Buddha-Bar Beach Abu Dhabi

Buddha-Bar Beach is the brand-new concept of luxurious summery lifestyle and dining. Located at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Buddha-Bar Beach has created a fascinating experience of taste, music and style; in Buddha-Bar Beach Abu Dhabi, these two worlds collide, creating an unmet adventure where time stands still. Utter bliss and repose in the chic cultural district of Saadiyat Island, titillating tastes from around the world and the reverent awe awoken by the mystifying sunsets, you can expect nothing less from the Buddha-Bar Beach Abu Dhabi.

The Buddha-Bar Beach menu offers a selection of Pacific Rim cuisine dishes, a masterful blend of fine ingredients and spices where East Chinese, Japanese, Thai and other Asian flavors combine subtly with a zest of the west.

As the sun begins to set we make our way to Buddha-Bar Beach. Located on the shores of the pristine Saadiyat beach, Buddha-Bar Beach has a large outdoor seating area separated into two parts, one an outdoor dining area and the other a lounge area. Inside guests can choose to dine in the spacious dining area, watch as the chefs carefully craft each dish at the sushi counter, relax in the lounge or enjoy a stylish beverage in the bar area.

Before I talk about the food, I must recommend the Care Bear mocktail, when I say wow I mean wow. This mocktail oozes flavor and finesse, this creamy, strawberry masterpiece is amazing. It was that good we ordered about four.

Now onto the dining experience. The menu offers a variety of creatively crafted dishes, fine-tuned to perfection under the guidance of talented Head Chef, Eko Ridwan.

To start we try a selection of Buddha-Bar Beach specialty sushi rolls and sashimi. The sashimi consists of Tuna, Salmon, Otoro and Yellowtail. The quality of the fish is beyond anything that we have tasted, the Otoro, the most desired part of the blue fin tuna belly is especially delicious. The sushi however is exceptional, just when we thought we had tasted every sushi dish possible chef and his team introduce us to the Terishake Rolls with Prawn Furai, Cream Cheese, Salmon, Lime, Teriyaki Sauce, Yuzu Gel. The freshness of the lime was unexpected but most welcome.

Next we sample the famous Buddha-Bar Chicken Salad, Five Spiced Grilled Chicken Thigh, Napa Cabbage, Sesame Based Buddha-Bar Sauce. Unexpectedly we are really impressed with the salad, bursting with flavor we never expected to be so wowed by a salad.

Next the ceviche, we sample small portions of Hamachi Ceviche and the Maguro Wasabi Ceviche. In comparison we would recommend the Maguro Wasabi Ceviche, infusing wasabi and truffle with each bite you taste the richness of the truffle followed by a beautiful tangy of the ceviche.

For the soup we try the Mediterranean style Tom Yum Soup with Red Snapper, King Prawns, Shimeji Mushrooms, Asparagus and Wakame. We love the unique twist, and best of all the staff ask us how spicy we would like the soup.

Our favorite dish, the Deep-Fried Lobster Dumplings on a Tom Yum Cream Sauce, topped with Papaya Salad and sprinkled with Crispy Nori. This dish really does take your senses on a journey of flavor, from the thick lobster, creamy Tom Yum to the zesty Papaya Salad and the crunchy salty Nori.

For the mains we enjoy the Ama Miso Glacier 51 Toothfish and the Thai Red Curry. It was the first time we tried toothfish and we really enjoyed the flavor its very similar to crab. The Miso and truffle dust add a rich underlining tone to the dish.

Concluding our dining experience, we indulge in the Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Ice Cream. The rich 70% dark chocolate oozes out of the soft spongy casing, making it a superb ending to an exhilarating evening of exquisite dining.

Overall Buddha-Bar Beach Abu Dhabi located at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort exceeded our expectations, from service, taste to presentation, this restaurant is making its mark on Abu Dhabi’s dining scene and we think its just raised the bar for dining in the city.

Buddha-Bar Beach Abu Dhabi, 02 498 8888