Food History of Abu Dhabi

Key eras

Umm Al Nar and the first date palms (third millennium BC)

Date seeds found at Umm Al Nar sites, named for the island beside modern Abu Dhabi, show date palms were already cultivated here in the mid-third millennium BC, and grinding stones and clay ovens point to bread made from ground grain. Dates and flatbread are still the opening of an Emirati meal.

Liwa, the Bani Yas and the move to the coast (to 1793)

The Bani Yas, the tribe of the ruling Al Nahyan family, lived in the Liwa Oasis on the edge of the Empty Quarter, where date farming was the economy. In 1761 a hunting party found fresh water on Abu Dhabi island, a fort and twenty houses followed, the fort became Qasr Al Hosn, and in 1793 the ruling family moved its residence from Liwa to the coast.

Pearling summers (late 19th century into the 1910s)

Men from Liwa dived for pearls on the coast in the summer months, and the pearl trade boomed from the late 19th century into the 1910s. Emirati cooking blends three older diets: Bedouin meat and camel milk, the fisherman's Gulf catch and the farmer's dates, with spices such as cinnamon, saffron and turmeric.

Oil, Mina Zayed and the planned city (1958 to 1971)

Offshore oil was struck at Umm Shaif in 1958, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became ruler in 1966 and had the Japanese architect Katsuhiko Takahashi plan wide roads, corniches and green space. The Al Maqta bridge of 1968 first tied the island to the mainland, and Mina Zayed, established the same year and inaugurated in 1972, became the city's port.

Capital of the federation (1971 onward)

Abu Dhabi became the capital of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971. Migrants from South Asia, the Arab world, the Philippines, Africa and Europe followed the oil economy, and by 2014 about 80 per cent of the emirate's residents were expatriates, each community opening its own kitchens and cafeterias.

The Michelin decade (2022 onward)

The MICHELIN Guide arrived in November 2022 with a first Abu Dhabi selection of 42 restaurants. Its fourth edition, unveiled at Emirates Palace in October 2025, lists 56, with stars for Erth, an Emirati kitchen at the Qasr Al Hosn site, Hakkasan and Talea by Antonio Guida, and ten Bib Gourmands.

Immigrant influences

• Iranians: Iranians were the first newcomers to change the pearling town, from the early 1900s. Dhow traders from Bushehr still sail to the Iranian Souq at Mina Zayed with ceramics, plants and kitchenware.
• South Asians: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan residents are among the city's largest communities. Karak chai, masala tea boiled strong with milk, was popularised in the Gulf by South Asian expatriates.
• Arabs from across the region: Migrants from across the Arab world brought Levantine shawarma, the vertical spit of the Ottoman era, and the manakeesh oven, which now sit beside Emirati breakfast breads such as regag, khameer and chebab.

Signature innovations

• Machboos, rice cooked in the broth of spiced meat or fish with dried lime, is treated as a national dish across the Gulf states.
• Harees, wheat beaten with meat into a smooth porridge and finished with ghee, is the dish of Ramadan and festive tables in Emirati homes.
• Gulf coffee, qahwa khaleeji, is roasted very light, spiced with saffron and cardamom and poured from a dallah with dates.
• Luqaimat, fried dough balls drizzled with date syrup, keep close to recipes recorded in the 13th century.