The Best Restaurants in Abu Dhabi

Cantonese food at its best, in a glamorous environment where light and shadows wash over you, will make you feel like you’re in a haven for royalty. And, located in the Emirates Palace Hotel, you’re not far from just that. If you’re in the mood for flavors from China, you’ll certainly enjoy the Hakka hand-pulled noodles, charcoal-grilled lamb chops or king prawns, and coconut semifreddo for dessert.

With efficient delivery and delicious Lebanese, I have had plenty of Saj Way’s chicken sandwiches and fattouch salads. Each meal comes served fresh and full of flavors—some I’ve never tasted together before. This fattouch has lettuce, radish, mint, parsley, cucumbers, pomegranate, and pita chips with salad dressing that perfectly compliments the mix. Next time I’m definitely ordering their Saj sweets that include chocolate and bananas stuffed in Saj bread.

Starting out as one of the United Arab Emirates’ first food trucks, Meylas is no longer so much about grabbing a quick bite of local culture on the go, as it is about experiencing the traditional flavours in a small cafe decorated like a “canteen” from a bygone era. You will feel like you’re at the start of the modern development in the UAE. Dallah (traditional coffee pots), henna, shopping bags, postcards, and children’s games are on display and for sale if you choose to take a bit of that culture home with you. Of course, the food and hospitality is at the center of attention. Locally sourced ingredients contribute to chbaab, a pancake served with date syrup and salonat badu, the traditional bedouin stew made with chicken or lamb. At the end of the meal, you’ll find several sweets like khabees that are spiced with cardamom and saffron or legeimat, which reminds me of a donut hole sweetened with dates syrup and topped with sesame seeds. Coffees and teas are prepared the way they used to be and should not be passed up at the end of the meal while you mull over the days events. I recommend ordering a smattering of anything that looks interesting off the menu to share.

Lovely ambiance, casual poolside atmosphere, and beautiful and sumptuous foods greet you at Nahaam. The restaurant in Jumeirah Hotel at Etihad Towers features an internationally inspired menu with stir fry, hamburgers, pizzas, and traditional beef, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian mains. The best time to go to Nahaam is for Friday brunch when they pull out a phenomenal selection of seafood, hot food on the grill outside, kids alley of sweets and smaller bites, and a dessert buffet that will tempt even the most diehard dieter into eating a few stunning creations.

Beachy and beautiful, Catch has one of the flashiest logos on the Corniche. Thanks to the art and creativity of head chef Roudy Petersen, it also serves some of the best seafood. Overlooking the water, with inviting indoor seats or a refreshing patio on Abu Dhabi‘s Corniche, you can enjoy a French-influenced Asian and Middle Eastern menu, with such dishes as Thai-style clams and caramelized black cod. The Catch Signature Sushi and Sashimi for two makes the restaurant a perfect place to take a date, too.

Looking to bring home a sweet souvenir? Something different from a huge bar of duty-free Toblerone? Al Nassma chocolate is made with camel milk, said to be the next “superfood,” with lower fat and more vitamins than cow milk. Then again, it is chocolate, so it’s not exactly a health food. That said, it’s worth a try. It would be a shame to miss out on the healing benefits of camel milk, right? especially when it comes in such a tempting package. Al Nassma is made in Dubai, but available in Abu Dhabi at Cafe Arabia and the Emirates Palace Hotel.

Lebanese food is ubiquitous in Abu Dhabi, but Almayass restaurant at the Sheraton on the Corniche combines Lebanese classics on the menu with an array of Armenian dishes that pair perfectly. If you try one dish on their impressive list of hot mezes, be sure to make it the ras asfour bi kara, marinated veal cubes topped with a sweet-and-sour cherry sauce. Armenian cuisine is famous for its sausages, and Almayass serves a delicious sujuk maa bayd ferri, Armenian sausage fried up with quail eggs. Almayass also answers the perennial Abu Dhabi question: “Where can we go to smoke a shisha outside?” Tucked into a private lagoon, Almayass’s outdoor seating area provides an intimate environment for some after-dinner shisha and cocktails.

If you have the enviable opportunity to drive out into the Western District (a part of the Arabian Peninsula’s famed Empty Quarter) of Abu Dhabi, your dining choices will be few. But one of those choices may very well be at Anantara’s Qasr al-Sarab property, which provides otherworldly accommodations in the most remote corner of the UAE, 10 miles from the Saudi border. Suhail is Qasr al-Sarab’s extravagant steak house, with every high-end beef option you could imagine. Sit on the terrace overlooking the orange sand dunes that roll to the horizon and choose from cuts including Kobe and Wagyu which have been flown in from all over the world. The Tomahawk steak is great for two to share, and all of the classic steak-house sides are on offer as well, from truffle mashed potatoes to creamed spinach.

Don’t visit Abu Dhabi without attending at least one extravagant Friday brunch. The buffets in Abu Dhabi hotels make those in Las Vegas look like New York City hot-dog carts. The Oléa brunch at the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island is an expansive culinary wonderland: Let the sun-drenched buffet counter take you where it will, from fresh oysters to Arabian barbecue to the carvery where some majestic leg of lamb is always at the ready. Also not to be missed is the foie gras bar, where a chef will grill up a slice to perfection right in front of you. For dessert, stop by the cheese table for a selection of fromage and a glass of port, or pluck a gold-flecked pastry or two from the endless platters perched beneath fountains of many-flavored chocolate sauce.

Abu Shakra on Muroor Road serves up delicious Egyptian cuisine in the heart of Abu Dhabi. After entering through the bustling, smoky kitchen area, you ascend a staircase that features an illuminated wall of Egypt’s golden-age stars of the cinema. Settle into the newly renovated dining room with its expansive view of the Corniche and be sure to start your meal with a plate of koshari, the national dish of Egypt, which consists of macaroni, rice, and lentils topped with crispy grilled onions and chickpeas. The spicy, juicy lamb chops are also a favorite, alongside other grilled dishes such as kofta, shish tawook, and chicken wings.