General Information » Culture & Lifestyle » Food & Drink

Abu Dhabi offers pretty much every type of international cuisine imaginable. While most restaurants are located in hotels and are thus licensed to serve alcohol, some of the best places to eat are the small street side stands around town. Refer to the Going Out section for more details on everything available to quench both hunger and thirst.

Arabic Cuisine

Arabic cuisine is very meat oriented and, with the exception of the 'meze', not really vegetarian friendly. Whilst modern Arabic cuisine comes from a blend of Moroccan, Tunisian, Iranian, Egyptian and Afghani cooking styles, in Abu Dhabi, the term invariably refers to Lebanese food. Road side stands selling ‘shawarma’ (lamb or chicken sliced from a spit and served in Arabic bread) and ‘falafel’ (mashed chickpeas and sesame seeds, rolled into balls and deep fried) are worth a visit at least once. Meze, often a meal in its own right, is a selection of dishes, popular as a starter, it is a variety of appetisers served with Arabic bread, a green salad and radioactive pickles! Dishes can include ‘humous’ (ground chickpeas, oil and garlic), ‘tabouleh’ (parsley and cracked wheat salad with tomato, etc.), ‘fatoush’ (lettuce, tomatoes, etc., with grilled Arabic bread), and ‘fattayer’ (small, usually hot, pastries filled with cottage cheese and spinach).

Charcoal grilling of meat and fish is popular. 'Khouzi' is a Ramadan favourite (whole lamb served on a bed of rice, mixed with nuts), an authentic local dish also served at the ‘mansaf’, a traditional, formal Bedouin dinner with dishes placed on the floor in the centre of a ring of seated guests. Other typical dishes include ‘kibbeh’ (deep fried mince, pine nuts and bulgur) or a variety of kebabs.

The meal ends with Lebanese sweets, which are delicious but extremely sweet. The most widely known are ‘baklava’ (filo pastry layered with honey and pistachio nuts) and ‘umm Ali’ (‘mother of Ali’ in English), a dessert with layers of milk, bread, raisins and nuts.

Pork

Pork is not included on the Arabic menu. Do not underestimate how taboo this meat is to a Muslim. Its restriction is not just in eating the meat, but also in the preparation and service. Thus to serve pork, restaurants need a separate fridge, equipment, preparation and cooking areas, etc., while supermarkets need a separate pork area in the shop and separate storage facilities. Images of pigs can also cause offence.

Additionally, in Islam, it is forbidden to consume the blood or meat of any animal that has not been slaughtered in the correct manner. The meat of animals killed in accordance with the Is...