Taste of Abu Dhabi is, on the surface, a crowd-pleasing food festival. This year it carries a quieter signal for anyone who plans the capital privately: two serious kitchens are using the event, held November 13–15 at Gateway Park North on Yas Island, as a soft launch before they open their own permanent doors in Abu Dhabi. For a guest who travels with a chauffeur and prefers a reserved table to a buffet queue, that is advance notice worth acting on.
A Bocuse brasserie and a Japanese fine-diner, previewed
According to Gulf News, two concepts debut at the festival before becoming, in the outlet's words, capital staples. La Broche by Bocuse brings rotisserie classics to Yas Island, and the paper frames it as a first taste ahead of the opening of Brasserie Monsieur Paul at Saadiyat Grove, the Bocuse-lineage brasserie headed for the district next to the museums. The second, 99 | Tanjun, offers contemporary Japanese fine dining and is likewise described as making its way to Abu Dhabi.
Around them sits the rest of the programme: sixteen pop-ups with menus built only for the festival, a culinary line-up led by Gino D'Acampo, Thomas Straker and Rachel Allen, live demos and workshops. Entry starts at 80 AED, with a VIP package from 350 AED that adds fast-track access and a VIP lounge, the only part of a busy festival that approaches a private setting.
What it means for a private trip
The sharp move is to treat the festival as a tasting rather than an event. A private day built around the VIP lounge and fast-track entry lets you sample both kitchens in an afternoon, decide which one earns a return visit, and leave before the evening crush, with your driver waiting rather than a taxi line. It is reconnaissance for the winter season, not the main course.
The longer game is Saadiyat. Once La Broche matures into Brasserie Monsieur Paul at Saadiyat Grove, it sits a short drive from Louvre Abu Dhabi and the wider cultural district, which lets you pair a private morning among the galleries with a reserved lunch or dinner at a destination table. We would hold the proper booking for the permanent opening, when a private table, not a festival voucher, defines the experience.
Taste of Abu Dhabi is a preview, not the prize: use the VIP lounge to scout La Broche by Bocuse and 99 | Tanjun this November, then save the real reservation for their permanent Abu Dhabi openings, with Saadiyat Grove set to pair fine dining with the museum district.
