‪oceana Restaurant‬

One of the best hotel buffet in Abu Dhabi. We tried here couple of times already and I must say the food quality is excellent. And oh there is ice cream too. The price as well is not too expensive. :)

Wondering where to go for New Year's I eventually remembered the Groupon I'd bought for this restaurant and was glad to find out that they'd accept it for the New Year's brunch. This was one restaurant I was very sceptical to try since I couldn't find too many reviews on Zomato or TA, but our only confidence was in the fact that it was part of the Hilton brand.

Set in the far left of the hotel upon entering, you are welcomed to a bright, open and airy restaurant, with plenty of natural light coming in, and plenty of seating areas to choose from. From the moment I walked in my eyes were set on the sushi platter, the mini-churrasco, and an unbelievable dessert spread. I started off with the salads which were amazingly fresh and crispy. I loved how fresh the sushi was, but I knew I had to move on as my heart was elsewhere. After getting some mains for my son, I got some helpings from the grill - charred rib eye and skirt, cooked to medium and so tender. They also had lovely Lamb Ouzi and salt-crusted Salmon alongside, as well as a risotto station. The Ouzi was cooked so well that it was a delight to watch the chef pull the meat apart, and it was so soft and tender that it melted in the mouth. I got really caught up with the extended station, that to be honest I actually didn't gorge on the mains. They did have quite a lot of variety and my dear mentioned it was quite good. I only tried the lasagna, which happened to be a family favorite. But the piece de resistance had to be the desserts - the variety, the colors, I just had to have them all. The desserts felt natural in taste, none were overly sweet, and so it was easier to try and lighter on the palate. It's actually the first time I've had so many desserts at any buffet, and I'm guessing I tried them all :)

I got to learn from the staff that the regular buffet would be missing the extended station in comparison, and minus a few items. The only downside though was the service, it felt very slow and it was obvious they were a bit short staffed. It didn't bother us so much, though it had me wonder how they'd fare if they place got busier. But the staff are really nice, and everyone is super friendly once you ease up on them.

Overall, I am truly surprised that noone has talked about this place. We had a wonderful experience, the place felt very relaxing, and just the salads and desserts are compelling enough to give this place a try. As with any other Hilton, the food speaks quality more than anything else. And even without a discount voucher their present event prices are very affordable. Definitely recommended!

To be fair it's been a little while since the Ambitious Glutton and his plus one have visited Oceana. But the many experiences with the buffet for dinner and brunch were great. They even have Groupon for the brunch from time to time. Seafood is usually on par and the desert philosophy of quality not quantity wins.
Worth a visit

Love the ambience. Love their breakfast buffet. It had almost everything from classic, American continental breakfast. Excellent service. Loved the view from the glass window. Perfect for a weekend breakfast buffet

Large restaurant offering all day dining buffet option. Convenient for breakfast when staying at the hotel but I would not recommend it for lunch or dinner. Their dessert offering is limited and not appealing compared to what it offered in other five star hotels

One of the few places to try for the Ramadan Iftar Tent. I saw an offer on Groupon and that is how me and frnds ended up trying this place out. Nice decoration, lovely staff and the moment we entered the tent staring at the food we were all mesmerized. More than the mains we were interested in the sweets. Anyways, we were sitted at the very corner door side of the tent. Was a bit disappointed intitially but it all worked out pretty well. Anyways coming to the food, the varieties of dates were hugeeeeee and massiveee. the salads were limited, the mains were quite a lot. the grills were particularly very yummy. But the best was the sweets. All the varieties of Arabic sweets and sooooomany types of fruits, its like a never ending affair. It was a market of fruits , looked like it.. They had alllll varietiesss of it. liked it. Will go back again to try the Ramadan iftar tent :)