Comfortably sat in the very upper echelons of Abu Dhabi's thriving dining scene is Hakkasan. This global brand has become a household name in Cantonese fine dining, with this site becoming the fourth to earn a coveted Michelin star. Housed in the glamorous Emirates Palace, this is truly a restaurant like no other, boasting a stunning terrace, stylish interiors and a cool, buzzy vibe one would expect from a restaurant of this calibre. The furnishings are mostly natural wood, with Chinese-style screens to break up the space and plants hanging overhead. On the menu, meanwhile, you'll find a selection of elevated Cantonese fare with cocktails to match.
Diners here can start things off with dim sum. But, this being one of the world's very best Chinese restaurants, the dim sum is far from ordinary. Instead, you'll see decadent ingredients like wagyu, black garlic, Chilean seabass and truffle prepared into stunning dumplings and snacks. Other smaller eats follow a similar theme, such as Jasmine tea-smoked wagyu ribs, soft shell crab with red chilli and curry leaf or chargrilled octopus with Szechuan sauce. The mains, however, are the real showstoppers. Each dish is a masterpiece, with options including typhoon lobster with radish cake, garlic and chilli, grilled local red snapper with supreme spicy sauce or even an A5 wagyu sirloin with black truffle honey sauce. Desserts include the famous Hakka platter, featuring hazelnut parfait, spikey lemon, sweet caviar and chocolate souffle.
To drink, the options are just as elegant as the food. The 'Hakkatini', for example, is a refined blend of Grey Goose l'orange vodka, campari, grand marnier, apple and grapefruit bitters. For something a little bubblier, the mistress of deception is a more playful mix of Ketel One vodka, Aperol, passion fruit reduction, pomegranate and rosé Champagne. Elsewhere, you'll find a top-end roster of wine and spirits too.