The Best Seafood Buffet Restaurants in Abu Dhabi

Probably nothing works better than a seafood buffet to satisfy a craving for seafood. Imagine having all the fish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, scallops, and oysters you can eat. Here are our recommendations for the best seafood buffet in Abu Dhabi:

1. Safina Restaurant

Location: Saadiyat Beach Club, Saadiyat Island

Safina Restaurant is a Mediterranean restaurant in Saadiyat Beach Club, and it regularly serves Saturday brunch with a generous seafood spread. Take your pick from among the delicately poached lobster and prawns, fresh oysters, and beautifully prepared king crabs. There are clams, mussels, sushi, and ceviche, too.

Note: Safina Restaurant has indoor seating and a shaded terrace where you can enjoy sweeping views of the Arabian Gulf. Brunch themes, selections, timings, and seafood availability can vary, so contact Safina Restaurant to inquire when their next brunch is and if they’re serving seafood then.

2. Sim Sim

Location: Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Saadiyat Island

Sim Sim is an international cuisine buffet restaurant in Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas. It is open the whole day, but its themed dinner buffets are a true marvel. The best time to come for a seafood buffet will always be its Saturday brunch, where the seafood selection is exceptional. Eat your fill of raw oysters (with Tabasco, of course), different types of fish, lobster (some Maine lobster, if you’re lucky), sushi, and sashimi.

Note: The restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating. You must book ahead to dine here. That’s best, too, to check when they’re serving mostly seafood.

3. Gandofly Seafood Restaurant

Location: Defense Road

Gandofly Seafood Restaurant has an extensive selection of seafood. Start your seafood adventure at the cold seafood bar, where you can get chilled oysters, prawns, clams, and mussels. There’s sushi and sashimi, hot seafood (e.g., grilled fish and seafood paella), and salads and appetisers (e.g., ceviche and smoked salmon). There’s also a live cooking station where chefs will stir-fry prawns, grill lobster, and cook seafood to order.

Fine-Dining Seafood in Abu Dhabi

If you want to enjoy the best seafood in Abu Dhabi in an upscale setting, visit a fine-dining restaurant. You’ll find the best fish restaurant in Abu Dhabi among the following:

1. Maté

Location: Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, Saadiyat Island

Maté is a Michelin Guide restaurant in Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, known for its superb fine-dining experience and the beautiful flavours of Argentinian cuisine touched with a little Lebanese. Seafood is always available (e.g., baby calamari, fresh sea bass ceviche, and grilled king prawns), but their Mar and Tierra Brunch is a special treat for seafood lovers. Look forward to cockles empanada with seaweed chimichurri, cured trout sashimi, smoked pickled mussels, king crab salad, sea salt grilled prawns, and a seafood fried rice that contains Patagonian squid, scallops, and prawns.

Note: Best to call ahead to book a table.

2. Oléa

Location: St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Saadiyat Island

Oléa is a Mediterranean restaurant in St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort. The restaurant is open the whole day, but expect a more casual dining experience in the daytime and fine dining in the evening. The atrium is impressive, with its high ceiling and floor-to-ceiling, tinted glass windows. The grand, winding staircase follows the ground floor’s flowing curves to the gallery, with a sinuously carved ceiling and waterfall countertops.

Oléa is not strictly a seafood restaurant (pizzas, steaks, and tagines are its strong suit), but seafood (e.g., salmon and scallops) is part of its core menu. Occasionally, moreover, they have seafood-themed nights, when fish and shellfish take centre stage.

Note: Best to call ahead to book a table.

3. Catch

Location: St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Corniche St, Al Bateen

Catch at St. Regis is a fine-dining fish restaurant in Abu Dhabi that offers fresh Patagonian toothfish, miso-marinated black cod, pan-roasted pink bream, sea bass papillote, oven-roasted sea bass, Scottish salmon, and Antarctic cod. There are many other seafood options, including tuna, salmon, and hamachi sashimi and nigiri, rolls, grilled Spanish octopus, crab and shrimp croquette, lobster sliders, and many more.

Note: Best to call ahead to book a table.

Seafood Restaurants With a Beach View in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi’s location on the coast of the Arabian Gulf means plenty of seafood restaurants with a lovely beach view. Here are beachside and beachview seafood restaurants you can try.

1. Turtle Bay Bar & Grill

Location: Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Saadiyat Island

Turtle Bay Bar & Grill is one of the eight dining options at Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas. Its al fresco dining area is just a few steps shy of the shore and offers exquisite views of the Arabian Gulf sunset. Aside from the view, however, it has an impressive seafood menu.

The extensive seafood starter menu includes crispy calamari, seared scallops, octopus a la plancha, smoked swordfish, blue lobster salad, marinated anchovies, Alaskan king crab legs in warm butter, prawn cocktail, or jumbo Carabinero prawns crudo. There’s a tartar and raw bar, too, offering a selection of Scottish salmon, bluefin tuna, wild sea bass, yellow tail hamachi, lobster & scallop ceviche, tuna crudo, and what it calls The Elaborate, which is a mix of seafood, including lobster, king crab legs, marinated mussels, and tiger prawns. Of course, it has nigiri, sashimi, and maki, as well as hand-shucked oysters, seafood chowder, a surf and turf dish of black angus tenderloin and lobster, and salads (e.g., cured salmon, king crab and avocado).

2. Beirut Sur Mer

Location: Jacques Chirac St., Mamsha Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island

Beirut Sur Mer is a beautiful beachside restaurant that offers diners stunning views of the beautiful Soul beach and the azure Arabian Gulf. It has many seafood options, including shrimp, octopus, and crab prepared the Lebanese way. Try their surf & turf with grilled shrimp, lobster mechwi, and bezri. Also ask the staff about their seafood special, which includes kreydes (grilled jumbo prawns), karakand (oven-baked lobster), and seabass cooked in olive oil and herbs.

3. Valgerand Nordic Grill

Location: Jacques Chirac Street1. Safina Restaurant, Mamsha Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island

Like Beirut Sur Mer, Valgerand Nordic Grill is on a lovely stretch of beach in Mamsha Al Saadiyat, so it affords diners an excellent view of the sand and the sea. Valgerand is where you go if you’re in the mood for new Nordic cuisine. More importantly, some consider it to be the best salmon fish restaurant in Abu Dhabi.

Your salmon entrée options include salmon carpaccio, potato rösti with cold smoked Norwegian salmon, Norwegian salmon tartare, and a trilogy of sea salt-cured salmon, grilled salmon, and cold smoked Norwegian salmon. Other salmon and seafood options include salmon fresh tagliatelle pasta, seafood en papillote (with mussels, shrimps, and salmon), grilled salmon steak, grilled prawn salad, smoked salmon salad, and Nordic seafood soup (with salmon, cod, prawns, and mussels).

4. Finz

Location: Beach Rotana, Al Zahiyah

Just as a gorgeous seaview is part of Finz’s identity, seafood is also in Finz’s DNA. Its small plates collection is dominated by seafood, including seared prawns with a chimichurri glaze, baby calamari with veal chorizo filling, tuna tartare with mango and avocado, hand-shucked Atlantic oysters, a ceviche of salmon, snapper, and prawns, crispy calamari, seared sea scallops, grilled paprika-chili glazed octopus, and japanese seafood rolls (tuna teriyaki, tempura, and truffle glazed salmon).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which seafood restaurants offer fresh fish grilled on-site?

Many restaurants along the seaport of Mina Zayed offer on-site fresh fish grilling. First, go to the Fish Market to shop for your fresh seafood. Bring your haul to your preferred restaurant, and they will cook it for you. You can even tell the restaurant how you want it cooked (grilled, roasted, steamed, fried), and request certain aromatics, spices, and ingredients.

Are any Abu Dhabi seafood restaurants known for seafood towers or buckets?

There are many seafood restaurants in Abu Dhabi that offer seafood towers and buckets. Turtle Bay Bar & Grill, for instance, has a “The Elaborate” item on their tartar and raw bar. This is a mix of lobster, king crab legs, tiger prawns, chilled marinated mussels, oysters, tuna tartare, salmon tartare, and lobster scallop ceviche. Gandofly Seafood Restaurant, Shrimp Pot Seafood Restaurant, Dampa Seafood Grill, and Off the Hook Seafood Restaurant all offer a seafood tower or bucket variation.

Do any seafood restaurants have views or outdoor seating?

Many seafood restaurants in Abu Dhabi have views or outdoor seating, especially the Saadiyat Island restaurants of Safina, Sim Sim, Oléa, Maté, Beirut Sur Mer, Valgerand Nordic Grill, and Turtle Bay Bar & Grill.

The Best Seafood in Abu Dhabi

There’s no shortage of seafood restaurants in Abu Dhabi. Start your search for the best seafood restaurant in Abu Dhabi in Saadiyat Island. Next, explore other seaside locations in Abu Dhabi.