Restaurants in Abu Dhabi

Hakkasan

Impeccably cooked dishes and first-class service are de rigueur at this high-end Cantonese restaurant in the Emirates Palace hotel. Order a few sharing plates, but be sure to splash out on extras of the jasmine tea-smoked wagyu beef ribs – you’ll want those all to yourself. The cocktails are excellent too.

Sayad

This is as good as seafood gets. With a terrace overlooking the marina, the views at this wonderful restaurant inside the Emirates Palace hotel are nearly as enjoyable as the meals. Sayad (Arabic for fisherman) dishes up modern fish dishes with finesse in a setting that swims with aquatic décor.

Zuma

This long-awaited Dubai export certainly lives up to its reputation by serving some of the tastiest sushi in the city. Everything is flawlessly presented within a luxury setting, and while the business lunch is great value, the brunch is the best way to sample all that the creative chefs have to offer.

Bonna Annee

For something different, try the excellent Ethiopian food at Bonna Annee. This no frills street restaurant specialises in spicy stews served with injera – a tasty traditional Ethiopian flatbread that you use to scoop up the sauce. There are plenty of tangy dips to choose from, and the food is great value for money.

Benihana

Enjoy open grilled, Japanese food while you sit at the teppanyaki bar (iron griddle bar) at Benihana. The chef cooks meat, eggs, fish, vegetable or whatever else you’re in the mood for, with Asian soy, lime and spices. The choice is vast, but the sashimi and steaks prepared in the American-Japanese style are best.

BiCE Restaurant

Widely recognised for its superb Italian cuisine, this restaurant in the Jumeirah is very popular with the locals so booking is recommended. The windows running from floor to ceiling ensure panoramic views of the Gulf outside as wonderfully presented pastas, carpaccios and risottos keep the crowds coming back.

Sura

Ignore all the nonsense of the pasta and burgers on the menu at this authentic Korean restaurant and plump straight for seafood pancakes, the chicken katsu (Japanese dish of breaded, deep-fried chicken) or the bulgogi (Korean dish of stir fried beef with vegetables). Sura translates to ‘a royal meal’, and you’ll need all your servants in tow as you take the mic in the onsite karaoke booths.

Zahrat Lebnan

Offering a wide selection of delicious mezze, Lebanese Flower is part of a popular chain of restaurants and is usually packed with hungry locals. The grilled meats are excellent and the hummus is a creamy as it comes, but it’s best to go all out with several dishes and share.

Sofra Istanbul

This welcoming restaurant offers excellent Turkish cuisine of the highest standards. Low-hanging lanterns and cool, Alaçatı blue décor give this charming grill a sense of Istanbul mysticism, though it’s the wonderful grilled meats that are the most memorable. For something extra special, try the succulent sea bream in salt.