Easter Sunday is around the corner and for those who celebrate, there are plenty of events taking place across the UAE, from special meals to egg hunts and other family-friendly activities.
Here, The National rounds up some of the best deals on offer this weekend.
Dining deals
Talea by Antonio Guida, Abu Dhabi
Guests at the Michelin-starred restaurant at Emirates Palace can indulge in a four-course menu that features the traditional Italian Easter bread sweet colomba pasquale, which is shaped like a dove.
The meal also includes pizza, saffron risotto, oxtail ragout and roasted lamb with potato and kale, which can be enjoyed alongside live entertainment.
April 8 and 9; lunch and dinner; Dh490 per person; Corniche Road; 02 690 7999
Oak Room, Abu Dhabi
The steakhouse in The Abu Dhabi Edition is offering a British feast on Easter Sunday.
Dishes will include English crab, oysters and roast beef sirloin. Trimmings such as Yorkshire pudding, Wagyu-fat dripping potatoes, cauliflower cheese, green beans and roasted root vegetables will also be served, as well as hot cross buns, an Easter chocolate trolley and a selection of British cheeses.
April 9; 12.30pm-5pm; from Dh285 per adult, Dh145 per child; Al Bateen Marina; 02 208 0000
Graphos Social Kitchen, Abu Dhabi
This Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island restaurant is hosting an Easter brunch with themed activities for children.
The buffet will include starters such as stuffed vine leaves, moutabel, hummus and fresh salads. Live stations will serve pasta, grills, carved meats, seafood, sushi, sashimi and oysters. Other mains include beef bourguignon, seafood skewers, orange couscous with roasted walnuts, truffle mashed potatoes and vegetable lasagne.
For dessert, guests can expect vanilla creme brulee, baked yoghurt with tropical fruit relish, green apple and blackcurrant lollipop, white chocolate amarena cherry trifle and chocolate dulce de leche tart. A live dessert station will offer ice cream and a chocolate fountain with marshmallows and strawberries.
An Easter bunny will hand out gifts to children, who also have their own recreational area with themed activities and games.
April 9; 1pm-4pm; from Dh345 per adult, Dh95 per child; Yas Island; 052 547 6318
Antonia, Abu Dhabi
The Italian restaurant at Mamsha Al Saadiyat will prepare a four-course menu featuring classic dishes such as braised lamb shank with truffle polenta, home-made potato gnocchi with seafood and bottarga and grilled tiger prawns. The meal also includes colomba pasquale.
April 9; 3pm-6pm; Dh345 per person; Saadiyat Island; 02 667 2554
LPM Restaurant & Bar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Both outlets of the celebrated brand in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will serve a one-off menu over the Easter weekend.
Starters will include seared asparagus with goat's cheese and grilled octopus with sweet pepper ragu, while main courses will be a rack of lamb or pan-seared halibut with cauliflower puree and mixed mushrooms. A chocolate Easter egg will be served for dessert.
Guests with children can join an egg-painting workshop on the terrace, while those ordering via Deliveroo will receive complimentary Easter eggs.
April 8 and 9; noon-3pm; prices vary; 04 439 0505 (Dubai), 02 692 9600 (Abu Dhabi)
Reform & Social Grill, Dubai
The family and pet-friendly gastropub at The Lakes will kick-start its Easter celebrations on Saturday with a party for dogs and owners, complete with games that the pooches can take part in. Snacks, including pupcakes and puppaccinos, are available to order.
Sunday will welcome bunny visits and egg hunt activities for little ones. There will also be arts and crafts activities, while parents can enjoy a la carte dishes such as a lamb roast and hot cross buns.
April 8 and 9; 5pm-7pm (Saturday), from 1pm (Sunday); prices vary; 04 454 2638
En Fuego, Dubai
The South American restaurant is putting on a barbecue party over the Easter weekend, complete with live music and performers in colourful costumes setting a celebratory mood.
Diners can enjoy an all-you-can-eat meal, with live cooking stations serving marinated chicken, Argentinian chorizo, prawns, corn on the cob, beef flank, roasted baby potatoes and gallina salad. An a la carte menu will also be available.
April 8 and 9; 1pm-4pm; Dh195 per adult, Dh95 for children; Atlantis The Palm; 04 426 2626
Cinque, Dubai
The Italian restaurant at Five Palm Jumeirah has created a four-course set menu for Easter Sunday.
Guests can start with a veal ragout and potato foam amuse-bouche before tucking into homemade green bottoni pasta with lamb ragout and chestnut sauce. For mains, guests can choose between slow-cooked lamb rack with mushroom tartlet and lamb sauce, or pan-seared yellowtail with organic spelt and clam and mussel soup.
Dessert is a golden Easter egg with white chocolate mousse, wild berry compote and frozen chocolate soil.
April 9; lunch and dinner; Dh399 per person; Palm Jumeirah; 04 455 9989
Boardwalk, Dubai
This al fresco venue will host an Easter Sunday brunch with activities for children including egg decorating and face painting.
The buffet will include selections of cheese and pizza, French oysters, plus grill and pasta stations. The main event will be the “chocolate bunny village” dessert counter, with festive creations such as chocolate tofu on coconut sable and cherry chocolate tart with cooked tonka zabaglione.
April 9; noon-4pm; from Dh295 per adult, Dh145 per child; Dubai Creek Resort; 04 205 4647
Piatti by the Beach, Dubai
Italian classics await at this beachfront venue, with a brunch that features elaborately woven traditional Easter breads. One of these is casatiello, a savoury treat from Naples, which symbolises the promise of a new life. It is stuffed with an assortment of cured meats and cheeses, and is topped with coloured and cooked eggs.
Lamb, seasonal vegetables and pasta plates will also be available. Dessert will be colomba pasquale with candied citrus peel, crunchy pearl sugar and slivered almonds.
April 9; 12.30pm-4pm; from Dh540 per person; Raffles The Palm; 04 248 8889
Wavehouse, Dubai
An all-day Eastern party is taking place at this Atlantis The Palm venue, complete with an egg hunt, face painting and egg decorating.
A live band will entertain guests, while stilt walkers dressed as bunnies roam around. A special menu has been curated for the event, with dishes such as an Easter roast lamb and yellowfin tuna tartare.
April 8 and 9; noon-11pm; prices vary; 04 426 2626
Family fun
Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi
Children are in for a treat as Marina Hop returns to Yas Island on Easter Sunday.
The event will feature a range of activities. At the supervised activity centre, there will be face painting, hat decorating and giant Jenga among others. The promenade will have a bunny-shaped maze and huge colouring mural, while children will be able to participate in egg and spoon races, ring toss games and other carnival-style activities on the main lawn.
By 12.30pm, an Easter bunny will arrive by boat, providing photo opportunities with families. All activities are free for registered children aged three to 12, who will be entered into a draw to win two annual silver park passes to Yas Island's theme parks. Registration is available on site.
April 9; noon-5pm; free; Yas Island; www.yasmarina.ae
The Green Planet, Dubai
The biodome in City Walk is organising a special meet and greet with its newest guests, two short-beaked echidnas — a distant cousin of the platypus.
The in-house biologist will reveal more about their behaviour, diet, habitat and other fun facts, such as the echidna is one of only two egg-laying mammals in the world (the other being the aforementioned platypus). There will be Easter-themed decorations and eggs hidden around the venue.
On Sunday, the first 100 children to visit The Green Planet Cafe and say the words “the echidna is here” will receive an Easter egg surprise.
April 5 to 11; 10am-6pm; from Dh125 per person; thegreenplanetdubai.com
Address Beach Resort, Dubai
An Easter egg painting activity for children will be hosted here, with craft sets priced at Dh150. For waiting parents, The Restaurant will discount select dishes during the event.
April 8; 1pm-5pm; Dh150 per painting set; Jumeirah Beach Residence; 04 423 8888
Sisi’s Eatery, Dubai
The Viennese restaurant will organise two days of Easter cookie decorating workshops. The in-house pastry chef will offer young artists some tips and tricks on how to decorate their cookies neatly and creatively, as well as a decoration kit that includes egg-shaped cookies, icing, sprinkles and other ingredients. Each child will also be provided with juice and kaiserschmarnn, a sweet Viennese pancake.
April 7 and 8; 10am-5pm; Dh150 per child; Dubai Hills Mall; sisieatery.com
Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Beach Resort
The resort will host a day of family-friendly Easter celebrations on Sunday. The afternoon will begin with a game of bunny hops at 2pm, followed by Easter egg decorations and an egg hunt at the resort’s Treehouse children’s club. Face-painting artists and DJs will be at the venue and the evening will culminate in a musical parade at 6pm.
April 9; from 2pm; Dh40 per person (Dh20 for in-house guests); Ras Al Khaimah; 056 548 0320
