Bar
1897 Cocktail Lounge
An elegant, over-21s cocktail and malt lounge at the Kempinski Hotel Muscat in Al Mouj, styled after a traditional European lounge and open nightly until 1am.
An Irish-style pub with a dance floor at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Al Khuwair, open nightly from 6pm until 3am with a full bar.
Good to know
O'Malley's is an Irish-style pub inside the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Al Khuwair business district. Listed by the hotel as O'Malley's 360 Night Club, it combines the feel of a pub with a dance floor, so the mood shifts from after-work drinks early in the evening to a livelier late-night crowd. For visitors used to the hotel bars of the Gulf, it is one of the more relaxed and informal options in the capital.
The bar is fully licensed, with a full bar and a wine list. The Radisson also has the Lazy Lizard, an outdoor pool bar with shisha and Arabian bites, and Bar 99, so it is easy to move between venues over the course of a night without leaving the building.
O'Malley's opens every day from 6pm to 3am, one of the latest closing times in the city. Prices are more moderate than at the luxury resort bars. Carry photo identification in case you are asked to prove your age, and plan a taxi or ride-hailing car home rather than driving. Dress is casual, but neat clothing is a sensible choice later in the evening.
It suits groups of friends, solo travellers looking for a sociable bar and anyone who wants a pub atmosphere rather than a cocktail lounge. Weekends, from Thursday night, are the busiest, and the dance floor is at its fullest late in the evening.
If you want a quieter drink, come early, when the crowd is mostly made up of hotel guests and people stopping in after work. Groups can start at the Lazy Lizard by the pool while it is still light, then move indoors to O'Malley's as the night goes on. During Ramadan, hours and drinks service change, so check with the hotel before you go.
The Radisson Blu is on Al Khuleiah Street in Al Khuwair, about 15 kilometres from Muscat International Airport, around 20 minutes by car. From Qurum and Shatti Al Qurum it is a short taxi ride. Fraser Suites, with its rooftop shisha lounge, is also in Al Khuwair, and the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is a short drive west for the next morning.
Inside the Radisson Blu Hotel on Al Khuleiah Street, Al Khuwair.
Every day from 6pm to 3am.
Yes, it has a full bar and a wine list.
Yes, there is a dance floor and it gets busier late at night.
Casual, though neat clothing is sensible later in the evening.
Yes, the Lazy Lizard pool bar and Bar 99.
Photo ID, as you may be asked to prove your age.
By taxi or ride-hailing car; it is around 20 minutes from the airport.
Restaurant
Formal Omani restaurant beside the Royal Opera House, serving shuwa, harees and other national dishes in halls decorated with Omani patterns and silverware.
Café
The first Oman branch of the Danish coffee roaster and bakery, serving specialty coffee, sourdough and handmade pastries in Al Qurum from 7am daily.
Thing to do
One of Oman's oldest markets, a maze of covered lanes behind Mutrah Corniche selling frankincense, silver, textiles, spices and khanjars.
Attraction
Oman's largest mosque, opened in 2001 at Bausher, with a 90-metre minaret, a vast hand-woven carpet and set morning visiting hours for non-Muslims.