If you’ve visited the St. Regis Abu Dhabi on the corniche, you’ll already know what a striking entrance hall it has… It’s certainly pretty impressive that’s for sure!

We popped down there recently to try out their evening buffet with an Arabic twist – Modern Arabian Galleria at The Terrace on the Corniche.

As we all know, a buffet is not something that Abu Dhabi is short of by any means, but this one, rather than just being devoted to international cuisine (which it does have), mainly focuses around Arabic favourites.

All the good stuff is represented from mezze including fatayer, kibbeh, sambusek and salads and the like. I was particularly fond of the beetroot hummus, the addition of beetroot makes a nice change I thought!

The main courses are a meat lovers dream with mixed grill, shish tawouk, an enormous dish of a whole lamb that had been slow cooked for six hours and loads more. But that said, there’s also lots of choice for vegetarians too, and beyond the limitations of just salads. Kishkeh was there and of course the stuffed baby marrows – those are fast becoming a favourite of mine!

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A whole lamb, slow cooked

I love a good cheese too so it was good to see lots of Arabic cheeses also represented… Akawi, Halloumi, Baladi, Labneh, Kashkaval alongside some delicious homemade chutneys and compotes.

And of course the ever famous dessert selection! As well as a heap of international favourites there’s also a very interesting Arabic selection with Umm Ali, Asaferi, Cheese Kunafa, Awama, Mafrouka and more… If I’m honest, I don’t even know what quite a few of those are, but I did try a good few and they all tasted pretty good to me!

The Modern Arabian Galleria kicks off in the evenings from 7pm til 11pm in The Terrace on The Corniche at the St. Regis Abu Dhabi Hotel and costs Dhs150 per head with kids under the age of 12 dining for free! It’s taking a break during Ramadan for their Iftar offering but will be back as usual after Eid.