RFK Rankings · Abu Dhabi
Best Restaurants for Family-Friendly in Abu Dhabi (2026)
Kid-friendly rooms & family brunches · Abu Dhabi · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 18, 2026 · Updated June 18, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Abu Dhabi builds for families harder than most cities, and its restaurants follow. The big resort rooms on Saadiyat and Yas come with kids' menus, high chairs, play areas and a Friday brunch built around children; the corniche and marina rooms come with terraces, beaches and superyacht-watching to keep them occupied. Here is who each table suits, what the kitchen sends out for both adults and children, and how to book it. Six, ranked on how genuinely a child is welcomed, the space and play on hand, the menu and value rather than on glamour alone. Late-night lounge rooms sit in the avoid list.
1.Cipriani
Book the Yas Marina terrace for an easy family lunch: Cipriani's superyacht view keeps children watching.
Cipriani sits over Yas Marina on Yas Island, the glamorous Venetian room of the Cipriani family with a long terrace facing the superyachts and the Yas Marina Circuit. The kitchen runs the group's classics, the baked tagliolini with ham and the vanilla meringue cake among them, and welcomes families at lunch and early evening with a relaxed terrace and easy pasta the children will eat. Expect an upper-end spend. The marina setting, with the boats and the circuit to watch, does the work of keeping younger diners occupied between courses.
This is the table for a polished family lunch with a view to hold a child's attention. Book a terrace table at lunch, order the baked tagliolini, and let the children watch the marina.
Book on the Cipriani site; reserve a terrace table at lunch for the marina view.
2.Li Beirut
Reserve the Corniche room for a shared Lebanese dinner: Li Beirut's mezze and sunset suit a family.
Li Beirut occupies a room in the Conrad at Etihad Towers overlooking the Corniche, a contemporary Lebanese kitchen that mixes traditional and modern dishes. The format suits a family naturally: a long spread of mezze, the hummus and the manakish and the grilled meats, all shared across the table at the children's own pace, with a sunset over the water through the windows. Prices sit in the upper-mid range. The room is calm and generous rather than loud, and the share-plate Lebanese table is among the easiest formats for mixed ages.
This is the table for a relaxed, share-everything Lebanese dinner with children. Reserve for early evening, order a wide mezze spread, and let everyone build their own plate.
Book on the Conrad site; reserve early evening and order a wide mezze spread to share.
3.Cafe Milano
Take the Four Seasons waterfront for a child-easy Italian: Cafe Milano runs a kids' menu and terrace.
Cafe Milano sits in the Four Seasons on Al Maryah Island, a waterfront Italian room from the Georgetown original with a terrace over the marina. The Four Seasons setting brings a proper kids' menu, high chairs and the hotel's family service, and the kitchen's pizzas and pastas are the obvious orders for younger diners while adults take the seafood and the veal. Expect a top-end spend. The terrace over the water, and the easy walk along Al Maryah's promenade before or after, make it a smooth family evening rather than a formal one.
This is the table for a hotel-grade Italian dinner where children are properly catered for. Book a terrace table, order pizzas for the children, and walk the promenade afterward.
Book on the Four Seasons site; reserve the terrace and ask for the kids' menu and high chairs.
4.Beirut Sur Mer
Book the beachside terrace for a barefoot family lunch: Beirut Sur Mer puts the sand at the table.
Beirut Sur Mer is a seaside Lebanese room with a terrace and direct beach access, built for a family meal where the children can move between the table and the sand. The kitchen sends out the familiar Lebanese spread, mezze, grilled meats and fresh fish, all shareable and paced for a long lunch by the water. Prices sit in the mid range. The draw here is the setting rather than the ceremony: a casual beachside terrace where a child can finish lunch and walk straight onto the beach, which makes a two-hour family meal far easier to manage.
This is the table for a barefoot beachside Lebanese lunch with young children. Book a terrace table by the sand, order mezze and grilled fish, and let the children run between courses.
Book a beachside terrace table; order mezze and grilled fish for a long family lunch.
5.Central
Take the kids to the arcade-and-diner combo: Central pairs monster burgers with bowling and a family brunch.
Central is an American-style diner built into a family entertainment complex, where the dining room sits alongside an arcade and a bowling alley. The kid-friendly menu runs to monster burgers, Mexican plates, pizza and oversized lemonades, and the Saturday brunch and Sunday roast are built around families. The pull here is simple: children eat, then play the arcade and bowl while the adults finish, so a meal stretches into an afternoon without restlessness. Prices sit in the mid range. The room is loud, bright and made for the format rather than for quiet dining.
This is the table for a meal that turns into an afternoon out. Book the Saturday brunch, let the children loose on the arcade and lanes, and order the monster burgers.
Book the Saturday family brunch; pair the meal with the arcade and bowling lanes.
6.Sim Sim
Book the Saadiyat resort buffet for fussy eaters: Sim Sim pairs live counters with an outdoor play area.
Sim Sim is the all-day international room at the Saadiyat Rotana Resort, a buffet-led restaurant with live cooking counters and an outdoor play area for children. The format is the point for a family: a wide buffet covers every age and every fussy eater at once, the live stations cook to order, and the children can break away to the play area between plates. The resort setting brings high chairs and family service, and the Friday brunch is built for the school-holiday crowd. Prices sit in the mid-to-upper range. The room is large and relaxed.
This is the table for a buffet that solves a mixed-age family in one booking. Reserve the brunch, send the children to the play area between courses, and graze the live counters.
Book on the Saadiyat Rotana site; reserve the brunch and use the outdoor kids' play area.
Avoid for a family meal
A late-night lounge, not a family room
Abu Dhabi's rooftop and marina lounges turn into late-night, music-led bars in the evening, with no children's menu and a crowd that arrives after a child's bedtime. Skip them for a family meal and keep Cafe Milano or Beirut Sur Mer, where the kitchen and the hours actually suit younger diners.
A formal tasting room, not a kids' table
The city's set-menu and chef's-counter rooms seat to a long, fixed sequence with no flexibility for a restless child. They are a date-night choice, not a family one; for the children, book the buffet at Sim Sim or the diner-and-arcade format at Central instead.
How to eat well with kids in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi's family dining runs through its resorts and its waterfronts. The Saadiyat and Al Maryah hotels, Cafe Milano at the Four Seasons and Sim Sim at the Saadiyat Rotana among them, bring the full kit: kids' menus, high chairs, play areas and a Friday brunch built for children, plus the space a family needs. The move at the resorts is to book the brunch, where the buffet and the live counters solve every age at once and the play areas absorb the gaps between courses.
Off the resorts, the waterfront rooms do the work with setting rather than facilities. Cipriani's marina terrace and superyachts, Li Beirut's Corniche sunset and Beirut Sur Mer's direct beach access all give children something to watch or somewhere to move, and the share-plate Lebanese format is among the easiest for mixed ages. For a meal that becomes an afternoon, Central's arcade-and-diner combo is the outlier. Across the city, the summer heat pushes family lunches indoors or to early evening, so book accordingly.
Frequently asked
Which Abu Dhabi restaurants are best for families with kids?
Cafe Milano at the Four Seasons and Sim Sim at the Saadiyat Rotana lead for facilities, with kids' menus, high chairs, play areas and a family brunch. Central pairs a diner with an arcade and bowling, and the waterfront rooms, Cipriani at Yas Marina, Li Beirut on the Corniche and Beirut Sur Mer on the beach, give children a view or the sand. Book the resort brunches for the easiest mixed-age meal.
Where is the best family brunch in Abu Dhabi?
The resort brunches are built for families. Sim Sim at the Saadiyat Rotana runs live cooking counters with an outdoor kids' play area, and Central's Saturday brunch pairs the meal with an arcade and bowling. Both cover every age and fussy eater at once and let children break away to play between plates, which is what makes a long family brunch manageable. Reserve ahead in school holidays.
Do Abu Dhabi restaurants have kids' menus and high chairs?
The hotel and resort rooms reliably do. Cafe Milano at the Four Seasons and Sim Sim at the Saadiyat Rotana carry kids' menus, high chairs and family service, and Central's whole menu is built around children. The independent waterfront rooms vary, so ask when booking; the share-plate Lebanese format at Li Beirut and Beirut Sur Mer works for children even without a dedicated menu.
Which Abu Dhabi restaurant is best for young children who can't sit still?
Sim Sim at the Saadiyat Rotana and Central are the picks. Sim Sim pairs a buffet with an outdoor play area, so a child can graze and then play, and Central sits beside an arcade and bowling. Beirut Sur Mer's direct beach access lets children move between the table and the sand. All three suit a restless toddler far better than a fixed-menu room.
Are family restaurants in Abu Dhabi expensive?
It ranges. The hotel rooms, Cipriani, Cafe Milano and the resort brunches, sit at the upper end, though the brunch format can be good value for a family that eats across the buffet. Central and Beirut Sur Mer sit in the mid range, and the diner-and-arcade combo at Central buys an afternoon's entertainment as well as a meal. Book the brunches in advance for the best mixed-age value.
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