RFK Rankings · Abu Dhabi
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Abu Dhabi (2026)
Brunch · Abu Dhabi · 8 brunches ranked · Updated May 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published February 14, 2026 · Updated May 30, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
AED 495 buys four hours at the robata counter, a glass that never empties and shrimp tempura under yuzu chilli: that is Saturday Baikingu at Zuma, and it sets the bar for the Abu Dhabi weekend. Brunch here is a Saturday institution, not a casual Sunday egg run, and the city does it at scale: hotel buffets with eighteen live stations, Peruvian sharing tables, a one-star Cantonese terrace that opens once a month. The rooms below were checked against the Time Out Abu Dhabi 2026 brunch guide and each venue's own booking page for day, price and tier. These eight are where the capital eats on a weekend, ranked.
1.Zuma
The benchmark luxe brunch: robata wagyu, yuzu-chilli shrimp tempura, four hours of pours from AED 495. Book it.
Zuma runs its Saturday Baikingu brunch at The Galleria on Al Maryah Island from 12:30 to 4pm, and it is the weekend table other rooms are measured against. The format is the izakaya Rainer Becker built in London, scaled up: sashimi and nigiri, the signature shrimp tempura under yuzu chilli mayonnaise, robata wagyu ribeye and miso black cod, all brought in waves rather than queued at a buffet. Tiers run AED 495 soft, 595 house and 695 with bubbly, with children four to twelve at AED 195. The cooking holds its standard across the long sitting, which is the rare thing at this price. Book a robata-counter view and pace yourself; the dessert run is generous.
Reserve Saturday Baikingu on the Zuma site or OpenTable; ask for the robata side.
2.Crust
The Four Seasons flagship buffet, chef Christian Buenrostro's seafood stations the draw, AED 345 soft. The all-rounder pick. Try it.
Crust is the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi buffet brunch on Al Maryah Island, Saturday 1 to 4pm, run by executive chef Christian Buenrostro. It is the city's most complete spread rather than its loudest: Middle Eastern mezze, a serious seafood-on-ice station, Western roasts, Asian woks and a dessert room that punches above the room's calm tone. Pricing is AED 345 soft and 445 house, which lands it among the better-value top-tier buffets in the capital. For a family or a mixed group that wants range without a party soundtrack, this is the dependable choice. The live stations are where to spend your appetite; the seafood is replenished hard.
Book Crust on the Four Seasons site or OpenTable; arrive at 1pm for the seafood.
3.COYA Abu Dhabi
Pisco-bar canapes, ceviche by the bowl and a DJ from AED 398; the lively Peruvian pick. Go.
COYA brings its Lima-by-way-of-London energy to the Saturday brunch at the Four Seasons on Al Maryah Island, running 12:30 to 5pm with food last orders at 4:30. The meal opens at the Pisco Bar with canapes, then moves through ceviches, tiraditos and Peruvian sharing plates with a DJ working the room and skyline views behind. Tiers are AED 398 soft and 548 house, with children four to twelve at AED 180. It is the brunch to pick when the group wants the afternoon to turn into something, not the one for a quiet catch-up. Take the ceviche and the anticuchos before the larger plates, and keep a seat near the bar.
Reserve the COYA brunch on OpenTable; request a table near the Pisco Bar.
4.Hakkasan
A one-star terrace brunch one Friday a month, Peking duck and dim sum from AED 538; the rare-ticket pick. Plan ahead.
Hakkasan inside the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental on the West Corniche holds one MICHELIN star in the 2026 Abu Dhabi guide, and its Night Brunch on the Terrace is the most exclusive weekend table in the city. The catch is the format: it runs the first Friday of each month only, 8 to 11pm, as an evening sharing brunch rather than a daytime buffet. The sharing menu moves through dim sum, the signature Peking duck and Cantonese mains with a DJ under the palace lights. Pricing is AED 538 house and 728 with bubbly. Seats are described locally as gold dust, so this is a date you put in the calendar a month out. It is a one-star kitchen at brunch prices, which is the reason to chase it.
Book the first-Friday Night Brunch through Hakkasan well ahead; it sells out.
5.Oléa
The Ritual Brunch at Saadiyat, testi kebab and salt-baked seabass from AED 375; the resort pick. Worth the drive.
Oléa runs The Ritual Brunch at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Saturday 1 to 4pm, on the quieter island beyond the city. The buffet leans toward live stations with personality: a Turkish testi kebab cracked open at the table, a charcoal Moroccan tagine, salt-baked whole seabass and fresh sushi alongside a flame grill. Tiers are AED 375 soft, 475 house and 575 with bubbly. The pull here is the setting as much as the food, a resort brunch where the afternoon can spill onto Saadiyat's beach afterward. It is the choice for a weekend that is meant to feel like a small escape rather than a meal in town. Build the plate around the testi kebab and the seabass.
Reserve the Ritual Brunch through the St Regis Saadiyat; pair it with a beach afternoon.
6.Safina
A beachfront brunch at Saadiyat Beach Club, lobster and a Wellington carving station from AED 345; the toes-in-sand pick. Take it.
Safina is the restaurant behind the Saturday brunch at Saadiyat Beach Club, 1 to 4pm, the closest the capital gets to a genuine beach brunch with real cooking. The spread runs farm-to-beach: Thai beef salad, poached lobster, a lamb rack and a Beef Wellington carving station, with sushi and ceviche to start. Tiers are AED 345 soft, 445 house and 545 premium. The beach-club setting means the meal comes with a daybed afternoon if you want one, which is the appeal over a hotel ballroom. It is built for a group that wants sun and sand with its brunch rather than air-conditioning and a buffet line. Order the lobster and the Wellington, then move to the loungers.
Book the Safina brunch on the Saadiyat Beach Club site; ask about beach access.
7.The Grand Brunch
The biggest buffet in town, 145 dishes and a Grand Mosque view from AED 345; the best-value pick. A safe bet.
The Grand Brunch at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, on Khor Al Maqta with a clean view of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, is the value champion of the Abu Dhabi weekend. The numbers do the talking: more than 145 dishes across eighteen-plus live stations, including a twenty-variety pastry table, served Saturday 1 to 4pm at AED 345 soft and 495 house. Nobody leaves hungry, and the price undercuts most of the island hotels for a comparable amount of food. It is the brunch for an appetite and a budget rather than a scene, and the mosque view from the terrace is the best free upgrade on this list. Pace the stations; the seafood and the carving counter are where to focus.
Reserve The Grand Brunch on the Fairmont site; book a terrace table for the mosque view.
8.Nahaam
The Conrad's Brunch Club with a walk-in cheese room and live music from AED 395; the polished West Corniche pick. Settle in.
Nahaam runs the Saturday Brunch Club at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers on the West Corniche, a polished hotel brunch with a few standout features. The walk-in cheese room is the signature, backed by a broad international buffet, a seafood station and live music rather than a DJ, which keeps it civilised. Tiers are AED 395 soft, 525 house and 695 with bubbly. The Etihad Towers address gives it a grown-up, business-district calm that suits a long lunch with parents or visiting colleagues. It is the choice when you want a serious buffet without the party energy of the island brunches. Start at the cheese room, then work the seafood before the hot stations.
Book the Brunch Club at the Conrad Etihad Towers on the Hilton site; the cheese room is the move.
Avoid for brunch
Great rooms, wrong format for a weekend brunch
99 Sushi Bar. The Al Maryah counter is one of the capital's best sushi rooms, but it lost its MICHELIN star in the 2026 guide and does not run a weekend brunch. It is an omakase and a la carte room built for a focused dinner or a weekday lunch, not a four-hour buffet sitting. Keep it for a solo counter meal instead.
BENJARONG and Sontaya. Both are accomplished Thai-leaning dinner rooms that frequently turn up on Abu Dhabi best-of lists, but neither runs a published weekend brunch. Booking either expecting a brunch buffet ends in a quiet a la carte dinner at brunch o'clock. Save them for an evening table when you want the kitchen at full attention.
Café del Mar. The Yas Bay beach club does run a Friday brunch at around AED 349, but it is a party brunch where the pool and the DJ are the point and the food is secondary. Choose it for a celebration with a crowd, not for a meal you will remember on Sunday. For food-led value, the Fairmont's Grand Brunch is the better call.
How to book brunch in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi brunch is a Saturday event, with a few rooms moving to Friday or Sunday, so confirm the day before you build a weekend around it. Most of the island hotels take bookings through their own sites, SevenRooms or OpenTable, and the popular tables at Zuma, COYA and the Saadiyat resorts fill a week or more out in peak season. The one date that needs real planning is Hakkasan's first-Friday Night Brunch, which is monthly and sells out fast.
Tier pricing is the thing to read closely: soft covers food and non-alcoholic drinks, house adds standard pours, and the bubbly tier is usually a steep jump for sparkling rather than better food. For value, the Fairmont's Grand Brunch and Crust at the Four Seasons give the most food per dirham, while Zuma and COYA charge for the scene as much as the plate. Children's pricing applies at most of the buffets, so flag a family booking when you reserve. If you want a quieter table, ask for the first sitting; the rooms get loud after 2pm.
Frequently asked
How much does brunch cost in Abu Dhabi?
Most top-tier Abu Dhabi brunches run from about AED 345 to AED 695 a head depending on the drinks tier. The soft tier, which covers food and soft drinks, starts near AED 345 at the Fairmont Grand Brunch and Crust at the Four Seasons. House-beverage tiers add roughly AED 100, and the bubbly tier with sparkling pushes Zuma to AED 695. Children four to twelve are usually priced separately, around AED 180 to 195. The best value for the volume of food is the Fairmont's Grand Brunch.
Which day is brunch in Abu Dhabi?
Saturday is the main brunch day in Abu Dhabi since the UAE moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend. Zuma, Crust, COYA, Oléa, Safina, the Fairmont Grand Brunch and Nahaam all run their headline brunch on Saturday afternoon, typically 1 to 4 or 4:30pm. A handful of rooms run Sunday or Friday instead: some beach-club brunches fall on Friday, and Hakkasan's terrace Night Brunch is the first Friday of each month. Always confirm the day on the venue's booking page before you plan.
What is the best brunch in Abu Dhabi?
For the strongest cooking across a long sitting, Zuma's Saturday Baikingu on Al Maryah Island is the benchmark, with robata wagyu and yuzu-chilli shrimp tempura brought to the table rather than queued at a buffet. If you want the most food for the money, the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr Grand Brunch serves more than 145 dishes with a Grand Mosque view from AED 345. For a one-star kitchen, Hakkasan's monthly terrace brunch is the rare ticket. The right answer depends on your priority: food, value or a scene.
Are there family-friendly brunches in Abu Dhabi?
Yes. The hotel buffet brunches are the family pick, with separate children's pricing and space to move. Crust at the Four Seasons and the Fairmont Grand Brunch both run calm, food-led buffets that suit a mixed-age group, and Safina at Saadiyat Beach Club lets children move between the table and the sand. Avoid the late-afternoon party brunches such as Café del Mar at Yas Bay, which are built around a DJ and a pool. Book the first sitting, around 1pm, for the quietest room.
Do you need to book brunch in Abu Dhabi in advance?
Yes, especially in the cooler months from October to April when the city's brunch scene is busiest. Zuma, COYA and the Saadiyat resort brunches often fill a week or more ahead on a Saturday, and Hakkasan's monthly terrace Night Brunch sells out within days of opening. Most rooms book through their own sites, SevenRooms or OpenTable. Walk-ins are rarely seated at the popular tables. If you want a specific area, such as Zuma's robata side or a Fairmont terrace table, request it when you reserve rather than on arrival.
Where is the best-value brunch in Abu Dhabi?
The Grand Brunch at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr is the clear value pick, serving more than 145 dishes across eighteen-plus live stations from AED 345, with a view of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque thrown in. Crust at the Four Seasons is the other strong-value choice at AED 345 soft for a more refined buffet on Al Maryah Island. Both undercut the scene-driven island brunches such as Zuma and COYA, where a chunk of the price pays for the atmosphere rather than the plate.
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