Dubai’s food media loves to talk about Abu Dhabi like it’s a day trip with good hummus. It isn’t. The capital now has three Michelin-starred restaurants of its own, a Bib Gourmand list that keeps growing, and a stretch of Al Maryah Island where you can eat Peruvian, Japanese and French-Mediterranean within a five-minute walk of each other. What’s Hot in UAE has actually eaten across the city — from Emirates Palace terraces to the plastic-chair machboos joints on the Corniche — so here’s the honest, current list of where to book in Abu Dhabi right now, updated for the 2026 Michelin Guide.
The Quick List: Best Restaurants in Abu Dhabi by Occasion
- Best for a Michelin-starred splurge: Talea by Antonio Guida
- Best for a proper occasion dinner: Hakkasan
- Best Emirati fine dining: Erth
- Best for a lively group night out: COYA or Zuma
- Best Lebanese: Li Beirut
- Best waterfront brunch: LPM, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
- Best budget local eat: Meylas, Al Raha Beach
- Best Bib Gourmand find: 3Fils Abu Dhabi, walk-ins only
Michelin-Starred and Fine Dining in Abu Dhabi
The 2026 Michelin Guide Abu Dhabi handed out stars to three restaurants, and all three deserve the hype.
1. Talea by Antonio Guida
Cuisine: Italian | Location: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, West Corniche | Price: [VERIFY: AED 450–700pp excluding drinks]
One Michelin star, a terrace that looks straight out over the palace gardens, and cacio e pepe finished tableside — this is Milanese chef Antonio Guida’s outpost of his two-Michelin-star Seta in Milan, and it’s the reservation Abu Dhabi’s expats fight over for anniversaries. Go for the pasta tasting menu, not the à la carte.
2. Hakkasan
Cuisine: Modern Cantonese | Location: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, West Corniche | Price: Signature menu around AED 538pp
Also holding a Michelin star, and honestly the more theatrical of the palace’s two headline restaurants — moody lighting, a jasmine-scented dining room, and a Peking duck with caviar that’s become something of a signature. Book the terrace if the weather’s playing along; it’s one of the few fine-dining spots in the city with genuine outdoor seating.
3. Erth
Cuisine: Modern Emirati | Location: Qasr Al Hosn compound, Al Markaziya | Price: [VERIFY: AED 350–550pp excluding drinks]
This is the one Dubai’s guides consistently miss, and it’s arguably the most important restaurant on this list: Erth became the first Emirati restaurant to hold a Michelin star, serving dishes like lamb machboos finished with a sweet teriyaki glaze inside the walls of one of Abu Dhabi’s oldest forts. If you only eat one “local” meal in the capital, make it this one.
4. Bord Eau by Nicolas Isnard
Cuisine: French | Location: Shangri-La Abu Dhabi, Qaryat Al Beri | Price: [VERIFY: AED 450–700pp excluding drinks]
Waterfront views of the Grand Mosque, a dining room that leans formal without being stiff, and a menu from French chef Nicolas Isnard [VERIFY: his Michelin-starred pedigree in France]. It’s less talked about than the Emirates Palace pair simply because Qaryat Al Beri is a slight detour from the city centre — which, if you ask us, makes the sunset view over the water even more worth the drive.
International Icons Worth the Splurge
These are the names you already know from Dubai, Doha or London — and in Abu Dhabi’s case, most of them are genuinely worth the trip rather than a lazy copy-paste of the original.
5. Zuma
Cuisine: Contemporary Japanese | Location: The Galleria, Al Maryah Island | Price: [VERIFY: AED 400–650pp excluding drinks]
Robata grill, a sprawling sushi counter and the same izakaya energy as its Dubai and London siblings, set inside the Abu Dhabi Global Market district. Reliable is underselling it — this is still the table most senior bankers on Al Maryah Island book without thinking twice.
6. COYA
Cuisine: Peruvian | Location: Four Seasons Hotel, The Galleria, Abu Dhabi | Price: [VERIFY: AED 400–650pp excluding drinks]
Ceviches, anticuchos and ceviche-adjacent chaos energy once the DJ starts — COYA is the pick when the table wants a proper night out rather than a quiet dinner. Book a spot near the bar if you want the full effect.
7. LPM
Cuisine: French-Mediterranean | Location: The Galleria, Al Maryah Island | Price: Brunch from AED 375pp; [VERIFY: dinner AED 350–500pp]
Burrata, a Tomatini sorbet that’s oddly become a talking point on its own, and one of the most consistently booked weekend brunches on Al Maryah Island. LPM’s Riviera-leaning menu suits Abu Dhabi’s climate better than most — this is a restaurant built for long lunches with the terrace doors open.
8. Oak Room
Cuisine: Contemporary steakhouse | Location: The Abu Dhabi EDITION, Al Bateen | Price: [VERIFY: AED 450–800pp excluding drinks]
A dedicated meat sommelier, a dry-ageing programme that gets its own mention on the menu, and the kind of dress-code seriousness that suits a business dinner. It’s the steakhouse to book when the client is paying, not you.
9. Villa Toscana
Cuisine: Regional Italian (Tuscany, Umbria, Emilia-Romagna) | Location: The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Nation Tower, Corniche | Price: Starters AED 35–130, mains AED 70–310, sharing Fiorentina AED 900
Handmade pasta, imported prosciutto and cheese, and a 1.6kg Wagyu T-bone Fiorentina built for sharing between two people who genuinely like each other. The seasonal menu changes throughout the year under chef Rosario Martorana, which is more than most hotel Italians in this city bother to do.
10. TAON
Cuisine: Korean BBQ | Location: Al Markaziya, Abu Dhabi | Price: [VERIFY: AED 150–300pp excluding drinks]
Tabletop grills, proper bulgogi, and fried chicken that’s brought people back for seconds within the same week. It’s an independent restaurant rather than a hotel outlet, which shows in the more relaxed, come-as-you-are atmosphere — a genuine gap in a city dominated by five-star dining rooms.
Lebanese and Levantine: Abu Dhabi Does It Better Than People Realise
Between the Lebanese community’s roots in the capital and the sheer density of Levantine restaurants, this is arguably the category where Abu Dhabi quietly outperforms Dubai.
11. Li Beirut
Cuisine: Lebanese fine dining | Location: Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, West Corniche | Price: [VERIFY: AED 250–450pp excluding drinks]
Crispy falafel with wonderfully creamy hummus and smoky moutabal, fattoush with grilled halloumi, and warm bread straight from the oven — Li Beirut remains one of the city’s most consistent Lebanese tables and is included in the 2026 Michelin Guide. [VERIFY: current opening hours, as some older listings referenced a temporary closure]
12. Almayass
Cuisine: Lebanese-Armenian | Location: The Galleria, Al Maryah Island | Price: [VERIFY: AED 150–300pp excluding drinks]
A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick and a proper mezze marathon — order too much on purpose, because the Armenian-inflected dishes (think sujuk, basterma, and manti alongside the usual hummus and tabbouleh) are what set this apart from every other Lebanese spot in the city.
13. Beirut Sur Mer
Cuisine: Lebanese | Location: Mamsha Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Island | Price: [VERIFY: AED 100–250pp excluding drinks]
Another 2026 Bib Gourmand pick, and one of the few beachfront restaurants in Abu Dhabi that does a proper Lebanese breakfast rather than a generic hotel buffet. Sit on the terrace at Soul Beach with mezze and manakish and you’ll understand why this one made the cut over louder, pricier competitors.
Casual, Bib Gourmand and Budget-Friendly Picks
Not every good meal in Abu Dhabi needs a hotel dress code. These are the places locals actually eat at during the week.
14. 3Fils Abu Dhabi
Cuisine: Asian small plates | Location: The Abu Dhabi EDITION, Marsa Al Bateen | Price: [VERIFY: AED 150–300pp excluding drinks]
New to the Bib Gourmand list for 2026, and true to its Dubai original, it’s walk-ins only — no reservations, so turn up and expect to wait. The African Powerhouse chocolate tart has become a genuine reason to visit on its own.
15. Ryba
Cuisine: Seafood and Emirati | Location: Souq Al Mina, Mina Zayed | Price: Sunday set menu from AED 350 for two; [VERIFY: à la carte pricing]
Charcoal-grilled local catch in the old port district, and another Bib Gourmand entry for 2026. Mina Zayed’s dhow harbour setting does half the work for you — this is easily one of the most atmospheric budget-fine-dining crossovers in the city.
16. Meylas
Cuisine: Emirati | Location: Al Muneera, Al Raha Beach | Price: AED 35–75
Machboos, balaleet and other home-style Emirati dishes at prices that make it an easy weekday lunch rather than a special occasion. If a Dubai guide tells you there’s nowhere authentic and affordable to eat local food in the capital, send them here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best Michelin-starred restaurants in Abu Dhabi?
As of the 2026 Michelin Guide, Abu Dhabi has three starred restaurants: Talea by Antonio Guida and Hakkasan, both inside Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, and Erth at Qasr Al Hosn — the first Emirati restaurant anywhere to hold a Michelin star.
Where can you eat well in Abu Dhabi for under AED 100?
Meylas in Al Raha Beach is the standout — home-style Emirati dishes like machboos and balaleet, with most plates between AED 35 and AED 75.
What’s the best area in Abu Dhabi for restaurant-hopping?
The Galleria on Al Maryah Island is the closest thing the capital has to Dubai’s DIFC — Zuma, COYA, LPM and Almayass all sit within walking distance of each other, so it’s the easiest spot to plan a night that involves drinks somewhere else afterwards.
Is Li Beirut in Abu Dhabi still open?
Yes — Li Beirut at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers is included in the 2026 Michelin Guide, which confirms it’s currently operating. [VERIFY: exact current hours before booking, given some older listings referenced a renovation closure].
This guide was last checked and updated in August 2026. Prices and opening details can shift quickly in Abu Dhabi’s fast-moving dining scene, so always confirm directly with the restaurant before booking a special occasion.
