The kind of cafés usually featured in decor magazine

Yep, we are just back from Tashas Café, the first café opened in Abu Dhabi by this South African chain. Neatly settled in the buzzing Marsa Al Bateen area, it is a convenient cafe to visit with a great new parking area just beside it. If you haven’t heard or visited Tashas yet, they already have 13 cafés across South Africa (in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria) and 2 in the UAE – one in Jumeirah and the second at The Outlet Village in Jebel Ali.

The night we visited, we were surprised customers kept filling the restaurant all night to enjoy dinner or a treat at this trendy new café.

Our first impressions… the decor is gorgeous !

Entering the café, there is a huge bar on the left filled with fresh fruit baskets on a side, and gorgeous cakes under glass domes on the other side, which is apparently part of Tashas Café signature style.

We loved the mix between long communal tables, comfy off-white sofas with coffee tables or more classic table dining settings. The decor has this ‘je ne sais quoi’ of decor magazines with many indoor palm trees and frangipani trees that add a unique colonial vibe to the overall ambiance. Shelves are filled with beautiful cooking or home living books, a panama is resting on top of them. We noticed a large tray filled with aplenty shell made necklaces.

The store is really designed as a cosy decor boutique style cafe and it is worth taking some time to check all these design details that give a unique touch and make the cafe really stand out.

Which kind of cuisine to expect there?

There are actually two different menus, the classic menu that proposes Tashas recipes available in most Tashas cafes. We decided to focus on the signature menu, designed for the Abu Dhabi new outlet.

There is a large variety of appealing tapas to choose from and we definitely over ordered, as all portions were generous. We thoroughly enjoyed the spinach and feta hummus served with very thin bread slices and the hake bites coming with a mayonnaise sauce. The burrata with tomatoes was a pure delight and so was the edamame, beetroot and avocado salad. Refreshing and perfect for summer !

For the mains, our picks were a hit and seem to be amongst the very popular dishes on the menu. The chicken and mushroom vol-au-vent was served at the table with a delicious creamy sauce – be warned this is actually enough for two -. The Steak Tagliata was very flavorful and tender. Served in thin slices, the beef fillet is displayed upon a bed of rocket in a large crockery pot with dried tomatoes, roasted cherry tomatoes and it is topped with parmesan shavings and pine nuts. Many flavors infuse the dish including soy sauce, lemongrass that explode in the mouth at every bite.

We finished on a sweet winning note sharing one of their signature dessert, the hazelnut cheesecake that was very soft and not too sweet.

A feel good place to visit where the experience is both in the surroundings and in the plate, as Tashas motto is to work with fresh and quality ingredients and prepare everything on order. We are seduced with the concept and happy Tashas made its way to the city!

The other good news…

The café opens daily from 8am to midnight so we cannot wait to come again and start our day having breakfast there with friends.

Surrounding the cafe, there are outside many potty trees and cosy rattan chairs that invite visitors to stop there for a relaxing pause… another excuse to plan a visit for cooler days and experience the outdoor setting with views over a marina and Sheikh Zayed Heritage center beside.

TASHAS AL BATEEN | Marsa Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi | +971 2 445 0890

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