Diner’s delight: How Abu Dhabi is making a mark on the global food map

From restaurant launches and chef collaborations, to culinary schools and prestigious awards, the capital is fast becoming a gastronomy hotspot

Nuri on Yas Bay Waterfront serves Korean barbecue in keeping with the UAE's fascination for K-food. Photo: Nuri Grill & Bar

“Nothing short of remarkable.” That’s how chef Andrew Lee describes Abu Dhabi’s dining scene in 2024.

He should know. Lee has been helming Hakkasan in Emirates Palace since the Cantonese restaurant's inception in the UAE capital. In the 14 years since he took up the reins of what is, arguably, one of the city's most popular restaurants, Hakkasan Abu Dhabi has won and retained a prestigious Michelin star; created a dish that was served at Hakkasan outposts all over the world for Chinese New Year; and – in something of a culinary coup – flown down Tala Bashmi, the region’s most successful female chef.

The collaboration with Bashmi was but one of the many multi-chef or so-called “four-hands meals” increasingly available to foodies living in and visiting Abu Dhabi.

Chef Andrew Lee and Bahraini chef Tala Bashmi served a meal that incorporated Chinese and Middle Eastern flavours at Hakkasan Abu Dhabi. Photo: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental

In April, chef Kelvin Cheung of Jun’s fame collaborated with Dai Pai Dong’s chef Dong at Rosewood Abu Dhabi. In September, French chef Nicolas Isnard will serve a limited-time meal alongside chef Ludovic Turac at his first restaurant in the UAE, Bord Eau at Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri.

High-profile chefs aside, at least three of Dubai’s most popular restaurants are set to open their doors to Abu Dhabi diners in the coming weeks and months. These include: 3 Fils, Mena’s Best Restaurant of 2022, at The Abu Dhabi Edition in Al Bateen; New York import SushiSamba at Etihad Towers, both of which are slated for Q4; and Pincode by celebrity Indian chef Kunal Kapur, which will open at The Galleria Al Maryah Island in September.

As Kapur notes: “I’m amazed by how Abu Dhabi mixes old traditions with modern life, and now it’s getting interested in different styles of cooking, including new ways of making traditional dishes.”

Hanar, by the Kurdish brothers behind ramen restaurant Daikan, meanwhile, is already in its soft-launch phase at Yas Bay and offers traditional dishes of Mesopotamia.

“The past few years have seen a stream of world-class sporting, musical and artistic events come to Abu Dhabi. The city is booming with tourists, residents, visitors and new businesses and – from our point of view – there has never been a better time to invest and open a venue here,” say Hanar co-founders Bilal and Salih Elmascan.

Hanar, by the owners of Daikan, serves dishes inspired by Mesopotamia. Photo: Hanar

New restaurants aside, the Cultural Foundation in the capital has already welcomed a culinary school by the world’s most celebrated French chef Alain Ducasse, and will also have an outpost of Le Cordon Bleu at The Grove on Saadiyat Island by early next year.

These are but a handful of many examples showing how Abu Dhabi has, finally, come into its own when catering to local and international foodies.

What’s in it for the diner?

As more chefs and restaurants seek to make a name for themselves on the capital’s culinary circuit, the one demographic that stands to benefit the most is the diner.

When Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Talea by Antonio Guida at Emirates Palace invited chef Daniele Cason from Tokyo’s Pizza Bar on 38th for a four-hands meal, for example, the menu was replete with dishes a diner would not otherwise have an opportunity to sample. Bashmi’s collaboration with Hakkasan at the same hotel, meanwhile, offered diners a blend of Chinese and Middle Eastern flavour profiles.

Michael Koth, general manager of Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, says: “Abu Dhabi is creating a thriving and diverse culinary scene, from using locally sourced ingredients in new restaurants to offering small but sophisticated haute cuisine. Furthermore, we are witnessing new recipes that blend various cultures in a single dish, leaving many people spellbound.”

Indeed, as The National’s reviews of Nuri and Toto noted, the former’s flair for Korean barbecue and the latter’s retro-style fine-dining Italian dishes were nothing short of culinary magic.

Sauteed prawns with black venere rice and stracciatella. Photo: Toto Abu Dhabi

Fans of Mediterranean fare can sample treats such as fried feta filo and wild bass carpaccio at Mika in Yas Marina; and seafood bouillabaisse at Flamingo Room, helmed by Dubai-based South African restaurateur Natasha Sideris.

Indigenous flavours, too, are coming into their own. MouzMari is an Argentinian steakhouse with an Emirati twist, which translates to dishes such as ceviche using Abu Dhabi’s renowned muhammar fish and Wagyu tenderloin complemented by an innovative side of steamed corn swimming in a cheese sauce.

And when Erth won its Michelin star, the Emirati-inspired restaurant curated a new menu, comprising such locally inspired delicacies as beetroot salad with Emirati chami cheese and braised lamb machboos with fragrant spiced rice.

Erth in Abu Dhabi: What to expect at the Michelin-starred restaurant

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Another knock-on effect of Abu Dhabi’s bid to raise the food stakes is the formation of culinary communities around the capital. From Yas Bay and Yas Marina, to Mamsha Al Saadiyat and Al Qana, several areas are now veritable food hubs.

Older restaurants reinvigorated

The push to up the capital’s food game also benefits restaurants that have been around for a long time.

The Michelin Guide Abu Dhabi might have only four starred restaurants on its list, but it also shone a spotlight on more than 40 others via its Bib Gourmand and Michelin-select categories, from budget Malaysian venue Kopitiam by Chandy’s, to Lebanese-Armenian restaurant Almayass, which first opened in Beirut in 1996.

As a result, some eateries that have been around for years now are back on the discerning diner’s radar, from Fishmarket at InterContinental Abu Dhabi and Finz at Beach Rotana to Meylasin Al Muneera and Hoi An at the Shangri-La.

Being Michelin-selected not only helps to spark a renewed interest among residents, but also attracts gastro-tourists.

Elsewhere, hidden gems are being unearthed by initiatives such as Urban Treasures by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. This year's list included venues that are decades old, such as Alfarah Restaurant that was established in 1998, and Alareesh Restaurant that was founded in 1990.

As Abu Dhabi resident and self-proclaimed foodie Hani Masri notes: “I am more attuned to foodie news coming out of the capital now than I ever was before. Earlier, special occasions meant making a trip to the latest or hottest restaurant in Dubai, but now we have the menus of the world on our own doorstep.”

Perhaps chef Bashmi is on to something when she says: “While Dubai held the culinary crown for a while, Abu Dhabi is on its way to catching up.”