Looking for the best French restaurants in Abu Dhabi? The useful answer depends on whether you want Riviera-style sharing plates, a Parisian brasserie, melted raclette by the beach or a traditional neighbourhood bistro. This guide compares six current choices by style, location, price and occasion—and flags a major temporary closure before you book.
Related: explore our full Saadiyat Island area guide for the Cultural District, Louvre Abu Dhabi, beaches and things to do.
Checked and updated 29 July 2026: opening details and published offers were verified against restaurant, hotel, destination and Michelin Guide sources. Offers and hours can change, so use the booking links below for same-day confirmation.
Best French restaurants in Abu Dhabi at a glance
| Restaurant | Best for | Area | Useful price or booking detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPM Abu Dhabi | French Riviera flavours and business lunch | Al Maryah Island | Weekday lunch from AED 135 in July; verify the current offer |
| Fouquet’s Abu Dhabi | A Louvre day and Parisian brasserie atmosphere | Saadiyat Island | Business lunch from AED 165, Tuesday to Friday |
| Taparelle | All-day French-Italian dining and art-district atmosphere | Manarat Al Saadiyat | Open from breakfast; Michelin Selected 2026 |
| Raclette Brasserie & Café | Cheese, brasserie classics and a sea view | Mamsha Al Saadiyat | Open from 9am; booking advised at weekends |
| Le Beaujolais | Traditional French bistro cooking | Novel Hotel City Center | Daily noon to midnight |
| Le Bistrot | A lower-cost three-course lunch | Sheraton Abu Dhabi | Business lunch from AED 115 |
Fast answer: choose LPM for polished French-Mediterranean food, Fouquet’s for a cultural date, Taparelle for a relaxed all-day meal, Raclette for classic comfort food, Le Beaujolais for old-school bistro character and Le Bistrot for the most accessible published set-menu price.
Monica’s perspective: After years covering Abu Dhabi’s dining scene, I find the most useful distinction is not simply “casual” versus “fine dining”. Decide which French tradition you actually want. LPM’s sunny Niçoise influence is a very different proposition from Le Beaujolais’ provincial bistro cooking or Raclette’s cheese-led brasserie menu. That choice will do more for your evening than chasing the longest awards list.
1. LPM Abu Dhabi: best for French Riviera flavours
LPM is the strongest fit when you want polished French-Mediterranean cooking rather than heavy Parisian classics. The menu takes its cues from the Côte d’Azur: vegetables, olive oil, seafood and simply grilled meat sit alongside recognisable LPM signatures. It also works well for sharing, which makes it a better group choice than a rigid tasting-menu restaurant.
The restaurant is at The Galleria on Al Maryah Island. Its official July business-lunch menu lists one starter and a main for AED 135, or two starters and a main for AED 180, Monday to Friday from noon to 3.30pm. The separate Le Signature sharing menu is published at AED 450 per person with a two-person minimum. Treat promotional menus as date-sensitive and check the live page when booking.
Choose it for: business lunch, a smart group dinner or a meal where lighter Mediterranean flavours matter more than traditional sauces. For the longer Sunday format, see our dedicated LPM La Vie en Rosé brunch guide.
2. Fouquet’s Abu Dhabi: best French restaurant for a Louvre day
Fouquet’s occupies a setting no other French restaurant in the capital can copy: Louvre Abu Dhabi. The menu is created in collaboration with chef Pierre Gagnaire and interprets the Parisian brasserie format in a museum setting. It is the obvious choice for visitors who want lunch or dinner to form part of a Saadiyat culture day, rather than making a separate trip across the city.
The restaurant’s official website advertises a Tuesday-to-Friday business lunch from noon to 4pm: AED 165 for two courses or AED 200 for three. There is one scheduling wrinkle worth knowing. Fouquet’s own hours panel currently includes Monday, while the Louvre Abu Dhabi host page says the restaurant is closed on Monday. Until those pages agree, book Tuesday to Sunday or call before travelling on a Monday.
Choose it for: a date built around Louvre Abu Dhabi, visiting guests or a polished weekday lunch. Fouquet’s is Michelin Selected in the 2026 Abu Dhabi Guide; that is a recommendation, not a Michelin star.
3. Taparelle: best all-day French-Italian restaurant
Taparelle is the new-generation option in this list. Located at Manarat Al Saadiyat, it combines French and Italian influences in a light, contemporary space and runs from breakfast into dinner. The flexibility matters: it can handle coffee after an exhibition, an unhurried lunch or a licensed evening meal without feeling like three different venues stitched together.
The restaurant’s current site lists daily hours from 8am to 11pm. Taparelle also joined the Michelin Guide Abu Dhabi selection for 2026, making it one of the most important omissions from older French-restaurant roundups. It is French-Italian rather than strictly French, so purists wanting boeuf bourguignon or a classic Parisian room should choose Le Beaujolais or Fouquet’s instead.
Choose it for: breakfast-to-dinner flexibility, Manarat Al Saadiyat visits and groups that want both French and Italian options.
4. Raclette Brasserie & Café: best for cheese and Saadiyat views
Raclette is the most literal comfort-food choice here. Its published menu spans melted raclette, escargots, foie gras, bouillabaisse, roast chicken, steak frites and desserts including crêpe Suzette, profiteroles and tarte Tatin. The Mamsha Al Saadiyat setting adds sea views and makes it easy to pair lunch with a beach walk or a visit to the island’s cultural district.
The Saadiyat Island venue listing gives current hours as 9am to midnight Sunday to Thursday and 9am to 1am Friday and Saturday. The venue also takes reservations through TableCheck. If raclette cheese is the reason for your visit, confirm availability when booking rather than assuming every cheese format runs all day.
Choose it for: a casual French meal, cheese-led dishes, families and a beachfront Saadiyat setting.
5. Le Beaujolais: best traditional French bistro
Le Beaujolais is the counterpoint to Abu Dhabi’s glossy restaurant openings. Inside Novel Hotel City Center on Sheikh Hamdan Street, it leans into provincial French cooking, a homely room, blackboard specials and a vintage jukebox. The hotel describes it as a long-running gathering place for French and European residents, with ingredients and recipes drawn from different regions of France.
The Novel Hotel dining page lists it as open daily from noon to midnight. The same hotel currently advertises a separate AED 249 “Dine & Chill” package, but offers can end without notice; confirm the package directly rather than treating it as the standard à la carte price.
Choose it for: traditional bistro atmosphere, regional French dishes and diners who value character over spectacle.
6. Le Bistrot: best-value published set lunch
Le Bistrot at Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort is another French-Italian hybrid, but it earns its place through a useful price point. The hotel’s current page advertises a three-course business lunch from AED 115, served daily from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. That is the lowest first-party set-menu price we found among the six venues in this guide.
The room offers indoor and outdoor seating on Corniche Road. Check the Sheraton’s live Le Bistrot page because its general opening-hours field and its lunch-service information are displayed separately. If your priority is strictly French cooking rather than a broader European menu, Le Beaujolais is the clearer fit.
Choose it for: a three-course weekday or weekend lunch at a comparatively accessible published price.
Important 2026 closure: Bord Eau is temporarily shut
Bord Eau by Nicolas Isnard deserves attention, but it should not currently appear in an “open now” list. The Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri page states that the Michelin Selected restaurant is closed for summer until 31 August 2026. Put it on a September shortlist rather than travelling there in July or August. Also note the precise distinction: Nicolas Isnard is a Michelin-starred chef, while Bord Eau’s Abu Dhabi venue is Michelin Selected—not itself Michelin-starred.
French restaurants in Abu Dhabi that are no longer current picks
Les Dangereux: live local results now mark the venue closed, so it has been removed from the active recommendations. Older articles may still describe it as open because it received Michelin’s Opening of the Year award in 2024. Awards do not prove current trading status.
Parisian Café at Nation Towers: we could not find a sufficiently current first-party restaurant page to verify its 2026 hours and menu. It is therefore not included in the ranked list. A venue should not stay in a “best” guide merely because older directory pages remain online.
Which French restaurant should you book?
- Best overall for a polished meal: LPM Abu Dhabi.
- Best for a date or visitor itinerary: Fouquet’s at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
- Best new all-day choice: Taparelle.
- Best casual brasserie: Raclette at Mamsha Al Saadiyat.
- Best traditional bistro: Le Beaujolais.
- Best published set-menu value: Le Bistrot.
For a broader plan beyond French dining, use our Abu Dhabi guide to match dinner with the city’s museums, beaches and nightlife.
How this guide was checked
We compared current restaurant and hotel pages, destination listings, live local-search status and the Michelin Guide Abu Dhabi 2026 selection. Published prices are included only where a first-party source supports them. We have not represented every restaurant as personally visited, and we do not convert old awards, directory entries or press language into present-day facts. Last full verification: 29 July 2026.
