Here are 5 of Abu Dhabi’s must-try restaurant brands

Find out each of their stories directly from their owners

The Rain Cafe's Acai Bowl. Image: supplied

Abu Dhabi, being the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, is no stranger to incredible cuisine. The emirate offers a wide range of amazing restaurants, with intriguing backgrounds and cuisines to be discovered - and what easier way to explore local popular brands than by simply ordering online from the comfort of your own home or office.

Based on insights from talabat, the leading online food app in the region, it seems foodies are on the rise in Abu Dhabi, with the overall amount of orders per month growing by 122% in 2020 compared to 2019. Particularly, healthy food continues to grow in popularity. According to talabat’s insights, the most in demand cuisines in Abu Dhabi are burgers, followed by Arabic and Pizza, with the 4th spot recently taken by healthy cuisine.

Have you ever found yourself wondering about how some of these loved Abu Dhabi restaurants came into being? talabat’s restaurant partners shared with us their inspiration to enter the F&B sphere, sharing their origin stories on how their journey kicked off.

What pulled you towards opening your own restaurant? What is your story?

Rain Café -

"The Rain Café was born out of a love of rains and storms - the Emirati owner was a Hurricane chaser (a person who is very interested in rainstorms and chases after them to observe) who opened the doors of the Rain Café to bring together two of his favorite things: coffee and wet weather." says Shourouk Abuamara, Delivery Manager.

Rain Cafe, Spanish Latte. Image: supplied

The Rain Café aims to provide customers with a special experience, something you can feel as soon as you walk in through the doors of the rain designed space.

Abuamara adds: "We chose to deliver through talabat so that we can help customers enjoy our signature coffees and pastries any time, anywhere. Our Acai Bowl and Ice Spanish Latte are always in popular demand!"

Rain Cafe, Acai Bowl. Image: supplied

Follow Rain Cafe @rainabudhabi

West to West -

Laddi Knights, the owner of West to West, tells us: "Our story began in 2014, when I came to Abu Dhabi to teach! Quickly realising that I missed the food I grew up eating (I'm British, my Mother is from Sierra Leone and my Father is from Trinidad and Tobago), I saw an opportunity to reconnect with the food I loved and decided to introduce the community to it as well."

"In 2019, my wife Michele and I opened a West African and Carribean inspired restaurant in Abu Dhabi after previously setting up a pop-up stall in Yas Mall, where we served food inspired by dishes we missed from our parents, aunts, uncles and friends - basically everyone whose food we missed," Laddi adds.

Laddi mentions that he chose to expand his operations through food delivery, partnering with talabat to increase his restaurant's exposure to a wider audience - giving others a taste of his favourite childhood dishes. Visiting West to West gives you a taste of what it would be like in Laddi's family home: you will be welcomed with smiles, laughter, good music and, of course, good food! Their must try dishes are: Jamaican Jerk Chicken Set Meal and the Carnival Curry Goat Set Meal.

West to West, Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Image: supplied

Follow West to West @westtowestkitchen

Ramlat Zakher -

Ramlat Zakher started as a small house kitchen back in 2010 when Saleh Al Ameri's Mother initially had the idea of serving her amazing Emirati home cooking to the community after receiving great feedback from her neighbours, whom she would often welcome with food.

Ramlat Zakher, Mahala Zayed. Image: supplied

Al Ameri, the owner of Ramlat Zakher tells us, "I could see that my Mother had a real passion for cooking and serving up amazing experiences to others - so I decided to turn that vision into a real business, giving customers a flashback of the good old food they used to eat when they were younger. They always tell us that our dishes take them right down memory lane and we now operate all over the UAE, feeding the whole country our delicious food!"

Ramlat Zakher chose to take the step to reach out to a wider audience, partnering with talabat to deliver their home food cravings. They now spend their time fulfilling a larger number of orders that they receive from new customers daily, making hearts and stomachs fill with love all over the city. We recommend you try their delectable Mahala Zayed and Harees, traditional home dishes that are sure to make you want more.

Follow Ramlat Zakher @ramlatzakher

1 Million Café -

To satisfy their immense love of coffee, Hamdan Al Seiari and his brothers would spend ages experimenting with different flavors and beans from a wide range of countries around the world. Years later, they turned their successful experiments into a specialty coffee café known as the 1 Million Café to bring their love of coffee to life and share it with others in the community.

"We initially began our home business in 2014 and used Instagram to promote our brand." says Al Seiari, the owner of 1 Million Café. "My brother would take the initiative to travel to different countries and try all the various flavors of coffee for inspiration, which led to us creating this Emirati concept that revolves around what we love most - coffee!"

1 Million Cafe, 1 Million Cake. Image: supplied

The cafe now has seven branches across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai and believes that talabat has helped them on their way to a better business future, allowing them to connect better with customers that favor technology and giving them an easier way to access their ever popular 1 Million Cake, Spanish Latte and Acai.

Follow 1 Million Cafe @1mcafe

Kwisto -

Fighting against all odds, Tarik Rezki, the founder of Kwisto has been a food enthusiast and a travel buff for 32 years. His curious taste buds have led him to many places around the world, from Marangu forest in Kilimanjaro to a centuries-old major spice trade center in Africa, to the green lands of Varanasi, the house of Indian spices and many more countries.

"My travels have led me to discover the fascinating fusion between the Andean, Western and Japanese cuisine, which made me want to transform my passion and be recognised by food lovers around the globe." mentions Rezki.

Kwisto, Diablo Pulled Beef Burrito. Image: supplied

Sourcing the finest quality of original spices, Kwisto brings a nostalgic fusion of Latino and Western cuisine to the table, utilising talabat's services to make sure that customers have access to their favorite items at all times. For first timers, we recommend trying Kwisto's Diablo Pulled Beef Burrito - we're hungry now!

Follow Kwisto @kwisto.ae