Sweet, spicy and tantalizing flavors await at Abu Dhabi’s best dishes

The Arabian Gulf has been a center of trade for centuries, and the region’s cuisine reflects this history of cultural and culinary exchange.Flavors from the ancient spice routes and nearby countries have reached these shores, including saffron, cinnamon, cardamom and animal Dried limes have become an essential feature of local dishes. Today more than 200 ethnic groups live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and food can be found from almost anywhere on earth. But it’s worth seeking out local favorites, from traditional shared meat and rice platters, fresh seafood from the surrounding waters, modern classics, and a variety of desserts to suit the region’s sweet tooth.

Here are our top picks for Arabian Gulf flavors in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

Serene breakfast at Home Bakery in Umm Al Emarat Park

Umm Al Emarat Park, full of chirping bulbuls and cooing pigeons, provides the backdrop for a surprisingly idyllic breakfast in the city centre.Skip the eggs and waffles, opt for home bakery More exciting regional dishes.Rolled croissants topped with slightly spicy spices laboratorypickled eggplant Markdusself made Dukkah, the two poached eggs were a delicious start, the croissants were flaky and buttery, and the toppings mixed salty, spicy and crunchy for a morning kick.and also Full (bean stew), a popular staple in the Middle East, but here it’s smoked for extra flavor.For a sweet option, saffron Karak French toast is hard to beat, topped with ganache karachaiSpiced milk tea is very popular in the region.

Retro cool Meylas restaurant serves classic Emirati cuisine with local ingredients

Located in a modern residential area across the water from the Yas Marina Circuit F1 track, Meylas may not seem like the most natural setting for authentic Emirati food, but the food here is authentic. The decor is heavily retro, with a cozy mix of retro knick-knacks—enamel plates, old soda bottles, battered boxes—as well as jars of green mango and preserved lemon pickles, local favorite Eagle Brand hot sauce, and key ingredient clarification Ghee lines the shelves in Emirati cuisine. Meylas’ favorites include traditional Emirati breakfast dishes Ballaratsweet saffron and cardamom-scented vermicelli, topped with a thin omelet, and chbab Pancakes with date syrup, local honey and processed cheese, and pancakes like mush Karis, a mix of boiled wheat, veal, salt and ghee, it’s an acquired taste and texture but worth trying for a true traditional Emirati taste.Come in winter for a salad made from the thinly sliced ​​leaves of the UAE’s national tree, the ghaf, or opt for a wrap made with thin bread rgaag Bread stuffed with minced camel meat and Emirati spices.

Local favorite Bu Tafish serves Arabic seafood

walk into Butafish You will be greeted by staff in lively captain’s and sailor uniforms. But this isn’t a kitsch seafood restaurant, it’s one of the city’s most popular. An Abu Dhabi institution dating back to 1968, it is named after the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (roughly translated as “one who leaves home for a foreign land”). “). Today, the restaurant is housed in a modern building next to the Marsa Al Bateen marina, but the menu is filled with classic dishes that have given it timeless popularity.Oven-baked fish, grilled shrimp in a spicy marinade, lemon and garlic calamari, and seafood in a creamy bechamel Tajan Topped with melted cheese, it’s all about crowd-pleasing crowds.

Sophisticated Bahraini flavors at Villa Mamas

Located in the General Secretariat Building of the Emirates Red Crescent Society, Villa Mom A popular hangout for government workers on weekdays and Emirati families on weekends; it showcases chef Roaya Saleh’s recipes from the UAE’s Gulf neighbor, Bahrain. It’s an elegant space where guests arrive with Arabic coffee and dates to whet their appetites. A plate of creamy hummus drizzled with truffle oil and toasted walnuts is a great start, as is the eggplant explosion, a mouth-watering combination of eggplant, onion, walnuts, and ricotta sauce.Mainly serves a refined version of Gulf cuisine – smoked lamb mansafdeconstructed machine sound made with chicken breast, hammer Herb rice and fish in tamarind sauce. There’s another good reason to visit Villa Mamas: 20% of the restaurant’s profits go to the Red Crescent to support humanitarian and development efforts around the world.

Al Mrzab serves hearty homemade meats and flavored salads

Al Mrzab is always packed with local family and friends, and for good reason – the restaurant has been serving delicious home-cooked Emirati food for over 20 years. That’s a long time in the 51-year-old UAE. Portions are large and reasonably priced, and the friendly staff will happily explain the menu to the uninitiated.try perhaps Salad made with chopped salted fish, onions, tomatoes, lime and olive oil in a mix of flavors or great, A mound of steaming basmati rice like biryani, topped with meat or fish and some raisins; everything here is a revelation. The dishes are served with warm bread baked in a tandoor, local salad leaves and hot sauce. This is one of the best introductions to the region’s food and hospitality.

Sweet fried dough balls from Lgymat & Rgag

Practically every culture has its own version of fried dough, and in the UAE Luke Matt. humble Lgymat & RgagFive minutes walk from Mrzab, one of the best places to try these tastier little doughs, topped with Dibs (jujube syrup) sprinkled with sesame seeds. fried in hot oil, Luke Matt The crust here is extra crispy and surprisingly light. They’re best eaten right out of the oil, so start eating them as soon as you get them. Even a small portion is a generous helping, containing surrounding debris. Lgymat & Rgag is open daily from 6am to 3am to satisfy the capital’s sweet cravings, and cars line up outside at all times of the day and night.

Al Aqssa Sweets’ slimy, cheesy ‘nablusia kunafa’

• Where: Zahiye
• no appointment required

there is death, a dessert of stringy pastry and cheese or cream topped with syrup and a sprinkling of chopped pistachios, is very popular throughout the Gulf region, although it’s not strictly a local Emirati dessert. Al Aqssa Sweets has been making traditional Palestinian die nablusia It has been in Abu Dhabi for 42 years and is still very popular today. Although there are different types of kunafa Many traditionalists from the region favor the Nablusian version, which uses cheese from the West Bank town of Nablus and has a very pronounced tangy, salty taste. At Al Aqssa Sweets, large discs of different varieties, crunchy or smooth, sit on a stove by the window, luring passers-by to come in for the warm, sticky dessert.When you’re deciding whether to opt for crunchy foods Krishnamade of thin vermicelli katefi dough, or smoother knowing type, made with finely ground pastry, you will most likely end up with a crispy kunafa Roll to taste. Best served warm (it will become firm and rubbery if left to cool), Al Aqssa Sweets has a few tables inside so you can sit down and eat right away.