Things have been a little quiet around Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre this year, but it’s easy to understand why. While large events and conferences have taken a pause the hotels, restaurants and venues located around the business hub have still attracted people for a night out, bite to eat, a nightcap or a staycation.
New to the area, Rayana Latin Tapas Bar has quickly become popular and it’s easy to see why with it’s scenic views, inviting pool, Spanish food and mixed drinks. Plus, it’s not often that you get to enjoy a drink inside the building that holds the Guinness World Record for the furthest leaning man-made building is it? Well, never unless you come here.
Located on the nineteenth floor, the bar enjoys a great vantage point of the surrounding area and also provides a welcome breeze, too.
When we arrive on a Wednesday night, ladies’ night is in full flow and more than half of the tables are filled with women enjoying a few drinks and bites to eat on a school night.
We take our seats towards the back where we can watch the sun set over the horizon and safely tap our feet to the catchy Latin music that ordinarily would be encouraging us to throw a few shapes.
There are a lot of familiar mixed drinks on the menu, we opt for a sour one and another that’s popular in Spanish restaurants and comes served with chopped up fruit inside.
Both are refreshing and are followed by another. We can’t help but notice the pretty looking food coming past our table and fancying a bite to eat, we order the guacamole. It arrives shortly after, freshly mashed and served with a side of crispy plantain and chips ready for scooping. You may think that guac is guac but we’ve eaten our fair share of bad avocado over the years but there’s no such problem here. It’s thick and perfectly seasoned and is scooped, smothered and slathered all over the moreish chips and washed down with more drinks.
The vibe is chilled and sophisticated without being stuffy. Rayana is casual but easily could make for a date night, too. The staff are eager and helpful without overdoing it, which is perfect. We can see ourselves coming back here again soon.
