Make Valentine’s Day in Abu Dhabi unforgettable with sunset cruises, beach cabanas, Champagne dinners and sky high views
Valentine’s Day in Abu Dhabi doesn’t have to include panic, petrol station roses, or a last minute gift grabbed on the way home. This year, Abu Dhabi is making it easy to be that person who has a plan. Dinner on a helipad, yachts cruising past the skyline, cabanas on the sand, picnic baskets on private boats. The kind of dates that feel a little over the top in the best possible way. Here’s where to book if you want Valentine’s Day in Abu Dhabi to feel special, not scrambled together at 6pm.
Dinner on a helipad at The St. Regis
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If you’re going to do romance, you may as well do it 255 metres in the air. Catch at The St. Regis is setting up dinner on the St Regis helipad, which is as perfect as it sounds. Sunset, skyline, Champagne, the Corniche glittering below you. It makes perfect sense. It’s a pass around style supper, so you nibble your way through the evening. Fresh French and local oysters, sashimi and nigiri, wagyu rolls, vegetarian maki, seabass ceviche and blow torch dynamite. Then the warm plates arrive. Crab croquettes with tobanjan aioli, miso cod marinated for 48 hours, braised short ribs and pan-seared scallops. Dessert is their cheeky Catchamisu. Drinks keep flowing and there’s live music as the sun drops.
Location: Helipad, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi
Time: 5:30pm to 7pm
Cost: Dhs1,100 per person, alcoholic package included
Contact: (02) 694 4553
A private picnic on a boat
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This one is for couples who’d rather float than sit still. You get a private boat at Yas Marina for an hour. Just you, the water and a stacked four tier picnic basket from Bla Bla Bar. Ladies also get a bouquet of red flowers. There are a few tiers depending on how extra you feel. The entry option comes with mocktails, guac, bread, sushi and tres leches. Move up and you get non-alcoholic sparkling, salmon spread, wagyu and unagi sushi, pistachio cheesecake. The higher packages bring Laurent-Perrier, beef tartare, oysters, caviar and more Champagne.
Location: Bla Bla Bar, Yas Island
Times: 4pm to 5pm; 5pm to 6pm; 6pm to 7pm; 7pm to 8pm; 8pm to 9pm
Cost: From Dhs900 to Dhs4,000 per couple
Contact: (056) 833 3772
Rose Royale Dinner Cruise by Dutch Oriental
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If your love language is buffets and big views, this one ticks both boxes. The Rose Royale is the largest megayacht in Abu Dhabi and you’re on it for two and a half hours, cruising past Yas Bay, the W Hotel, Ferrari World and Aldar HQ. Dinner is buffet style and the packages decide how fancy your drinks get. Standard covers soft drinks. Premium adds unlimited house drinks. VIP throws in bubbly, a reserved table and priority check-in, which is basically code for skipping the queue.
Location: Rose Royale Megayacht, Visitor Berth 9, Yas Marina Promenade
Time: 7:30pm to 10pm
Cost: From Dhs299, VIP from Dhs499
Contact: (04) 553 0153
A private poolside dinner at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr
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This is for the soft, quiet romantics. No crowds. No noise. Just the two of you and a table by the pool. Fairmont Bab Al Bahr sets up a private outdoor space and you choose a set menu from either Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill or Marco’s Italian. So it’s either steakhouse classics or comforting Italian plates, served in your own little bubble. They’re only doing a few setups, so it’s first come, first served.
Location: Fairmont Bab Al Bahr
Time: 7pm to 11pm
Cost: Dhs2,000 per couple (soft beverages), house beverage add-on Dhs150 per person
Contact: (02) 654 3333
Beach cabana dinner at Bab Al Nojoum
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If your idea of romance involves the sea breeze and zero dress code stress, this one’s for you. Bab Al Nojoum on Hudayriyat sets up a private cabana right on the beach. You get sunset views, a cosy setup and a four course set menu served under the stars. It feels a bit like a proposal scene from a movie, minus the camera crew. It’s quiet, low key and all about the setting. Sometimes that’s all you need.
Location: Bab Al Nojoum, Hudayriyat Island
Time: From 7pm
Cost: Dhs2,500
Contact: (02) 691 0200
Dinner and a diamond at Novikov
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This isn’t an ordinary dinner, because you stand a chance to win an Dhs80,000 ring. Novikov is going full drama this year and honestly, we respect it. Book a table on February 14 and you’re automatically in the running to win a 6.09 carat fancy pink heart lab-grown diamond ring worth Dhs80,000. There’s a special à la carte Valentine’s menu with Gillardeau oysters with Tosazu jelly, a caviar cake topped with 28g of caviar, pan-seared scallops and sea urchins with beurre blanc and other indulgent plates. It’s luxe without being fussy. Live piano and vocals set the mood early, then a DJ slides in later and the place shifts from dinner date to stylish night out.
Location: Novikov Abu Dhabi, Al Maryah Island
Time: 12pm to 1am
Cost: À la carte Valentine’s menu
Contact: (02) 563 2937
