Bone marrow
Bord Eau, Shangri-La
Seeing bone marrow on a restaurant’s menu would ordinarily cause shock, even more intrigue and a bucket to be on stand-by. But seeing as it is a French restaurant, it’s probably expected. It accompanies one of Bord Eau’s succulent steaks and looks exactly as you’d expect part of an amputated animal limb’s skeleton to look like. It comes served with one of those long-handled spoons usually used to scoop the remnants of ice-cream, is full of rich flavour and has the texture of jelly. And if that doesn’t sell it to you nothing will.
Half-dozen oysters
Finz, Beach Rotana
Finz has maintained high standards of seafood and service for the past couple of years – we’ve given it enough awards to show its success. Which is not to be taken lightly, as seafood can be extremely hit-and-miss in the capital and the rest of the UAE. But served in their shell, the half-dozen oysters are an example of how seafood should look and taste. Served with shallot vinaigrette and lemon, they are real palate-tinglers and ease you perfectly into the Asian-inspired mains. Add to that al fresco dining on the restaurant deck, and you’ll be hard-pushed to find a better evening out.
Rib-eye steak
Chamas, InterContinental
Chamas has been a revelation in the capital for its party-like atmosphere, packed tables and sumptuous food. As much as anyone, we didn’t have the most confident of ideas about what Brazilian cuisine consisted of, and we didn’t expect it to be as good as it was either. Essentially it is a barbeque, but with cuts of meat like the rib-eye steak brought out on skewers and freshly carved at your table, it’s no back garden operation. The rib-eye steak is perhaps one of the finest examples of tender, flavoursome meat in the capital and is definitely the stand-out amongst lamb, chicken hearts and beef tenderloin.
Nutella pancake
Riviera, Marina Al Bateen
Riviera is a popular Italian restaurant overlooking a millionaire’s nautical playpen; an excellent chance to imagine what could have been if only your grandmother’s dog hadn’t inherited her wealth, while enjoying dining al fresco on the marina. While you weep uncontrollably, mop up the tears with the equally rich Nutella pancake. It sounds like a ploy to attract children to the dessert menu, and subsequently, their parents’ wallet, but you’d be foolish not to snatch at least one from the grasps of toddler paws, as these sweet pancakes are incredibly moreish and deliciously seductive.
Half-rack ribs
Heroes, Crowne Plaza
Hanna-Barbera summed this up perfectly with their Stone Age version of a drive-thru in the opening credits of The Flintstones. The rack of dinosaur ribs that wrecked Fred’s car isn’t dissimilar to the one Heroes has on offer, and a car is probably the best option for serving, as if a plate exists that is big enough to cope, then neither we or the Crowne Plaza have found it. The half-rack, marinated in delicious barbeque sauce, comes served on a chopping board – one can only imagine what withstands the full rack – and is as tender as it is filling.
Pepper steak pie and mash
The 3rd Avenue, Sheraton Khalidiya
The 3rd Avenue has British country pub written all over it: heavy doors, stained glass, brass handles, and huge maroon leather chairs where you’d imagine mxxen in tweed waistcoats and wax jackets to be sitting while drinking pints of mild, smoking pipes and discussing the flaws of The Daily Telegraph. The food is as traditional. You can’t get much more British than pie and mash, and the fiery pepper steak, fresh vegetables and gravy, domed by a thin pastry that makes up The 3rd Avenue’s version is as good as any around. The mash is stodgy and the simplicity of the dish ensures the British pub theme isn’t a mere gimmick.
Orange and ginger glazed salmon
Sayad, Emirates Palace
Dean Bouvet, Executive Chef at Embassy, Emirates Palace: ‘My favourite and most enjoyable place in Abu Dhabi is Sayad in Emirates Palace. The room is very relaxing and calming and my favourite dish – orange and ginger-glazed salmon, cumquat vinaigrette, bok choi and sweet potato chips – is well balanced and suited to the climate.’
Lamb curry
Dhaba-style Indigo, Beach Rotana
Indigo hit the capital running when it opened last year, with it’s no-nonsense approach to the menu a revelation for Indian restaurants; for a change, the choice of mains doesn’t moonlight as a thesis on how many types of rice, lamb, chicken and dahl India has to offer, instead opting for the minimalist route of a single page of eight dishes with the accompanying rice or veg chosen for you. The stand-out is by far the lamb curry cooked Dhaba style – a traditional cooking method used by Indian street vendors to give to construction workers and lorry drivers – much like your standard truck stop. The medium-spiced gravy comes served in an iron pot and covers lamb so tender it could be cut with a sponge.
Seafood mixed grill
Sayad, Emirates Palace
Fish dishes in the capital are a bit hit and miss, and not necessarily because of restaurant inefficiency. It’s a matter of physics. The Gulf waters aren’t the most ideal fish tank because they’re too warm and too shallow, therefore the quality of the fish suffers, as it can’t build up muscle to swim against deeper currents or remain at a cool, fresh temperature. That said, and imported produce aside, the seafood mixed grill at Sayad tests the biggest of appetites, with mammoth prawns, meaty scallops, lobster and hammour. Who cares about science when you have something this good in front of you?
Parma Ham and Mozzarella
Riviera, Al Bateen Marina
We don’t think we’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t like mozzarella – it’s the Tommy Cooper of Italian cuisine. But it’s come a long way from the chewy, translucent blob, floating in a bag of something identifiable that we readily consumed for years (and still loved). Nowadays only the finest ‘bufala’ will do and Riviera have cottoned on, serving an entire ball, jiggling daringly and coiled in a slice of Parma ham. Its sharp, melting creaminess blended to perfection with the saltiness of the ham, and what with the boats and the tinkling music, we could almost squint enough to pretend we were in Naples.
Tandoori Boneless Chicken
India Palace
Tim Stanhope: Executive Chef at Shangri-La: ‘I love to take my kids and wife to Indian Palace. I enjoy their tandoori boneless chicken with lashings of raita and plain naan bread. I make my own little naan bread wraps. My kids love the butter chicken masala, also with the naan bread. My wife is a dhal makani fan too and it’s great there.’
Falafel
Lebanese Flower, Defense Road
Lebanese food has found a second home here in Abu Dhabi and is the nearest you can get to finding ‘local’ cooking in a city where the cuisine of yore has been long-forgotten. And Lebanese Flower have done a great job of making the Lebanese feel at home – it’s loud and buzzing with immaculately-coiffed barnets. Their falafel is also by far the best we have eaten in the city, with the right mix of stodge and spice, the tahini dip giving it a sharpness that would leave its rather less healthy Western equivalent, the Big Mac, standing, agog, wondering what the hell happened.
Puri
Arab Udupi, behind Hamdan Centre, Hamdan Street
The menu at Arab Udupi could be described as daunting by those not in the know about Indian food, so it was by chance that we stumbled across the humble puri. They are deep fried snacks filled with potato, puffed rice, a host of spices and slathered with a dollop of yoghurt, and that’s just one variety (Dhai Batata Puri). The Bhel Puri and Sev Batata Puri also blew our socks off; spicy and sweet at the same time and utterly more-ish. And since they serve them from the little take-away hatch next to the restaurant, you could just work your way through the combinations and avoid confronting the menu altogether.
Sashimi
Wasabi, Al Diar Mina Hotel
Wasabi has the Japanese theme taped: low tables, an obscure collection of comics and the dreaded karaoke booths. But its truly superior sushi is the reason we often find ourselves the wrong end of town on a school night, hankering for their exquisitely fresh, reasonably priced-for-what-it-is sashimi. Tender slabs of tuna, salmon and squid don’t have a chance to get comfortable on the plate before we are daintily constructing our first mouthful (pickled ginger, a speck of wasabi) and it’s down the hatch. Chewing is merely perfunctory, such is its silkiness
Wagyu steak
Rodeo Grill, Beach Rotana
The odds are, you know about wagyu beef already and the pampered cows that spend a life being fed all the right foods and massaged to ensure that the meat has that famous marbled texture. But getting it just right comes down to a matter of seconds. Cooked for too little time and it tastes of fat, but a fraction too long and it dries out to a texture like braising steak. At Rodeo Grill they get it right time after time and if a cow has to die for our dinner, then this is the perfect send-off to any bovine.
Sabayon
Mezzaluna, Emirates Palace
Desserts often look great, but the sabayon at Mezzaluna trumps them all by virtue of the fact it’s cooked right in front of you. The trolley is wheeled out next to the table and the smiling cook whips up your fruity sabayon amid bursts of flame, clattering pans and a display of cooking that injects life into the formal, high-end dining. By the time it lands on the table in front of you it would be hard to top that show, but it does and is one of the finest tasting ends to a meal in Abu Dhabi.
Tiger prawns
Hoi An, Shangri-La
The menu says tiger prawns with mascabado chilli glazed garlic, coconut juice, French green beans and black rice risotto. What they actually bring out to your table are the biggest prawns we’ve ever seen, but despite their gargantuan size they’re sweet and tender monsters. Portion size might not always translate into quality but everything about this dish is a great big hit.
Laska noodles
The Noodle House, Al Wahda Mall
Ernst Lothar Frank, Executive Chef at the Beach Rotana: ‘A simple dish with great flavours and taste in relaxed, casual surroundings where families are welcome.’
Fish and chips
Hemingway’s, Hilton
One of the UK’s most popular dishes, fish and chips has a lot to live up to, and to Yorkshiremen in particular, it’s rather a big deal. These aren’t wrapped in yesterday’s Sheepdog Weekly, but they taste as good as the ones 3,000 miles away in the north of England. Piled high in a basket, crisp batter encases the succulent fish, pleasantly greasefree and served with a thick remoulade sauce.
Smoked salmon eggs Benedict
Embassy, Emirates Palace
Embassy recently introduced a Friday brunch menu to its already impressive arsenal. Among the tender saddle of lamb, devilish chocolate malva pudding and richly satisfying foie gras, sits the smoked salmon eggs Benedict. The deep pink salmon and soft-yellow hollandaise makes the dish a work of art from the outset, breach the egg’s floodgates and you’re confronted with a moat of yoke. It’s with guilt that you destroy such a masterpiece, but pleasure rapidly takes over after the first mouthful. For an impeccable and traditional British menu, it is tough to separate one dish, but this is our pick.
