Now that the second edition of the MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi selection is out, it’s time to share which dishes MICHELIN’s famously anonymous inspectors loved the most. With a total of 46 restaurants making the list this year, these six dishes managed to leave their mark on MICHELIN’s inspectors during their eating routine.
Discover what they picked and their thoughts on each dish below!
Read about MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi's latest selection for 2024
Erth - Deconstructed Date Cake
One MICHELIN Star, MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi 2024Cuisine: Emirati
Inspector’s notes: The key word here is deconstructed. Clearly not a ‘cake’ but the dish aims to offer all the elements of this traditional Emirati dish. It features dates of course, a cream, a gel, part of the batheeth, here as a crumb. There’s a cremeux of chocolate and to counter all this sweetness, a tangy blueberry jam. It’s an attractive dish with lots of textures that reinvents this traditional dessert successfully.
One MICHELIN Star: High quality cooking, worth a stop!
Talea by Antonio Guida - Fettuccina alla nerano
One MICHELIN Star, MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi 2024Cuisine: Italian
Inspector’s notes: Evenly thick strips of homemade fettuccina, or fettucine as it is also known, cooked perfectly, with spot on seasoning too. Served mixed with a compote of softened zucchini and topped with slices of crisped zucchini, which naturally added a good texture. Lightly dressed in a smooth parmesan cream sauce, obviously rich but with there being just the right amount in the dish it didn’t make the dish overly rich. The simple dish is skillfully balanced with flavours and textures that went well together. It represents the ethos of Italian cooking in one dish, simple to look at but with wonderful depth of superb flavours and textures.
One MICHELIN Star: High quality cooking, worth a stop!
Oii - Panna Cotta
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi 2024Cuisine: Mediterranean
Inspector’s notes: A deep bowl with a perfectly set, wonderfully smooth panna cotta in its base, speckled with vanilla that adds a little more flavour and shows the kitchen know how to enhance the flavours. Softened, macerated and neatly quartered strawberries with lovely sharpness and clear strawberry juice cut the richness perfectly. Cubes of well sugared shortbread added texture and sweetness, while fresh basil added some fragrance to finish the simple looking dish with hidden depth perfectly.
Bib Gourmand • Inspectors’ favourites for good value
Les Dangereux - Carpaccio
Opening of the Year Award Winner, MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi 2024Cuisine: Creative
Inspector’s notes: This dish is called ‘Carpaccio’. Well, it looks like a carpaccio, ultra-thin slices of what looks prime beef fillet, there’s flakes of Parmesan, a glistening dressing that might be olive oil and some greenery that might be arugula. You first mouthful reveals it’s not beef, but what is it? As they say on the menu “Non-disclosure agreement”, they ask you to guess what the ‘carpaccio’ is made with. Its original and it works, prepare to be surprised when you learn what the dish is made from.
VaKaVa - Lomo Saltado
Selected, MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi 2024Cuisine: Latin American
Inspector’s notes: A specialty of the chef and understandably so. Neatly cut cubes of very tender and flavour-filled beef, nicely pink, and served on a generous portion of softened creamy rice, with its subtle spiced element adding another flavour to the dish – a delicious combination. Crunchy red onions, pieces of juicy tomato added texture and freshness and it was all drizzled with a strong beef sauce, almost like thick gravy and it just complimented everything on the plate. A little bit of South America in the Middle East.
Finz - Organic Local Hamour
Selected, MICHELIN Guide Abu Dhabi 2024Cuisine: Seafood
Inspector's notes: Great to taste organic fish that was caught in the Persian Gulf. Perfectly cooked and meaty, this hamour or grouper, was wonderfully fresh with its great natural flavour enhanced by a little careful charring. A delicious creamy garlic sauce complimented the fish perfectly and the plain rice a perfect partner. Seafood in an area that is tough to source or produce, this fish was caught in the Persian Gulf.
