Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) has expanded its food & beverage retail offering with the opening of ‘LemonGrass Express’ and ‘Esspresse.’

The two new F&B choices are branch-outs of the existing Thai restaurant, LemonGrass, and the Italian eatery, Stefano’s, said an Enoc statement.

The new outlets, both managed by Enoc, will focus on offering express service, take-aways and deliveries, with dine-in facilities for small to medium groups.

LemonGrass Express and Esspresse are located in Enoc’s service station in The Meadows, launched in January as the first Green Fuel Station in the Middle East.

With a dine-in area for 15 people, LemonGrass Express takes pride in its home-cooked Thai delicacies prepared by master chefs from Thailand.

The essence of Thai food is traced to the roadside vendors in Bangkok, and the same flavours are offered in a delectable fashion at the outlet, said the statement.

Exuding a warm ambience and marked by traditional Italian hospitality, Esspresse has a dine-in area that seats over 32 people.

It offers a fine selection of Italian delicacies including oven-fresh pizzas prepared with minimum oil baked on stone and using original flour imported from Italy to maintain the original Italian taste.

The opening ceremonies of the outlets were attended by Burhan Al Hashimi, Eppco Retail managing director, and other members from Enoc’s management team.

The chief guest at the opening of LemonGrass Express was Somchai Charanasomboon, the Ambassador of Thailand, while Ferdinando Fiore, the Italian Commissioner of the Italian Embassy and Simona Autuori, deputy director of the Italian Embassy, were the chief guests at the opening of Esspresse.

Management from the parent companies of LemonGrass Express and Esspresse also attended.

Al Hashimi pointed out that Enoc was continuously introducing new lifestyle choices to its F&B offering.

'Since our expansion to stand-alone restaurants and coffee chains, we have set a clear niche in the market through our focus on authentic flavours and high service standards,' he noted.

'The opening of LemonGrass Express and Esspresse will further enhance convenience for our customers,' Al Hashimi added.

Both LemonGrass Express and Esspresse are open from 12pm to 12am on weekdays and from 12pm to 1am on weekends.-TradeArabia News Service