The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi has announced its flagship Abu Dhabi Culinary Season event will be expanded to support a year-round programme of F&B experiences across the emirate, with the first addition to the menu a multi-promotion ‘Travel Through Food’ campaign. This seasonal initiative will encourage UAE foodies to explore a world of diverse culinary experiences in the safe and secure surroundings of Abu Dhabi this summer.
The previous edition of the six-week Abu Dhabi Culinary Season food festival shined the spotlight on the emirate as a global dining destination, home to a geographically-expansive and culturally-unique culinary landscape. Now, culinary events will be year-round, with the ‘Travel Through Food’ event championing a series of F&B promotions woven into Retail Abu Dhabi’s ‘Unbox Amazing’ summer campaign. This annual shopping promotion initiative runs until August 31 across more than 3,500 retail outlets and over 20 malls, many of which will feature expansive dining options.
‘Travel Through Food’ promotions will include unmissable Chef’s Table experiences at some of Abu Dhabi’s premium F&B concepts, an expansive roster of ‘Dine & Stay’ packages at top hotels across the UAE capital, as well as discounted menus covering all budgets run in partnership with Zomato, and Big Brekkie Adventures, which will highlight the vast array of international breakfasts available across Abu Dhabi.
For the culinary connoisseurs, the Chef’s Table series encompasses 10 specially curated cuisine menus reflecting global flavours. The first in the series will focus on exploration and feature unique menus available for the month of August only. The chef in each host venue will engage with diners at the event, discussing the story behind each dish, the origin of the ingredients and the creative process behind the menu items.
The Chef’s Table line-up includes a French feast at Fouquet’s, Italian delights at Cipriani, a Peruvian journey at COYA, incredible Asian fare at Sontaya and a sumptuous Indian spread at Punjab Grill amongst other tempting limited-edition menus across the city.
Each interactive Chef’s Table venue will roll-out a sumptuous five-course menu with vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus starting at only Dh350 per person without beverages.
Foodies will be able to enjoy dinner on the house with ‘Dine & Stay’ packages booked at participating hotels throughout July and August, with a specially curated menu exclusive to guests staying the night. The exclusive menus will highlight a range of cuisines including Middle Eastern, Italian and Thai, with restaurants telling stories through food, particularly about origins and history.
A roster of more than fifteen hotels and restaurants are involved, including Bab Al Qasr’s Mediterranean inspired Rosemary Restaurant, Grand Hyatt’s authentic Italian Verso Italian Trattoria, and Park Rotana’s East meets West concept, Teatro.
For foodies keen to ensure value for money at restaurants across the capital, table reservations made via Zomato’s booking platform will enjoy exclusive discounts of between 10 - 40 per cent and 2-for-1 deals at more than 400 participating restaurants.
If diners are in the mood for Indian cuisine, restaurants include Tamba and Ushna, while Middle Eastern food-lovers can head to Nasr Restaurant & Grill and Zahrat Lebnan. Food fans dreaming of vacations in America can visit Chops & Shrimps and Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill. If Asia was on any foodies’ summer travel wish list, Ming’s Chamber and Smoking Doll have it covered, whilst Mexican delights can be enjoyed at Taco De Casa and The Healthy Shop. For European fare, Larte and Le Beaujolais take top billing, while African dishes are available at Itran and Galitos.
