BOA steakhouse celebrated its grand opening last week at the Eastern Mangroves Promenade in Abu Dhabi. From California – complete with an ultra-hip vibe – it’s the first international restaurant for the popular Los Angeles eatery.
The right place
The American co-owners Lee Maen and Philip Cummins are confident Abu Dhabi is the right city for their first venture overseas.
“It’s a great place,” says Maen. “We were blown away by how clean and safe and great it is here. And it’s a very diverse culture.”
Maen and Cummins are the founding partners of Innovative Dining Group, which has several other restaurant brands. They were eager to add a steakhouse to their portfolio but – as their company name suggests – it needed to be original.
Steakhouse reinvented
“The steakhouse we grew up with in the States … is kind of boring and old-school,” says Maen. “We decided to do a steakhouse that we wanted to go to. We decided to innovate the whole steakhouse concept and turn it upside down to come up with the modern steakhouse – which is BOA.”
Rather than pristine white tablecloths, pretentious servers and an air of snobbery, BOA steakhouse will focus on a cool, relaxed atmosphere. “Historically, a fine-dining restaurant with great food also had stuffy service,” says Cummins. “Why? It makes no sense whatsoever. Food’s fun.”
Prime cuts
But it takes more than ambience for a restaurant to make it in the city.
BOA is poised to earn a seat at the table alongside its elite peers in Abu Dhabi’s steakhouse scene. Nearly all of the beef on BOA’s menu is USDA prime (it also offers Wagyu and master Kobe from Australia). Maen and Cummins say it was vital to find the best meat they could import from the United States. They say their chosen source delivers high-quality meat that has been aged to meet BOA’s strict standards. Cummins is confident diners will taste the difference when they bite into one of their steaks. “US beef is predominantly finished on grain and corn, where almost nowhere else in the world do they finish their beef the way that we do in the US. It’s a very distinct flavour,” he says.
Also on the menu
Choose from the 35-day, dry-aged New York strip steak, 28-day dry-aged, bone-in rib-eye, or the bone-in Kansas City filet mignon. But you don’t need to be a steak-lover to get a taste of BOA’s unique flavours. You can get spaghetti with Wagyu meatballs, braised Wagyu short ribs and seven different seafood entrees. For appetisers and sides, there’s goat’s cheese baklava, Boston lobster “Louie”, crab and black truffle gnocchi and truffle cheese fries. BOA is also famous for its classic Caesar salad, which is prepared tableside.
“This is basically a steakhouse where you’re going to get world-class food in a fun, vibrant atmosphere,” says Cummins. “Your server is going to be incredibly knowledgeable but they’re not going to be stuffy about it. You’re going to feel like you’re in a comfortable, relaxed environment when you just happen to be having the best steak you can get in the UAE.”
BOA is at Eastern Mangroves Promenade. The steakhouse is open from Saturday to Tuesday from 12.30pm to 1am, and Wednesday to Friday from 12.30pm to 2am. Call 02 641 1500 or email reservations@boaabudhabi.ae
Other steakhouses in Abu Dhabi
55&5th, The Grill
Where: St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
On the Menu: Donald Russell grass-fed dry-aged côte de boeuf
Hours: daily from 6.30pm to midnight
Reservations: 02 498 8888
Blue Grill
Where: Yas Island Rotana
On the Menu: 300-day grain-fed, Australian Black Onyx rib-eye
Hours: Monday to Saturday from 6pm to 11:30pm
Reservations: 02 656 4000
Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill
Where: Fairmont Bab Al Bahr
On the Menu: Blackmore 100% full-blooded Wagyu beef
Hours: daily from 6pm to midnight
Reservations: 02 654 3238
Rhodes 44
Where: St Regis Abu Dhabi
On the Menu: USDA prime 120+ day grain-fed sirloin
Hours: daily from 7pm to 11pm
Reservations: 02 694 4553
Rodeo Grill
Where: Beach Rotana, Abu Dhabi
On the Menu: 600+ day grain-fed Master Kobe tenderloin
Hours: Daily from 12.30pm to 3.30pm; 7.30pm to 11.30pm
Reservations: 02 697 9011
The Forge
Where: Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
On the Menu: Argentinian tenderloin
Hours: daily from 7pm to 11pm
Reservations: 02 818 8282
The Meat Co
Where: Souk Qarayat Al Beri
On the Menu: Filet of 150-day grain-fed US beef
Hours: Saturday to Wednesday, from noon to 11:45pm; Thursday and Friday, noon to midnight
Reservations: Call 02 558 1713
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