A fourth restaurant is due to open in June at the Venetian Village, which is quickly becoming a dining destination in the capital.
Located within the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi complex, Olives joins Al Fanar, an authentic Emirati restaurant; Brasserie Flo, a chic French dining concept more focused on food than flair; and Inakaya, a noisy Japanese robatayaki restaurant from Tokyo that has built a loyal following in its first seven months. If all goes as scheduled, the Venetian Village will open its final two restaurants – Barfly and Punjab Grill – by the end of the year.
Julide Ozbilge Nuss, food and beverage asset manager of Abu Dhabi National Hotels, which owns and operates Venetian Village, believes once all six restaurants are open, it will be the go-to dining destination in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s a waterfront location with five international brands plus the Emirati brand Al Fanar. Once all these restaurants are open, we’ll have a piazza with multiple terraces. If you want to have a true outdoor dining experience with that piazza feel, this is the only place. You don’t have this anywhere else.”
Surrounded by the glitzy Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, it’s natural to expect restaurants in Venetian Village to be fine-dining venues that, for most people, are too pricey for weekly visits.
But Nuss argues that while the restaurants may have big names, their price points are moderate. The goal has been to keep the cost for a meal between Dh200 and Dh250 per person.
“We wanted a wide variety of cuisine from good, international brands that have great quality but are approachable,” she says. “We don’t want to be fine dining. This is a place where you need life, you need terraces and outdoor seating, and you need people to come and enjoy every weekend.”
The decision to put six known restaurant brands in Venetian Village – rather than a mix of home-grown eateries – was a calculated one. Nuss says: “Things are evolving in Abu Dhabi. You need names. You need unique brands. Hotel restaurants are often mediocre and that’s not OK anymore. The market is getting more sophisticated. Why is Zuma so successful as a free-standing brand? What are they doing differently? It’s the focus. You have one brand. You put all the notes of who you are in your identity and you do not let go of it.”
Nuss, a powerhouse in the F&B world, commands attention and respect as she walks from restaurant to restaurant, assessing progress in the village. The staff all know who she is. Do they fear her? “A little bit,” she laughs. “But the way you fear your mum. They know I want things done a certain way, but I give and get lots of love.”
As she prepares for the opening of Olives, you can almost hear her breathe a sigh of relief. “Venetian Village has really become my baby,” she says. “Each restaurant is like a pregnancy. The beginning is smooth and then, just before the opening, you get contractions and it’s really difficult. After the delivery, the opening, I’m relieved for a bit and then – next!”
Next to open is Barfly, a two-level restaurant from the owners of Buddha Bar with previous locations in Los Angeles and Paris (both now closed). The sixth and final restaurant in the village will be Punjab Grill, a gourmet Indian restaurant specialising in North Indian/Punjabi cuisine. Both are scheduled to open before the end of the year.
Olives will have a soft opening in June and an official launch party after Ramadan.
• For more on Venetian Village, visit www.venetianvillage.ae
sjohnson@thenational.ae
