.
The service and staff are top notch and the location is really nice and perfect to relax and enjoy the dinner.

We will definitely be back!

The food was delicious, possibly my favourite food during our entire stay at the Sofitel. I had the California rolls and grilled prawns and my wife had the tempura and salmon. The staff were really accommodating of our two small kids. However, the restaurant was clearly understaffed and the waiting staff struggled to attend to all of the tables, leading to quite long waits for drinks etc. This is surprising for a 5 star hotel.

Edit: I reached out to the email address below as advised and never heard back.

We have experienced dinner for unlimited shushi and a bottle of wine. With very reasonable price for what you get. Sushies are very delicious and the wine they are serving is not sth average. I would like to thank to whole staff in Moana and Sofitel the Palm

I have purchased a gift voucher from the official Sofitel webpage for “unlimited sushi night for 2 persons” and I have called the restaurant before buying the voucher to ask what exactly it includes, so I was told it includes all sushi items as rolls, nigiri and sashimi. After buying the voucher I called again to make the booking and I asked once more what is included, just to be sure, I was told a second time it includes rolls, nigiri and sashimi. We end up at the restaurant 4 persons and we are told that only 6 types of rolls are included and it’s a misunderstanding from my side because nobody could have told me that it includes nigiri and sashimi. So I’m basically being told that I’m lying when they could have easily asked their colleagues that made the booking for me what information they provided. We were offered 2 pieces of nigiri or 4 pieces of sashimi “complimentary”, however the way I was approached to sort out their mistake, the slow service and the inexistent choice of “unlimited sushi” was definitely not worth the price, so I’ll never again book any of their Sofitel promotions in any of their restaurants because of the total disappointment in this one. The rolls were not bad but nothing special or to be impressed by.
Just for a comparison, Zuma has lunch for the same price and a way better selection of foods.

The food was excellent. Very big portion sizes and cooked exactly to our desired preferences. Plenty of choice on the menu. The staff were friendly and surprised my sister with a cake for her Birthday. We sat outside and there were multiple air conditioning units to keep us cool. Already planning a return visit.

Our waiter Brian was very attentive and polite. He always had an eye on our table and asked if we needed anything. Give him a raise:)
Food was amazing, fresh ingredients and high quality.
Would come again!

Great attentive service and the 520 dhs offer was good value. The dishes were of a good quality as were the beverages. The outdoor area is nice with the AC units providing good circulation. The only downside is that the outside terrace is enclosed in fairly ugly netting apparently to keep the birds away.can imagine that might be a problem although not unique to this hotel. Suggestion - maybe have a roller system so that can be taken up at night for evening diners.

Having dinner here was an excellent choice, it has a lovely atmosphere, very friendly staff, and you feel alive by enjoying your time there. The food was also amazing, and the dessert was very delicious. The chief came to our table and gave us a complimentary appetizers and birthday cake. We had a once in a lifetime experience. Highly recommended

Great ambience. Good food and great service, especially Mr. Sumaldas who was looking after us with outstanding hospitality.

Special thanks to Janine for her kind and professional service! We also express our appritiations to Chef Tamer and Chef Eric for their extraordinary delitious meals!

Very creative kitchen, very good taste
perfect and friendly service, very professional handling of notes about the food (too little sauce)

Excellent service and experience, thank you to Sumaldas and his team! Wonderful ambience and food, would definitely come back.

Top Restaurant in the Sofitel The Palm. Really good food with delicious wines. Grilled salmon with teryiaki sauce was top. Excellent service people, diligent and experienced, especially my bro's Sumaldas and Guillermo. Highly recommend!

Beautiful food in a fantastic restaurant served by excellent staff. We've been three times and are going back tonight.

Very nice restaurant, the service was excellent and food was fresh. Good variety of wines and different style cuisines. I asked for a modification of my dish and the chef accepted to prepare it.

Delicious food, outstanding service. Thank you wilmert and Jeff for being so attentive, great hospitality skills. Thank you

All group of family my husband and kids. Also friends. Just the happiest lunch. Seafood was delicious. Mussels and shrimp like it was just caught from the sea.
Chef did a non spicy for my daughter.

Service attentive

The sea food is a meal which I always LOVE
Went to this restaurant
It was very nice
Tried different dishes but loved the shrimp the most and taken some home as well
?

Seafood Friday Brunch at Moana is at the table serving some fresh catch in a nice calm ambiance. Enjoyed!

I booked a table on the terrace, smoking area, only to get there and find out that the whole terrace is non-smoking! While i totally respect others not smoking, i would have expected the restaurant to call me back and inform me. Two clients less for Moana.