Shakespeare and Co – restaurant and patisserie.

Posted by Lau

Striking chandeliers.

Where in Abu Dhabi:

Central Market branch
inside the Central Market souk.
Guardian Towers branch
Al Rehan area.
Saadiyat island branch
inside the St. Regis Hotel.
Deerfield Mall branch
inside the new mall.

We have heard of this cafe-restaurant-patisserie as soon as we arrived in Abu Dhabi: Shakespeare and Co is a true favourite amongst UK expats.

Judging by the romantic chandeliers and elegant décor, you would think it mostly full of ladies, but when we went there we saw a lot of men sitting inside, and even some people who seemed to be holding a business meeting!
It must be because because the atmosphere is cosy, the menu has a lot of yummy choices, and their cakes, desserts and chocolates are known for being really nice.

Pretty décor.

Our drinks.

Complimentary bread.

This restaurant has been founded in 2001 and apart from the 16 branches in the UAE, it also has franchises in Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United States. It is inspired to 18th Century Europe, and serves a wide range of different dishes, from Italian to Lebanese specialities, plus sandwiches, salads, soups and of course, a lot of amazing-looking chocolates and cakes.

We tried the restaurant inside the Central Market Souk, on a lazy and quiet Saturday afternoon.

The decoration of the place has been studied even in the smallest of details: it made me wish I was wearing crinoline too!
From the lamps to the furniture, from the menu to the tableware, it is like stepping onto the set of a period piece.

Minestrone soup.

Quesadilla.

The pretty menu.

I ordered a minestrone soup and a coke, whilst W ordered a chicken quesadilla and a lemon and mint drink.

Everything was really nice. We were also given some complimentary bread and garlic butter whilst we were waiting, which is always a nice touch! We had planned to get some dessert too, but we were too full, so we will have to leave it until the next time, which I am sure will be soon!