These are the best restaurants in Abu Dhabi as the city’s dining scene stands in 2026, and they span a wider price range than the capital’s reputation suggests. Expect everything from AED 45 pizzas at a Souk Al Mina bakery to AED 538 tasting menus at Emirates Palace, with Emirati cooking, harbour fish and Friday brunches in between. Every venue below is open now, and each price was checked against a menu the restaurant actually publishes.
The list leans on the MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi selection, Time Out’s annual restaurant awards and the venues’ own menus, which keeps it verifiable and current. All three of the city’s one-star restaurants are here, along with three Bib Gourmand holders and a few places the guides have not caught up with yet.
The best restaurants in Abu Dhabi, and what they cost
Prices are in AED and per person unless stated. Each entry quotes a real figure from a current menu, from the AED 35 balaleet at Meylas to Hakkasan’s AED 538 signature menu. Where a venue publishes no prices, none are quoted; treat the MICHELIN price band as the guide.
Fine dining and MICHELIN stars
Erth (Qasr Al Hosn, with a second room at Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat) — The first Emirati restaurant to hold a MICHELIN star, and still the clearest argument for modern Emirati cooking. Lamb machboos arrives with a sweet teriyaki glaze, and ingredients come from farms across the Emirates. No menu prices are published, so budget generously.
Hakkasan (Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Corniche) — A one-star Cantonese room that has outlasted most of its peers on the Corniche. The signature menu runs AED 538 per person, and the three-basket dim sum lunch starts at AED 128 per the official menu. Peking duck with caviar is the ordering move if you are feeling flush.
Talea by Antonio Guida (Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental) — Antonio Guida’s Italian room holds a star and took Time Out’s best-Italian award for 2026. Lobster linguine is the signature, and antipasti run AED 75–120. The vitello tonnato justifies a visit on its own.
Zuma (The Galleria, Al Maryah Island) — The capital’s long-running Japanese heavyweight, MICHELIN Selected since the guide’s first Abu Dhabi edition. Dinner adds up quickly, so the weekday business lunch at AED 149 is the sensible entry point. The black cod remains as reliable as it is famous.
Emirati cuisine
Meylas (Al Muneera, Al Raha Beach) — Shaikha Al Kaabi’s Emirati kitchen started as a food truck and now holds a MICHELIN nod on Al Raha Beach. The menu reads like a family recipe book: machboos at AED 56, spiced prawn rice at AED 75, balaleet at AED 35.
Al Mrzab (Airport Road) — A Bib Gourmand Emirati-Kuwaiti house with majlis seating and old photographs of the capital on the walls. Chicken machboos goes for about AED 61, and the cooked-to-order khanfaroush with honey is the correct way to finish.
ryba (Souq Al Mina, Mina Zayed) — Emirati chef Faisal Alharmoodi’s seafood room, named for the Russian word for fish. The local catch is grilled over charcoal, and the Bib Gourmand came with the guide’s Opening of the Year award. The Sunday set menu runs AED 350 for two.
Seafood
Catch at St. Regis (The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Corniche) — Seafood-forward cooking with a heavy Japanese accent, MICHELIN Selected and sitting on the Nation Towers stretch of the Corniche. The miso black cod is AED 230 and locally farmed Dibba Bay oysters start at AED 25. The skyline view is free.
Finz (Beach Rotana, Tourist Club Area) — The hotel seafood stalwart, MICHELIN Selected, with a kitchen that leans on Gulf waters. The tasting experience runs AED 320 per person, food only.
Bu Tafish (Khor Al Bateen) — A local institution where you pick your fish by weight and the grill does the rest. Grilled red snapper runs about AED 150 a kilo, and the room is not in the business of ceremony.
International favourites
LPM (The Galleria, Al Maryah Island) — The Galleria’s French-Mediterranean fixture, MICHELIN Selected, and the source of the city’s most reliable burrata. The first LPM brunch launched at AED 375 soft, AED 575 with sparkling. The Tomatini sorbet has its own following.
Sontaya (The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort) — Thai and wider Southeast Asian cooking served over water, named Time Out’s best Asian restaurant of 2026. The stone-bowl fried rice and blackened miso cod are the plates to order. Menu prices are not published.
Villa Toscana (The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Corniche) — Tuscan cooking with hand-cut pasta and a MICHELIN nod. Pastas sit around AED 105, and the weekday antipasti buffet is AED 75. The spaghetti alle vongole does what it says on the tin.
Casual and neighbourhood finds
3Fils (Marsa Al Bateen) — The Dubai cult favourite, now resident at The Abu Dhabi EDITION and a new Bib Gourmand in the 2026 guide. No reservations, a QR-code menu and a brisk turnaround; the African Powerhouse chocolate tart is the sleeper hit. Abu Dhabi menu prices are not published.
Marmellata (Souk Al Mina, Mina Zayed) — A five-day-a-week pizzeria that queues from opening, ranked 16th in MENA’s 50 Best list. Pizzas start around AED 45 and the figs-and-gorgonzola is the one to order. No reservations; get there early or settle for focaccia.
Practical information
Most hotel restaurants take bookings through OpenTable or SevenRooms, and the same applies at Catch, Finz, Talea and Villa Toscana. The exceptions are 3Fils, Marmellata and Al Mrzab, which run on walk-ins and queues, so plan around them.
The dining map breaks down by district. The Corniche holds Emirates Palace and the Nation Towers; Al Maryah Island’s Galleria clusters LPM and Zuma; Saadiyat Island has the resorts and the Mamsha promenade; and Al Bateen and Mina Zayed cover marina and port eating. Yas Island adds its own waterfront strip a short drive away.
Friday brunch is a capital institution, with most licensed hotels running afternoon sessions; LPM’s starts at AED 375. For a cheaper look at the scene, the Taste of Abu Dhabi festival brings the city’s restaurants to one site. New openings land monthly, Solenn being the latest at the Arcades, so treat this list as a starting point.
Prices move and menus change, but these remain the best restaurants in Abu Dhabi worth booking in 2026. Book ahead where you can, take cash for the port, and leave room for dessert.
How much does eating out cost in Abu Dhabi?
From AED 45 pizzas at Marmellata to AED 538 signature menus at Hakkasan. Mid-tier mains run AED 75-150, and the tasting rooms go past AED 500 a head.
Where are the best dining areas in Abu Dhabi?
The Corniche (Emirates Palace, Nation Towers), Al Maryah Island’s Galleria (LPM, Zuma), the Saadiyat Island resorts, and Al Bateen and Mina Zayed for marina and port eating.
Do you need to book restaurants in Abu Dhabi?
Hotel restaurants take bookings through OpenTable or SevenRooms. 3Fils, Marmellata and Al Mrzab run on walk-ins and queues, so plan around them.
What is Abu Dhabi’s most famous food?
Emirati dishes such as machboos, balaleet and fish mathrooba — best tried at Meylas, Al Mrzab, ryba and Erth, which treats UAE cooking as a cuisine rather than a heritage display.
