If you want to experience the true essence of the city, head to Al Wahda.
This bustling, lively part of Downtown is home to hundreds of shops, cafés, and restaurants, and it’s also where you’ll get a top deal on everything from fabric and electronics to shawarmas and chai.
There are modern structures to marvel at nearby including the impressive World Trade Center towers as well as the city’s oldest standing structure Qasr Al Hosn, which is also home to the Cultural Foundation.
In terms of shopping there are loads of small shops to pick and choose from throughout the area, however, if it’s a mall you’re after then Al Wahda Mall (and its massive IKEA) is the one for you.
Where do you even start? Here for starters. We round up five of our top picks for when you’re in Al Wahda.
Seven Hotpot
There’s something immensely satisfying about cooking a meal in a bubbling hotpot: the social occasion, experimenting with flavours, the theatre of it all – the list goes on. This cosy hotpot restaurant is all about the food and a meal here always makes for a great night.
Open daily 11am-1am. Seven Hotpot, Hazza Bin Zayed the First Street (02 443 0771).
Panda Bao Bao
This quirky Chinese restaurant might still be small, but you can’t miss the place (there are two pandas outside the door, for a start). The food is unpretentious, there’s no elaborate decoration or undue fuss – and we love it. The pillowy beef bao are a real treat and everything is super-tasty.
Open daily 11am-11pm. Hazza Bin Zayed the First Street (055 512 7461).
Hankook Restaurant
This popular downtown Korean restaurant is a great spot for getting your fix of Korean staples, whether it’s in a private booth, sitting on the floor with friends, or in the main restaurant where you can slurp on noodles, kimchi and the rest with satisfaction.
Open daily 11am-2.30pm & 5pm-11pm. Hazza Bin Zayed the First Street (02 642 3399).
Yamazaki
Japanese cheesecakes (yep, the ones that jiggle), flaky croissants, egg tarts, Pikachu pastries and more, Yamazaki is the coolest Japanese bakery in town. The sweet spot also serves some tasty Japanese dishes and drinks like taro tea and Japanese lattes. Jiggly cheesecake for one, please.
Open daily 6am-midnight. Al Wadha (02 441 4161).
Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station
A bus station? Really? Yes, but not just any bus station. This is Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station. The station itself is an interesting structure: the style is quite striking, with a green, wave-like roof on top of the main building and it’s funnily enough become one of the most Instagrammed spots in the city. Go get those likes.
2nd Street.
