From Time Out Abu Dhabi Eating Out 2010
From the outside, Avenue 3rd looks like it might be dipping a tenuous toe in gastro-pub waters. A pristine, shiny exterior smacks of a spruced-up British pub just taken out of the box. Inside, mahogany interiors and plush maroon leather sofas hint at something a cut above. But, fear not, a pumping soundtrack and, in its darker recesses, the ever-present glow of the TV sports channel reminds you that the snobbier elements of nouveau pub cuisine might just be missing at sea. Yes, Avenue 3rd is a good-old Brit-style boozer, but it does a pretty decent impersonation of some quality pub grub, too.
The starters tend to curb their ambitions at lettuce, with huge salads large enough to satisfy the entire British Lions rugby team. Elsewhere, old-fashioned comfort food is the order of the day, with a tasty array of tempura-d treats on the bar snacks menu and a standard rundown of British pub fare yielding some hearty wraps, decent fish and chips and the best hotpot east of Manchester. Avenue 3rd is undoubtedly a bar with pretensions – the dining area is large enough to suggest that it may have restaurant ambitions – but the food is pure pub, and no less appetising for it.
