Dine around The Village at Le Méridien Abu Dhabi

This evening we are visiting The Village at Le Méridien Abu Dhabi for an exclusive dine around. The Village is a popular hangout, located in a private garden it offers guests a collection of restaurants, serving cuisines from around the globe.

As we arrive we are warmly greeted by Francisco, the Food and Beverage Director at Le Méridien Abu Dhabi. Enthusiastically Francisco explains each restaurant concept, he spends the rest of the night dashing around The Village attending to guests and ensuring that everyone is having an enjoyable evening.

To begin our dine around experience we visit the Captain’s Arms. Designed to replicate an old English Tudor pub, the Captain’s Arms features low ceilings with wooden beams and white washed walls. Outside, the Captain’s Arms has plenty of seating where guests are enjoying a cold beverage and the sounds of the band. We’ve been told that they serve the best Fish and Chips in the city, so we place our order. The Fish and Chips arrive presented in a cone, four pieces of beautifully battered cod stand alongside a large portion of steak cut chips. As we cut into the fish the crunching of the batter is music to our ears, we take our first bite and are instantly impressed. The chips are thick and the mushy peas and tartar sauce just complete the meal perfectly.

Next we move to Pappagallo, which serves a selection of Italian cuisine, from simple pizzas to mouthwatering risottos. Guests can dine indoors or on the terrace where they can also enjoy the sounds of the band. As we enter Pappagallo we are taken back by the beautiful décor, it has been designed to resemble venetian streets, with multicolored house fronts featuring small wooden shutters. We spot chef creating fresh pizzas and placing them into the warm pizza oven, we know that we just have to try a pizza for ourselves. We order a Margherita pizza and watch as chef creates it to our preference. The pizza arrives piping hot, it’s fantastic, the base is the perfect thickness and the cheese just melts into our mouth.

Our next location is NRG Sports Cafe. This is probably the most popular sports bar in the city, guests can expect an upbeat atmosphere, a huge screen showing sport from around the world and simple yet tasty pub grub. We decide to try the Beef Fajitas, served sizzling hot on arrival, the aroma is irresistible. The Beef Fajitas are mixed with onions and peppers with sides of warm tortillas and fresh guacamole, sour cream and salsa. The portion is extremely generous and even shared between two we struggle to finish it.

We conclude our evening at Acropolis, The Village’s authentic Greek restaurant, priding itself on fresh seasonal ingredients coming straight from Greece. Admittedly at this stage we are struggling to eat another bite, so we opt for a few nibbles. We select the Pitoules, grilled pita bread with olive oil and oregano, Spitiko Tzatziki, Greek yogurt with cucumber and garlic, Kalamari Gemisto, grilled calamari, stuffed with feta cheese and tomatoes and for dessert, Loukoumades, classic sweet fritters with honey and nuts. We enjoyed all our nibbles but the dessert was the highlight served warm, the honey just oozes off the fritters.

The atmosphere at The Village is great, the bustling crowds give it that weekend vibe. If you are looking to dress down, have a few bevvies, enjoy some hearty pub grub and listen to live music without breaking the bank this is the destination for you.

Captain’s Arms – Fish and Chips AED 69
Pappagallos – Margherita Pizza AED 60
NRG Sports Café – Beef Fajitas AED 80

Acropolis
Pitoules AED 10
Spitiko Tzatziki AED 18
Kalamari Gemisto AED 22
Loukoumades AED 35

The Village at Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, 02 644 6666

*Some prices may be subject to 10% service charge, 6% tourism fee and 4% municipality fee.