There are loads of brilliant places in this city to visit from the excitement of Yas Island to the beauty of Saadiyat Island, the biz of the Corniche and everything in between.
Sometime you just want to be in and amongst it, right in the heart of the city.
Ready to head downtown?
Try these three Time Out recommended venues.
Fado Irish Pub
You know what you’re going to get with Irish pubs, don’t you? Pints of the black stuff, old toucan-themed ad campaigns on the walls, a friendly atmosphere, decent music and filling grub. Well, with Fado it’s no different. Since opening, the venue, upstairs at the Oryx Hotel, accessible from the street, has flown a little under the radar. After all, it’s not in the showiest part of town and lives in one of the more humble hotels. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a visit. We’ll leave the many reasons to head here for a drink for another time and tell you all about the food instead.
Dishes here are all fairly good value – you’d be hard pushed to pay Dhs100 for anything – and the menu is split into starters, mains, sandwiches and desserts. With plenty of options in all of them.
To read the full review click here.
PJ O’Reilly’s
Consistency. It has the potential to sound like an underwhelming trait. Mr (or Mrs) Consistency is not, after all, Mr (or Mrs) Exciting. But there are some things in life that we all need to rely on. Your alarm clock, for example, is probably something you want to be reliable. We could keep going and create a long list, but what we’re trying to get at is that one thing you want to know is always going to be there for you is your local pub. And while the concept of a ‘local’ is somewhat wooly here in the UAE, one pub that has cemented its place in the hearts of Abu Dhabi residents, both long-term and recent, is PJ O’Reilly’s. We can’t think of anywhere else in Abu Dhabi that fits the idea of a proper pub more than this. It’s just the right amount of worn around the edges, has a range of regulars from ageing engineers to young besuited city types, and does a mean range of good-value drinks and classic pub grub.
To read the full review click here.
Up and Below
It’s quite hard to find a downtown rooftop bar that isn’t at least a little bit cool. After all, enjoying a meal surrounded by towering skyscrapers never gets old does it? Up & Below is one of these awesome hangouts, and it closed over the summer to make over its look into a place that’s a bit more stylish and modern. Our fellow diners are dressed in everything from flip-flops to full business suits. There’s no snobbery here and the staff are all so helpful and welcoming. The main menu also includes Caribbean-style dishes such as jerk chicken and red snapper escovitch, as well as that ultimate comfort food, baked camembert.
To read the full review click here.
