LUNCH AT LARTE ABU DHABI RESTAURANT IN MANARAT AL SAADIYAT

This restaurant with a terrace in Abu Dhabi always has guests coming back for more

Those of us who have been living in Abu Dhabi for a while were quite upset to hear that the lovely cafe restaurant FANR at Al Manarat Al Saadiyat closed down last year.

Stay up to date as we have good news to share! LARTE Cafe & Restaurant took over the space and opened its doors at Manarat Al Saadiyat in November 2017.

If you haven’t visited yet, pick a date to bring family, friends and even out-of-town guests to enjoy a meal on their wonderful terrace, one of our favorites in Abu Dhabi. With jazz tunes in the background, a shady outdoor terrace, greenery all around, we always end up staying for hours.

Outdoor Terrace at LARTE Abu Dhabi

LARTE Cafe & Restaurant took over the space and opened its doors at Al Manarat Al Saadiyat

Invited by LARTE to discover their concept and menu, we visited on a weekday and were surprised to see the continuous flow of guests popping in for coffee, lunch and even a kid’s party.

An Italian ‘restaurante’ with a contemporary, design and arty decor

If you are as interested in design as we are, you will adore the indoor decor with colorful design Kartell chairs hanging from the ceiling. The oversized sculptural Red Kong ‘Born Wild’ made in resin by Artist Richard Orlinski is quite impressive with its 230cm height and gives a unique signature look to the space. Wherever you look there are design details, from shelves filled with design books, colorful artwork covering the walls, interesting wall shelves holding glasses and bottles at the bar counter.

Kartell chairs hanging from the ceiling

The oversized sculptural Red Kong ‘Born Wild’ made in resin by Artist Richard Orlinski is quite impressive with its 230cm height!

The color of the furniture also pairs well with the restaurant logo with yellow sofas indoors, white tables, red and white chairs-giving a distinctive and unique character to the place.

Different options to go visit the restaurant

As LARTE Abu Dhabi is open daily from 8 am to 11 pm, you have many options. The team told us the mornings are usually busy with many visitors coming to enjoy long and lazy breakfast. On Fridays, LARTE Abu Dhabi proposes an A la carte brunch menu.

You can also check out the spot on Wednesdays at 7 pm onwards for Open Mic. We were told the ambiance was great with guests playing instruments and singing. It is best to book a spot in advance to avoid disappointment.

A casual and humble Italian menu

The menu definitely has an Italian flair. For our first visit, we selected a couple of dishes to share and the restaurant team brought us a couple of more signature options to try.

The eggplant parmigiana (55 AED) served as a starter was nicely executed and is perfect to share. The seabass carpaccio (55AED)  was one of our preferred dishes as it was served with a mandarin zest on top that gives a refreshing taste to the dish. We were less convinced with the Truffle Arancini – small bites priced at 25AED – they seem to be one of their best-sellers though among the “Cichetti” or small bites options.

If you want some greens, go for the Zucchine & Mint salad. Priced at 35 AED, the raw zucchini spaghetti comes with pine nuts and a tasty vinaigrette adding a nice kick to the salad.

Lunch at LARTE restaurant Abu Dhabi

As any Italian restaurant, there are different pasta, risotto, and pizzas to choose from. We went for a Porcini and Mozzarella pizza to share; it was simple and did the job but we would probably opt for a more elaborate pizza next time or go for homemade pasta.

The menu also includes more sophisticated dishes in the meat and fish menu sections, ideal to choose for a more refined lunch or dinner.

Following our waiter’s advice, we ended the lunch on a sweet note sharing a deconstructed Tiramisu. Though we were quite full already, we finished the dessert in no time and loved it. It is quite a playful option as the dessert plate comes with a coffee, ladyfingers surrounding a mascarpone cream and topped with chocolate powder served in a glass. You build your own tiramisu, dipping the ladyfinger in the coffee before digging it into the mascarpone cream. A dessert with a twist that won us over!

Deconstructed Tiramisu at LARTE Abu Dhabi

To conclude, if you were hooked on the terrace and unique ambiance there, do go try out LARTE as this spot has that ‘je ne sais quoi’ of making you feel good. The menu is varied enough to offer Italian food to fit every taste from kids, vegan to the carb lovers!

Open daily from 8 am to 11 pm

LARTE ABU DHABI Restaurant | Manarat Al Saadiyat | +971 2 657 5888

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