Restaurant in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Two Bib Gourmands. The value case is clear.
Beirut Sur Mer holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and a 4.5-star Google rating from over 3,200 reviews, making it the clearest value case in Abu Dhabi's Lebanese dining scene. At $$ pricing in the Saadiyat Cultural District, it delivers Michelin-recognised cooking at a fraction of what comparable-quality restaurants in this city charge. Easy to book, strong on value, and well-placed for a late-evening meal after Saadiyat's cultural venues.
Beirut Sur Mer is one of the strongest value plays in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island dining scene. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) confirm what its 4.5-star rating across more than 3,200 Google reviews suggests: this is Lebanese cooking that punches well above its $$ price point. If you want Michelin-recognised quality without a $$$$ bill, book here before somewhere like Talea by Antonio Guida.
Picture the end of an evening on Saadiyat: the cultural district has quieted down, most of the grander rooms have called last orders, and you still want something more than a hotel bar snack. Beirut Sur Mer answers that specific need. Its position on Jacques Chirac Street, at the heart of Saadiyat's cultural district, means it catches the post-gallery, post-concert crowd — and the kitchen is equipped to handle it. That late-night relevance, combined with back-to-back Bib Gourmand recognition, makes this a venue worth understanding properly before you visit.
The Bib Gourmand designation is the key frame here. Michelin awards it specifically to restaurants offering good cooking at moderate prices — it is not a consolation prize for venues that missed a star, but a deliberate recognition of value. For Abu Dhabi's dining scene, which skews heavily toward high-end hotel restaurants and $$$$-tier international names, a Lebanese restaurant holding this award two years running at $$ pricing is a meaningful data point. It tells you the food quality is there; what you are not paying for is the white-tablecloth theatre.
Lebanese cuisine at this level typically means a serious mezze spread , cold plates built around technique and freshness, hot dishes where timing matters, and a rhythm to the meal that rewards slowing down. The cuisine format is well-suited to groups who want to share, but it also works for a solo diner or a couple who want to graze through a few dishes rather than commit to a set menu format. The $$ price tier means you can order generously without anxiety, which is exactly the right condition for Lebanese sharing food to shine.
The chef credits on record , Carlos Langreo, Vicente de la Red, and Gabriel Zapata , bring a non-Lebanese team to a Lebanese kitchen, which is worth noting. This is a creative positioning choice rather than a traditional one. Whether that reads as an advantage or a concern depends on what you are looking for: if you want orthodox Lebanese home-cooking, venues like Almayass or Grand Beirut may align more closely with that expectation. If you are open to Lebanese flavours filtered through a different culinary lens, the Bib Gourmand suggests the result is convincing enough to earn Michelin's endorsement.
Abu Dhabi has a meaningful cluster of Lebanese restaurants, so competition for this diner is real. Byblos Sur Mer, Li Beirut, and Em Sherif Sea Café all operate in the same city and serve overlapping menus. What separates Beirut Sur Mer is the combination of location (Saadiyat rather than downtown), price accessibility, and the external validation of two Bib Gourmand cycles. For a broader read on where Lebanese cooking travels well globally, Al Mandaloun in Dubai, Amal in Toronto, Em Sherif in Monte Carlo, and Byblos in Miami each show how the cuisine performs in different international contexts , useful reference points if you are trying to calibrate what a high-quality Lebanese restaurant looks and feels like.
The late-night angle matters practically as well. Saadiyat is a cultural district, not a nightlife strip, and options thin out after 10 PM. If you are visiting the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Natural History Museum, or attending an event at the Manarat Al Saadiyat, Beirut Sur Mer is a logical post-activity dinner or late-night stop. This is not a venue that requires advance planning weeks out , booking difficulty is rated easy , but reserving a table ahead, especially on weekends, avoids any wait at peak evening hours.
For value-seekers visiting Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat district, the calculus is simple: Michelin-recognised Lebanese cooking at $$ pricing, with a Google rating above 4.5 across thousands of reviews, on a street that positions it perfectly for before or after a cultural evening. For more on dining in the city, see our full Abu Dhabi restaurants guide, and if you are planning a full trip, our Abu Dhabi hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the picture. Lebanese cooking with this range of external validation also appears at Beity in Chicago, Brasserie Victória in São Paulo, and Base Kamp by Aïnata in Courchevel for travellers tracking the cuisine internationally.
Quick reference: Michelin Bib Gourmand 2024 & 2025 · $$ pricing · 4.5 stars (3,272 reviews) · Saadiyat Cultural District · Booking: easy · Lebanese cuisine.
Booking difficulty is rated easy. Reservations are advisable on weekends and during cultural events at Saadiyat, but this is not a venue where you need to plan weeks in advance. Walk-ins may be possible on quieter weekday evenings.
Beirut Sur Mer is located on Jacques Chirac Street in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District. No phone number or website is listed in the current record , check Google or the venue directly for current contact details and hours. The $$ price range makes it one of the more accessible options on Saadiyat, where most comparable-quality restaurants sit at $$$$ pricing.
Yes, clearly. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards at a $$ price point is the clearest possible signal that the quality-to-cost ratio holds up. In Abu Dhabi's dining scene, where Michelin-recognised restaurants typically sit at $$$$ , venues like Bord Eau by Nicolas Isnard or Talea by Antonio Guida , finding Bib Gourmand-level cooking at $$ is a genuine price advantage. A 4.5-star Google rating from over 3,200 reviewers reinforces that this is not a one-off critical opinion but a consistent experience across a large sample. Order generously; the price tier allows it.
Smart casual is the practical benchmark. At $$ pricing in a cultural district setting rather than a hotel fine-dining room, the dress expectation is relaxed but not entirely informal. Think neat, presentable clothing rather than beach or resort casual. The Bib Gourmand positioning and Saadiyat location mean some diners will be coming from cultural venues and dressed accordingly, which sets the general tone of the room. No formal dress code is confirmed in available data, so when in doubt, err on the side of smart rather than casual.
No confirmed signature dishes are available in the current venue record, so specific dish recommendations cannot be made here without risk of inaccuracy. What is confirmed: this is a Lebanese kitchen holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which means the inspectors found the cooking consistently good across the menu rather than dependent on one standout dish. The Lebanese format typically rewards building a spread of mezze rather than ordering a single main, and at $$ pricing you can do that without the bill escalating. Ask staff on arrival what is freshest or newly featured , in a Bib Gourmand kitchen, that question usually yields useful answers. For a wider read on how Lebanese cuisine performs at high quality globally, see Trèsind Studio in Dubai for regional context on what Michelin inspectors are finding compelling in the UAE right now.
Yes, more than most Lebanese restaurants at this level. Lebanese sharing cuisine can feel awkward solo if the menu is structured around large-format platters, but a Bib Gourmand kitchen at $$ pricing typically means individual dishes are priced to allow a solo diner to order two or three without overspending. The Saadiyat location also makes it a practical solo stop after visiting nearby cultural attractions. For solo diners who want comparison options, Almayass is the closest Lebanese alternative at the same price tier, though it lacks the Michelin recognition that Beirut Sur Mer carries. Counter or bar seating availability is not confirmed in current data, so call ahead if that format matters to your visit.
See also: our Abu Dhabi wineries guide for pre-dinner or post-dinner drinks planning in the city.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beirut Sur Mer | Lebanese | Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Talea by Antonio Guida | $$$$ · Italian | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Al Mrzab | Emirati Cuisine | Unknown | — | |
| Almayass | Lebanese | Unknown | — | |
| Bord Eau by Nicolas Isnard | French | Unknown | — | |
| Mika | Mediterranean Cuisine | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Beirut Sur Mer measures up.
Yes, clearly. At a $$ price point with two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025), Beirut Sur Mer is among the strongest value cases on Saadiyat Island. If you want Michelin-recognised cooking without the bill that comes with Bord Eau by Nicolas Isnard, this is the straightforward choice.
No dress code is documented for this venue. Given its $$ pricing and Saadiyat Cultural District location — a busy, walkable area anchored by museums and performance spaces — neat casual should work on most evenings. Weekend visits during cultural events may attract a slightly more put-together crowd.
Specific menu items are not available in the current record, so ordering blind is part of the experience here. Focus on the Lebanese meze format, which is the genre this kitchen was recognised for across both Bib Gourmand cycles. If a staff recommendation conflicts with your instinct, the award track record suggests trusting the house.
Lebanese meze is designed for sharing, so solo diners will get less range per visit than a group of three or four. That said, the $$ pricing keeps the bill manageable even when ordering a few dishes alone, and the Saadiyat Cultural District setting means the room typically has enough ambient activity to make a solo meal comfortable.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
