As the guide returns to the UAE capital, four eateries win coveted culinary stars.
The 2024 edition of the Michelin Guide in Abu Dhabi was announced on Thursday, with all existing star holders - 99 Sushi, Hakkasan, and Talea by Antonio Guida - keeping their prized culinary honors.
Along with them, Erth received a star, making it the first Emirati restaurant in the world to do so. According to The National's assessment, dining at Erth is like reading a love letter to the UAE.
"The concept is to pay homage to Emirati culture," Erth's chief operating officer, Amit Arora, said during the prize presentation at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. "We support local farms in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and to provide a sustainable dining experience has always been our ethos."
"We feel very proud of the team's achievement and are truly excited about what lies ahead," Arora tells The National. We'd like to thank our consumers and patrons for their support.
"We are deeply committed to supporting the local economy and providing a sustainable experience." It gives me great pleasure to know that I am being recognized today."
Being the only Emirati restaurant to receive a Michelin star would help "elevate Middle Eastern cuisine for other nationalities to come and experience it, because it's not very well known and is still being discovered," according to Arora.
Last November, the Michelin Guide debuted in Abu Dhabi. Three restaurants were given one star apiece at the time. The Bib Gourmand category was awarded to four restaurants, while the overall list included 42 Michelin-recommended dining establishments.
With this year's announcement, Abu Dhabi now has four Michelin-starred restaurants, two new restaurants - Al Mrzab and Oii - to the Bib Gourmand category, and eight more to the general guide (complete lists below).
"It's a lot of team effort," chef Thinus van der Westhuizen remarked of keeping 99 Sushi's star. Keeping the star is almost as difficult as acquiring it in the first place."
Gwendal Poullennec, worldwide director of the Michelin Guide, remarked in a recorded video played at the commencement of the event, "Abu Dhabi continues to impress us with cuisines from all corners of the world." From Emirati specialties and other Middle Eastern delights to food with more cosmopolitan flavors, Abu Dhabi continues to be a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, where every creative chef strives to astound inquiring gourmets with inventive creations."
Poullenec lauded the capital's chefs' "ambition and passion," adding the 2024 selection "perfectly reflects how dynamic and diverse Abu Dhabi is."
Following the ceremony, there was a sneak peek of the Middle East's first Michelin Food Festival, which begins on Friday.
This year's stars
Hakkasan, 99 Sushi Bar, and Talea by Antonio Guida, all kept their one-star status, which the book awards to establishments that use "top-quality ingredients and prepare dishes with distinct flavors to a consistently high standard."
Erth became the capital's fourth Michelin-starred restaurant.
There are currently no two-star restaurants in Abu Dhabi, while there are three in Dubai. Both emirates have yet to claim Michelin's highest honor, three stars, which are awarded to establishments that display "superlative cooking" to the point that the meals are "elevated to an art form" and are destined to become culinary masterpieces.
Bib Gourmand Restaurants
Except for Al Mrzab and Oii, all four restaurants on last year's list preserved their Bib Gourmand status: Almayass, Beirut Sur Mer, Otoro, and Tazal.
The Bib Gourmand category, named after Bibendum, the Michelin Man and official business mascot of the Michelin Group, offers value-for-money locales that are "not quite a star, but most definitely not a consolation prize," according to the book.
Special Awards
Individuals were also given special honors by the anonymous Michelin inspectors.
Rigers Cuka of Oii won the Young Chef Award and was praised for his restaurant management and cooking talents that belied his age. Cuka, visibly moved by the honor, said, "I immediately fell in love with working in a restaurant, from waiting tables to serving guests, and I can't believe I've reached this point."
Other winners were Chandran Thanggaraja of Kopitiam by Chandy's, who got the Service Award, and James Soo Yong Kim of Les Dangereux, who earned the Opening of the Year Award.
How Michelin stars are created
The book is mostly established by dozens of anonymous Michelin inspectors who visit restaurants at random throughout the year. No inspector ever visits the same restaurant again, and meals are scheduled at different times of day and year to ensure consistency of quality.
Five universal criteria are taken into account:
- The components' quality
- culinary expertise
- The flavor harmony
- The chef's personality reflected in the cuisine
- The uniformity of the menu over time and across the board.
Michelin-starred restaurants in Abu Dhabi
- 99 Sushi Bar & Restaurant, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
- Erth, Qasr Al Hosn compound (new)
- Hakkasan, Emirates Palace
- Talea by Antonio Guida, Emirates Palace
Abu Dhabi restaurants with Bib Gourmand designation
- Al Mrzab, Al Mushrif (new)
- Almayass, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
- Beirut Sur Mer, Mamsha Al Saadiyat
- Oii, Al Qana (new)
- Otoro, Al Qana
- Tazal, Al Qana
Restaurants chosen for the Michelin Guide Abu Dhabi
- Al Farah (new)
- Butcher & Still, Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island
- Byblos Sur Mer, InterContinental Abu Dhabi
- Cafe James, Shams Boutik
- Cafe Milano, Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island
- Catch by St Regis, The St Regis Abu Dhabi
- Cipriani, Yas Island
- Coya Abu Dhabi, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
- Dai Pai Dong Restaurant, Rosewood Abu Dhabi
- Finz, Beach Rotana
- Fishmarket, InterContinental Abu Dhabi
- Fouquet's, Louvre Abu Dhabi
- Grand Beirut, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
- Hoi An, Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri
- Jose by Pizarro, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers (new)
- Kopitiam by Chandy’s, Al Falah Road (new)
- Les Dangereux, Mamsha Al Saadiyat (new)
- Li Beirut, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers
- Li Jiang, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
- LPM Abu Dhabi, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
- Market Kitchen, Le Royal Meridien Al Markaziya
- Martabaan by Hemant Oberoi, Emirates Palace
- Mate, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel And Villas
- Mazi, The St Regis Al Saadiyat Island
- Meylas, Al Muneera
- Mijana, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
- Moksh, Etihad Towers
- Namak, Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi
- Niri Restaurant and Bar, Mamsha Al Saadiyat
- Oak Room, Abu Dhabi Edition
- Paradiso, Yas Bay
- Punjab Grill, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
- Ray's Grill, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers (new)
- Shang Palace, Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri
- Silk & Spice, Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche
- Tean, Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort
- Terra, Al Qana (new)
- VaKaVa Pan Latin Grill and Lounge by Richard Sandoval, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers
- Villa Toscana, The St Regis Abu Dhabi
- Yadoo's House, Embassies District (new)
- Zuma Abu Dhabi, The Galleria Al Maryah Island
