Emiratis love eating well. This was the very first realization I had shortly after I arrived at Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates’ capital is a massive city, and while I acknowledge the fact that the two days that I spent there are nowhere near enough to have an educated opinion on the entire food scene of the city, I do think that I managed to find a few gems during my short but sweet time there. Let us go over some of the finest (and budget-friendliest) spots to eat at in Abu Dhabi and see just why one should not be afraid of eating out in one of the world’s richest countries.
Seashell Café – https://www.instagram.com/seashell_cafe/
As I carried out my research on what to eat all around the UAE, I quickly realized that most recommended spots were actually small local franchises. This is good news, if you ask me. While I am all for mom-and-pop spots that specialize in a dish or two, it is a good sign if a relatively new eatery manages to open a few other branches across their own city, or even country. Seashell Café is one of those unassuming little enterprises. They have an extensive menu full of extremely cheap sandwiches, burgers, rolls, and so on, but it was really their fresh juices that conquered my heart. You can get them with added sugar or sugar free, which seems to be a common question in the UAE, and I sure loved my guava juice without any additives. The shrimp roll was already very tasty with its own sauce and a generous serving of shrimps in it, but what was really welcome was how the staff went out of their way to add some different kinds of chili peppers into my roll just because I wanted it to be extra spicy. Kind staff, cheap prices, and good food, what else can one expect from a local fast-food franchise?
Bait El Khetyar – https://www.instagram.com/bait_elkhetyar
If you are interested in a slower dining out experience, and still wish to enjoy a local franchise, then I can certainly recommend Bait El Khetyar. They specialize in shawarma, falafel, and a few other Arab delicacies. I tried my very first stuffed falafel here, and while I personally seem to prefer the original, I have to say that I can see its appeal for some. I just prefer my falafels to be smaller and thus have a higher crunchy exterior to juicy interior ratio. Nevertheless, what really surprised me for the better in Bait El Khetyar was their excellent muhammara mankosha. I love a good mankosha as much as the next person, but did not manage to find a decent one so far in my travels, likely because I was yet to visit any actual Arab country. The mankosha here tasted divine, though the credit should go to the muhammara itself specifically. Each muhammara I had so far tasted differently, so you really have to get lucky with it I suppose. In any case, this was an exceptionally enjoyable lunch for me, and both the free sides as well as the hospitality of the staff made me feel right at home.
Qasmieh Al-Fawal – http://www.qasmieh.com
Since I had a very limited amount of time in Abu Dhabi, I focused on exploring it to the best of my abilities rather than spending too much time eating out. Spots like Qasmieh Al-Fawal, yet another local franchise, came in a clutch in times like those. I had some of the best falafel I ever had in my life here. I cannot truly put into words just how juicy these things were, it is almost as if they were meatballs oozing with some sort of fat on the inside. They even tasted a bit meaty, though they are certainly vegetarian as I have been assured. While I only asked for a very cheap falafel wrap here, they still brought me some sides and two falafels to taste them as is, which was not only a kind gesture, but also the reason why I can confidently say that their falafels are some of the finest I had. After all, once mixed in with a ton of sauces and vegetables in a wrap, it becomes harder to distinguish how good or bad a falafel really is. This is yet another much recommended spot to say the least.
Koshari Tom and Basal – https://maps.app.goo.gl/RTMUUUGUZT1JTAR87
I more or less chanced upon this spot. While looking for places to eat around my hostel, I first found Qasmieh Al-Fawal on Google Maps, followed by this extraordinarily highly scored Egyptian eatery. As its name gives it away, this fine establishment focuses on perfecting koshary, Egypt’s national dish which consists of different types of pasta, pulses, and a few other goodies mixed in with a fragrant tomato sauce. I tried koshary for the first time here, and while I would go on to try it again in Dubai, it just did not even come close to the taste and mouth feeling I experienced here at Koshari Tom and Basal. The lovely owner insisted that I ordered a smaller size, showing how he cared more about food waste than making a few extra dirhems. He then went ahead to give me some tamarind juice on the house after seeing that I doused my koshary in hot sauce, a sauce that was so flavourful it overpowered my tongue for a while. From the tastiness of its koshary to the friendliness of its generous owner, Koshari Tom and Basal is a must visit eatery in all of Abu Dhabi, and in fact, in the entire UAE. It was not just the food, but also the hospitality of people like the lovely owner of this place that really made my trip to the UAE, a fact that I do not mention enough in this series dedicated to the details of my time over there.
Sangam Vegetarian Restaurant – https://maps.app.goo.gl/yc4Q5EQUs7nEbDoL9
Unfortunately, not all restaurants are created equally. While I adored Arab cuisine during my time in the UAE, I also tried my best to enjoy some Indian and Pakistani food as well, knowing that these countries had huge diasporas living in the Emirates. There were many recommended spots online both in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and while some of these recommendations turned out to be great, some were not so great. Sangam Vegetarian Restaurant, which is not even that cheap outside of its lunch specials, unfortunately did not manage to dish up a basic late-night snack that they declared as one of their specials. The Sangam special rice and pasta as its name suggests was a mix of rice, pasta, and a few different vegetables. For 25 AED, you at least expect some eggs for protein, or perhaps a curry on the side, but none of these arrived. It also was not spiced well enough, which is very odd for an Indian restaurant. In hindsight, I do think that I chose my dish poorly, and that I was there very late at night, however from my own experience alone, I cannot recommend them all that much. There are simply much better spots to eat at in Abu Dhabi.
Lgymat & Rgag – https://www.instagram.com/lgymat
While I rarely have a sweet tooth, I could not help but try the quintessential Emirati dessert when I was visiting the UAE. Of course, I am talking about lgymat, those fried dough balls that are then doused in date syrup. In Turkey, we have a very similar dessert that is instead doused in just normal syrup made out of white sugar. Compared to that, I certainly prefer the Emirati version. Date syrup has a more complex flavour profile, and tasted less sweet to my taste buds, which is actually welcome to someone who does not have a sweet tooth. Moreover, the addition of sesame seeds on top was a step in the right direction for sure. However, above all of this, what changed my mind about eating desserts so rarely when I tasted the lgymat was just how well it paired with the cream cheese it had inside. Yes, you heard that right. You can get your lgymat filled with cream cheese here, and it simply elevates the whole dish in my opinion. In fact, it almost tasted and felt like a full meal to me. This franchise is all around Abu Dhabi, and you can find people queuing up in their cars just in front of their branches to gorge on this extravagant delicacy. This is an Emirati classic that you should not skip.
Shalqar Bakery – https://maps.app.goo.gl/jq5sxDXkB2TkkXQu6
Let me finalize this list with a recommendation that is both so good and so cheap that it is almost unbelievable. Shalqar bakery, is one of the many hole-in-the-wall bakeries that you can find across the UAE, but this one just happens to be found in downtown Abu Dhabi. I do think that they work throughout the day, but just to make sure, I enjoyed their fresh stuffed bread in the early morning, before I visited Louvre Abu Dhabi. There are far too many options to choose from here, which was a much welcome surprise for me. If only I had the time to try more of their fillings… Nevertheless, I opted for a mix of cream cheese and zataar, and let me tell you right away, you cannot get anything tastier for only 5 AED anywhere in the UAE. This is fresh bread baked to order, filled to the brim with extremely tasty zataar and creamy cheese, that fills you up in just the right amount, for less than two USD. How can you possibly beat that value? You cannot. The next time I will be visiting the UAE, I will most certainly rely more on these unassuming little bakeries for my lunch cravings, and you too can do that not only for an extremely budget conscious trip, but also for an extremely flavourful one.
