Private dining is a luxurious alternative to your usual restaurant experience. Enter your chosen venue and be led away to a mysterious, immaculately decorated room, where you’ll be waited on throughout the night. Private dining is a fun way to really get the chance to sit back and connect with your nearest and dearest, without the hustle and bustle of the rest of the venue around you.
Whether you’re an Abu Dhabi resident, staying there on holiday, or fancy enough to visit just for the evening, you’ll more than likely dabble in the city’s incredible food landscape. There are plenty of options for dining on a day-to-day basis, but where Abu Dhabi really excels is in its offerings of restaurants for special occasions, and indeed in its private dining rooms. Glamorous, luxurious, and serving up splendid food, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
We all love to treat our partners, and a romantic dinner in a beautiful and intimate setting is certainly a way to do that. If you’re looking for a show-stopping dinner experience to really wow your loved one, we’re certain that Abu Dhabi’s most romantic private dining room offerings will have something that will impress.
From beachside dinners on the sand, to meals at the top of a skyscraper overlooking the coast, the city has private dining rooms for every romantic occasion you can think of: fancy date nights, birthdays, anniversaries, and proposals, perhaps. Sharing plates, fiery cocktails, and super sweet desserts are all served up across Abu Dhabi’s private dining rooms, giving you plenty of choice to set the tone of your date night through both the setting and the food.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the most romantic private dining rooms in Abu Dhabi to make the task of organising a beautiful meal out just that little bit easier for you.
BBQ Al Qasr
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Voted “Most Romantic Restaurant in Abu Dhabi”, BBQ Al Qasr offers a splendid dinner on the beach beneath the stars, certain to woo your date. Offering up a menu filled with the likes of seared stakes and seafood, the food at this venue will be as impressive as your surroundings. Billowing white gazebos, golden flickering candles, and a plush red carpet, all set to the soundtrack of gently lapping waves, are the perfect recipe for a romantic evening sent straight from heaven.
Where: Emirates Palace, West Corniche Road, Al Ras Al Akhdar, Abu Dhabi, PO BOX 39999
Book now: BBQ Al Qasr
Sofra Bld
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On the ground floor of Shangri-La Al Beri Abu Dhabi, you’ll find Sofra Bld, a romantic spot in which you can dine privately with your significant other. Sofra Bld offers a huge range of international dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so no matter the reason for your romantic meal, it’s got you covered. If you’re really looking to push the boat out, you might like to book one of the rooms at the luxury Shangri-La to make the date night magic continue into morning.
Where: Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Sofra Bld
Moksh
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Private dining at Moksh is a lavish and indeed delicious affair. Serving up exciting Indian fusion dishes, dinner at Moksh is guaranteed to spice up your romantic evening – particularly with the likes of 24-carat gold dusted tikka chicken, activated charcoal samosa, and black cod with coconut and coriander on the menu. If you’re looking for somewhere showstopping to take your partner, Moksh might just be for you.
Where: Etihad Towers, Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Moksh
Villa Toscana
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There’s something inherently romantic about Italy, and private dining at Villa Toscana means being whisked away to beautiful Tuscany. Indulge in splendid pasta dishes, seafood, and pizza, and finish with classic Italian desserts as sweet as your date, like panna cotta and tiramisu. Villa Toscana is just a short walk from the beach, which will be the cherry on top of a delightfully romantic evening.
Where: Nation Towers, St Regis Abu Dhabi, West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Villa Toscana
COYA
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If you’re looking to impress your loved one with a grand menu and immaculate service, we’d recommend taking a look at COYA. Serving up Peruvian cuisine to diners, COYA’s in-house events team are on hand to help you organise a dreamy date night. If you really want to impress, order from the chef’s signature selection and tuck into COYA’s Signature Platter, with dishes like grilled wagyu sirloin or grilled sea bream wrapped in banana leaf on offer.
Where: Four Seasons Hotel, The Galleria, Abu Dhabi
Book now: COYA
Sontaya
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For the perfect romantic evening, you surely can’t do better than dining in a restaurant whose name quite literally means “sunset”. Taste Sontaya’s beautiful menu of Asian dishes – think Singaporean wok-fried lobster, green curries, and spicy laksa - by the light of the setting sun, and give romance a whole new meaning. Its private dining areas (one indoors and one outdoors) are the perfect spot for a luxe, intimate dinner.
Where: St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Sontaya
Li Jiang
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For a private dinner in a very impressive setting, Li Jiang fits the bill. Situated within the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel, it specialises in contemporary Chinese and South East Asian cuisine that is well-suited to sharing. Dining in the private dining room with your loved one, you’ll tuck into a feast of soups, curries, noodles and seafood in an exquisitely decorated setting. Top tip: take a romantic stroll in the grounds after your meal and gaze at the beautiful Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque.
Where: Al Rawdah, Al Maqta, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Li Jiang
Catch at St Regis
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Private dining at Catch at St Regis is an affair as glamorous as the rest of the hotel’s offerings. Catch specialises in fresh fish and seafood, and its sharing plates are ideal for a romantic meal between two (think: crispy prawns, wagyu beef tacos, lobster sliders). If your partner is a seafood and sushi fan, it’s worth treating them by reaching out to Catch at St Regis about its private dining options.
Where: St Regis Abu Dhabi, Nation Tower, Corniche, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Catch at St Regis
99 Sushi Bar and Restaurant
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With a room available for hire for private dining, 99 Sushi Bar and Restaurant is a glamourous and sultry setting to whisk your partner away to. Moody lighting, plush grey seating, and beautiful waterside views in the main restaurant, this venue has lots of the elements we might look for when planning a romantic evening out. Its sushi menu is extensive and (if you’re that way inclined), perfect for ordering lots of choices and sharing them between two.
Where: The Galleria Four Seasons, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi
Book now: 99 Sushi Bar and Restaurant
Hakkasan Abu Dhabi
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Hakkasan Abu Dhabi caters to a range of private dining needs. Its Chinese-inspired menu paired with its elegant cocktail menu would make for a beautifully romantic meal. When ordering your cocktails, keep an eye out for ‘Passion’, described as ‘fiery, intense, intimate’, and ‘Romance’, a ‘sensual, floral, and aromatic’ option. Hakkasan’s Dim Sum Saturdays are also ideal for a romantic lunch – dim sum quite literally means ‘touching the heart’ in Cantonese, so it’s the perfect date food.
Where: Hakkasan Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi, West Corniche Road, Corniche, Abu Dhabi
Book now: Hakkasan Abu Dhabi
These have been our favourite romantic private dining spots in Abu Dhabi - if you're looking for somewhere else to try out that's a little more casual, take a look at our guide to the 10 best weekend brunches in Abu Dhabi.
Words by: Cara Rogers