Akkad Pool and Grill

Akkad is the signature grill of the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar, set directly on the resort's infinity pool overlooking the Dead Sea. It is the room most consistently recommended by Jordanian concierges for the single-most-important dinner of a Dead Sea stay — whether that is a proposal, an anniversary, or a deal-closing evening. The view, from the covered outdoor terrace, is of the Israeli lights twenty kilometres across the sea and a sunset that regularly runs to forty shades of red and gold.

The cooking is international grill with a Mediterranean pivot. Wagyu ribeye, Angus filet, black cod, and lobster anchor the main menu; the seafood plateau is the single most-ordered starter and is built around the Red Sea catch. The Linguini Lobster is the restaurant's unofficial signature — house-made pasta tossed with lobster claw, tomato confit, and basil oil, finished tableside.

Service is hotel-international at its most polished. The sommelier will happily pair a Lebanese red (Château Musar, Ixsir) or a Rhône with the grill menu; the bar programme runs Mediterranean-inflected signatures with sea-salt rims and local herbs. The outdoor terrace is heated in winter and shaded in summer.

Book the sunset slot and request the western-edge tables directly on the pool. Non-guests are welcome with 48 hours' advance notice; smart-casual dress, light jacket for men at dinner.

Akkad is the proposal table of the Dead Sea. The infinity pool, the sunset, the tableside finishes, the discretion of the Kempinski brigade — every lever is available. Book the westernmost two-top, arrange the ring with the concierge, and brief the sommelier on the Champagne. For close-a-deal evenings, the inside private banquettes hold four in quiet; for first dates, the sunset table is the cliché that still works.