Brunch in Abu Dhabi: beach, pool and the fisherman's version

Abu Dhabi's brunches are less about volume than Dubai's and more about the setting, which is the capital's advantage and it knows it.

COYA, the city's Peruvian room, is the one with the energy — a brunch that borrows the restaurant's evening atmosphere rather than switching into buffet mode. It is the closest the capital gets to a party brunch without being one.

Ibn AlBahr's Fisherman's Brunch is the seafood option, built on fresh fish and shellfish and set beside a pool-and-beach combination that does most of the work. Seafood brunches live or die on how fast the kitchen replenishes, and the ones with a beach attached tend to run at a pace that suits an afternoon.

Ilios runs the AEGEAN Brunch on Sundays at Hudayriyat Island, beside Surf Abu Dhabi's wave — which is either an odd backdrop for Greek food or exactly the right one, depending on your view. It is worth going for the location alone.

The general shape here: Sunday is the anchor day, sittings run early afternoon to late afternoon, and beverage packages are tiered the same way they are across the Emirates.

One thing that genuinely differs from Dubai — Abu Dhabi brunches book out later, which means a Thursday call for a Sunday table often works. Not always. But often.