If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that we love a bargain. While we’re really spoilt for choice in Abu Dhabi when it comes to top-tier restaurants, bars and cafés, sometimes all we need is good grub without all the fancy stuff. Enter: cheap eats for under Dhs10 in Abu Dhabi.
At Time Out, we set ourselves a challenge to hunt down all the cheap eats for under Dhs10 we could find in Abu Dhabi. Armed with nothing more than a handful of Dirhams, we explored this brilliant city for all the best, affordable food it has on offer. The gag? We actually found them.
You might also like: 16 unexpectedly cheap things to do in Abu Dhabi for Dhs100 or less
So if your purse strings are feeling a little tight this month, worry not. You don’t have to put yourself in debt to enjoy delicious food. There are loads of cheap eats for under Dhs10 in Abu Dhabi to enjoy, from yummy cakes and pastries to flavourful kebabs and crispy French fries.
Stomach rumbling yet? What are you waiting for? Check out our list of all the cheap eats for under Dhs10 in Abu Dhabi and run, don’t walk.
Meat shawarma at Al Akkawi Star
Foodie trends come and go (we lost our heads to cupcakes and kale for a while back there, didn’t we?) but the humble shawarma remains king of Abu Dhabi street food and one of the best cheap eats for under Dhs10. Thinly sliced meat, a smattering of salad, a dollop of sauce and a few French fries in a wrap – if it is good enough for The Avengers it is good enough for us. Oh, and it is scandalously easy on the budget, too.
Dhs8. 8-2am. Hamdan Street, Al Markaziya, (02 622 2367).
Cheese manakish at Al Sultan Bakeries
It is to our ongoing amazement that the world’s greatest songwriters continue to create melodies about beautiful strangers, darling partners and lost love, while steadfastly ignoring the delights of a good manakish. What could be more relatable and eternal than the longing for warm carbs and gooey cheese? We’ve known love to come in all shapes and sizes with many different varieties, but have yet to meet a single person who doesn’t love the molten cheese and soft doughy bread of a freshly baked manakish. Breakfast, lunch or late at night show your love and enjoy these cheap eats for under Dhs10.
Dhs10. 6am-midnight. Various locations, including Al Nasar Tower, Embassies District, (02 441 1482).
Zaatar manakish from Mosaic
On the hunt for cheap eats for under Dhs10? Legend has it that one Time Outer once set out to try every different manakish in the city. They haven’t been since, lost under the sheer enormity of the task. With so many options and so many places to try it is an enormous undertaking. To make things easier on yourself start with a standard such as the zaatar flavour at Mosaic. The quaint Embassies District venue is famed for its authentic Levantine food and the zaatar, a thyme-like space ground with sesame seeds and salt, is the perfect starting point for a manakish quest of your own. (Note to Hollywood: Manakish Quest is the fantasy epic we are all waiting for).
Dhs6. 9am-11.30pm. Guardian Towers, Embassies District, mosaicrestaurant.com (02 234 0202).
Vada Pav at Salam Bombay
It is claimed that there are more than 20,000 stalls selling vada pav in Mumbai. Sometimes known as a Bombay Burger it is a deep-fried potato cake or pattie inside a simple bread roll and served with chilli. You’ll find it around Abu Dhabi — but be aware, Salam Bombay’s offering is especially spicy and comes with a significant chilli kick. This is the best value for one of the best cheap eats for under Dhs10 in Abu Dhabi.
Dhs6. Daily. 7am-midnight. Near Al Safeer Mall, Mussafah Shabiya, (02 554 2229).
Masala puri at Chhappan Bhog
Whether you’re craving familiar favourites or want to learn more about Indian street food, a visit to a branch of Chhappan Bhog is a revelation. A huge range of dosas, parathas, thali dishes, samosas and chaat of every description are available, many for Dhs10 or less. Go for a masala puri — think a hollowed out, deep-fried and wafer-thin crispy flatbread orb filled with spices, onion, potato and more veggie and flavoursome yumminess. Don’t stop there, though, there are so many cheap eats for under Dhs10 to try here a repeat visit is essential.
Dhs10. Dhs8am-11pm. Various locations, including behind ADNOC Building, between Salam Street and Nadja Street, Najda, instagram.com/chhappanbhog.auh, (02 677 8864).
Kids scoop at Baskin Robbins
There are many fine-dining restaurants at Souk Qaryat Al Beri and here’s a Time Out tip – order yourself a kids scoop of ice cream to eat while you walk along the water’s edge trying to decide. Consider it a palate cleanser. There may be some people who consider a frozen rainbow sherbet before you start dinner to be indulgent, but as indulgences go, a Dhs9 scoop is the least of your worries on a faux Venetian waterway in a luxury hotel.
Dhs9. Sun-Thu, 10am-10pm; Fri-Sat, 10am-11pm. Souk Qaryat Al Beri, Al Maqtaa, baskinrobbinsmea.com, (600 503 031).
Breakfast at IKEA
IKEA furniture is beautiful, hand-crafted one-of-a-kind pieces of resplendent beauty. And the food in the on-site restaurant is the same. But you have to marvel at the quality of what you get for very little cost, which is why this is one of the best cheap eats for under Dhs10 in Abi Dhabi. The much-loved Swedish meatballs are just outside the price range, but a Dhs10 breakfast with beans, sausage, hash browns and scrambled egg is a marvellous offer. And just enough to fill you up for a good few hours furniture shopping.
Dhs10. Ikea, Yas Island, ikea.com/ae, (02 800 4532).
Parathas at Mann O Salwa
This budget-friendly restaurant specialises in Pakistani foods and has a selection including a beef nihari, various biriyani and some kebab options. As one of the best cheap eats for under Dhs10, you need to check out the range of parathas. Chicken, potato, beef and more are available. Priced between Dhs1.50 for plain and Dhs5 for certain stuffed varieties you can get a few of the layered flatbreads to fold up and take with you on an explore around the city.
Dhs3. Muroor Road, Muroor, facebook.com/Mannosalwa.ae (02 448 3124).
Nutella rgag at Lgymat and Rgag
Previously Time Out has written of the deep-fried dumplings slathered in sticky date syrup at Lgymat and Rgag as being so moreish they will have you waddling back to your car. In the interests of journalistic experimentation and pushing the boundaries or culinary experience, then, it is only fair we suggest you try Nutella rgag as well. Rgag, for those that don’t know is a thin flatbread, perhaps similar to a pancake. If you don’t know what Nutella is, well, you’re in for a treat. Just trust us.
Dhs6.50. Daily. 6-1am. Near Khalidiya Tower, Al Khalidiya, lgymat.ae (02 666 3881).
Falafel sandwich from Bait El Khetyar
Still looking for cheap eats for under Dhs10? Abu Dhabi’s bustling Hamdan Street puts the street in street food. You’ll find all sorts of activity and liveliness on the perennially busy residential and commercial thoroughfare. Pick up one of the many thrifty sarnies and chomp away as you watch city life happen around you. There is an Arabic feel to many of the offerings with falafel, hummus, foul, veg and various combinations of the above to try.
Dhs6. Daily. 7-1am. Opposite Liwa Centre, Hamdan Street, Al Markaziya, instagram.com/bait_elkhetyar (02 449 9916).
Special breakfast at Tamil Dhaba
Step away from luxury hotels and you will find a thriving food scene in Abu Dhabi. Roadside restaurants such as Tamil Dhaba offer remarkable value. The breakfast menu at this Electra Street hangout is tantalising and South Indian specialties and an abundance of dosas draw loyal fans. A breakfast of a small rice cake, a pongal (rice dish), a masala dosa, mini poori, vada and sweet for just Dhs10 makes a mockery of premium-priced breakfasts elsewhere.
Dhs10. Daily, 6.30am-11.30pm. Electra Street, Al Markaziya, (02 558 6699).
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