Best Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Abu Dhabi
A plant-based guide to Abu Dhabi for meat lovers willing to skip it for a night.
Abu Dhabi's vegetarian dining has moved past the side-dish stage. Walk into any of these restaurants and you won't be eating around a menu—you'll be eating from it, eating well, and often sitting across from someone who orders meat but says nothing about missing it. The city's best plant-based restaurants range from delivery-only vegan kitchens built around jackfruit and impossible beef, to family-run Indian vegetarian houses that have perfected their craft over decades, to mainstream restaurants that simply know their way around a vegetable.
Below, eight places arranged by dietary commitment: first, the all-vegan kitchens where every dish skips animal products; then the pure vegetarian restaurants where that's their only trade; finally, the restaurants serving everything but taking vegetables seriously enough that meat becomes optional. Choose your lane.
Nabati
Abu Dhabi, Delivery-only · Plant-based burgers and Mexican · Order via Talabat, Deliveroo, or 050 399 8754
Entirely plant-based, Nabati promises to replicate the exact taste and texture of meat in its menu of burgers, from quarter-pounders to BBQ pulled jackfruit burgers. If burgers aren't the call, there's jackfruit tacos and breakfast burritos. This is a delivery-only kitchen, not dine-in, but the calculation changes when the food arrives. Meat eaters will miss animal fat's shortcut. The engineering here is impressive enough they'll stop mentioning it halfway through.
302 Saeed Bin Ahmed Al Otaiba St, Al Danah · Vegan café with bowls and juices · Daily 6am–11pm
stockCafé 302 offers one of the most extensive vegan menus in the Emirate, with everything from vegan breakfast to full-course vegan lunch and dinner. The red lentil salad, Spanish & kale salad, and cauliflower burgers are standouts. Right by the busy Hamdan Street, this is a cosy, urban destination whose chic but comfortable interiors welcome guests to stay any time of day. It photographs better than it eats, but the food doesn't embarrass the setting.
Golden Spoon
Al Ghishabi St, Al Danah · North and South Indian vegetarian · Daily 9am–11pm
A restaurant much loved by the Best Bites UAE Community, run by Sahil Jairath whose mom made up all the recipes and still stands over the chefs, checking consistency. Try the crunchy cauliflower, stuffed tandoori soy, paneer butter masala, spinach and stuffed kofta and plenty of naan and paratha. This is where meat-eating couples go and come home saying they'd forgotten what restaurant food could taste like. Twenty-six years running on one woman's recipes—that's the entire pitch.
Al Najda and Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi · North and South Indian vegetarian · Hours vary by location
stockSalam Bombay is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Abu Dhabi with different ambiences: the Al Najda branch has the feel of an old Bombay-style cafe and the Al Nahyan branch provides a Bollywood vibe. The appeal is that you choose your mood along with your meal. Al Najda reads like the place where regulars have reserved tables. Al Nahyan is where you go if you want the restaurant to feel like the occasion.
Antonia Trattoria
Al Zeina, Abu Dhabi · Italian · Hours vary
Parmigiana, burrata, truffle pizzas, and spaghetti make a bouquet for vegetarians, and vegans can enjoy ortolana, prepared with organic vegetables, olives and capers. It's a win-win. You're not eating at a restaurant trying to do vegetables. You're eating at an Italian restaurant that happens to take them seriously.
Black Tap Mamsha Al Saadiyat
Mamsha Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi · American burgers · Hours vary
Black Tap brings a taste of New York to Abu Dhabi with vegan burgers, with the Impossible burger being the star, promising a satisfying bite for those craving something hearty yet meat-free. It's the restaurant equivalent of a meat-eater saying yes: loud, confident, the burger arrives with real weight, and there's no apology in the kitchen.
Pizza di Rocco
City Centre Al Dhafrah, Khalifa City, Al Ain Square · Italian pizzeria · Hours vary by location
Pizza di Rocco specialises in traditional-style homemade Neapolitan pizza and you can order vegan-friendly pizzas, homemade soups, and healthy salads. It's Neapolitan pizza, which means the dough does the work. The vegan versions don't have to perform miracles because the base is already excellent.
Great Rasoi
Abu Dhabi · North and South Indian · Hours vary
Great Rasoi serves North Indian and South Indian cuisine with chefs using traditional recipes and serving dishes with a homely vibe, and has adopted the style of traditional feast and ethnic fine dining in its ambience. The vegetarian section of their menu is not an afterthought. It's where the kitchen's skill shows.
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