We were staying at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, and guests of the hotel have complementary access to the beach club across the street from it, Nation Riviera; there’s even a glamorous (yes, glamorous) underground tunnel that leads you straight from the hotel to the beach club!

After a beautiful sunny afternoon on the beach at Nation Riviera Club, we headed to Cabana Bar & Grill. The restaurant is nestled perfectly in between the pool and the private beach area. While it may seem more like a drinks place, it has a wonderful menu with really exquisite burgers, salads, fresh ceviches and even a good selection of desserts.

My husband, baby and I were seated and presented with menus. After having a quick look through the menu, I could see that they really do have the perfect selection of “beach food.” We gave them our orders and soon we were presented with our drinks.

For drinks, we ordered the virgin Pina Colada, and the Aqua Fresca. The Pina Colada was perfectly on point, and the Aqua Fresca was a refreshing blend of watermelon and peach– two of my favorite fruits in one drink!

We shared a starter, which was a Shrimp and Lobster Ceviche. We requested that it be made with avocados and pico di gallo and it came out exactly as we wanted. It also comes with a side of tortilla chips, and even our little Khalifa (AKA the pickiest eater ever) loved it!

For mains, I kept with the beach-theme and ordered their Jumbo Prawn Burger, which was an amazing burger to say the least. The size is just perfect to be a filling meal, but also not too much. The black bread gives it an interesting twist, and makes it all the more appealing. It’s made of very well-seasoned, perfectly cooked large prawns. I’m not a big fan of pickles, so I requested that they be replaced with caramelized onions, and it brought all the flavors together so nicely.

I guess my husband was going for a post-beach food coma, because he ordered the Goodnight Good Cause Burger. This burger is the ultimate surf and turf burger. Along with great quality minced Angus beef, it also has jumbo prawns. The flavors of it are really well-balanced out with the sweetness of caramelized onions and the heat from chunky jalapeño slices, and there is also spice from the hickory smoked BBQ sauce.

All of this flavor is cased in a large, fluffy focaccia bun. Its the big dog. The mother of all burgers. And after having a bite of it, I can say that it was delicious! My husband devoured it all, and after about an hour or so had to drink a considerable amount of coffee to keep himself awake. I would highly recommend that you free up the rest of your day before having this!

We didn’t have an inch of room left in our stomachs for dessert, so we’ll definitely have to come back some other time to try them.

Ratings (0-5): 

• Staff/Service: 4.5
• Ambience: 4
• Food: 4.5
• Presentation: 4
• Cleanliness: 5
• Value for money: 4

Overall Rating: 4.3

Worth Trying?: Cabana is perfect for lazy afternoons after the beach, but also really great for quick lunch stopovers.

For more information call Cabana Bar & Grill at +971 (0) 2 694 4553.