Finding good food in Oman is tricky. There are eating places everywhere, but picking something decent takes real effort. There are tons of cheap, sketchy little joints for workers with mediocre food and, let's say, unique décor—the kind where they feed you off a disposable plastic tablecloth (like they literally just ripped open a grocery bag and spread it on the table). It's mostly Arabic or Indian food. With insane amounts of rice (one serving is honestly enough for 3-4 people; locals often can't even finish it themselves). Turkish cuisine is popular too—well, the kebab version of it anyway—and yeah, that gets old fast.

Google Maps lies more here than anywhere else. A 4.1 rating could actually be better than a 4.8 if you compare similar review counts and price ranges. In Muscat, tasteatlas recommends 2 places where the bill starts at $60 per person, and one cheaper option that's better left alone. The further you get from the capital, the more limited your choices become. Somewhere between Sur and Muscat, I really needed to find something to eat, but there was nothing but Pakistani cafeteria-level spots for miles around. To be fair though, even that place for (and I'm serious) 2 bucks a head went down just fine.

In the end, the best recommendations came from r/oman discussions.

PS. If you happen to pass through, my top 3 are number one, number two, and number three.