Homegrown Emirati restaurant gets second UAE venue

Emirati venue Al Fanar Restaurant and Café has opened its second branch in the UAE at the new Venetian Village development at Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal.

His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) officially opened the restaurant.

Created by its principal Hashem Al Marzouqi, Al Fanar serves up authentic Emirati cuisine with salads, fish, seafood and meats, complete with barasti outdoor booths, mud brick rooms and a mini souk - a themed representation of an old UAE neighbourhood.

"The atmosphere is tremendous,” said Sheikh Sultan. “I want to congratulate Hashem on a restaurant and café which is already the talk of the Abu Dhabi community and will fast evolve into a tourist attraction.

"As I sat down for lunch, the memories came flooding back, there’s so much here that evokes the best of the past.”

Al Marzouqi is a mechanical engineer-turned heritage theme designer; his Abu Dhabi venue seats 320. He said: "Abu Dhabi was a natural progression for our concept which began in Dubai because of the UAE capital’s passion for Emirati heritage and culture and the way it is leveraging this in its tourism promotion."

He added: "We have been given an excellent reception here and we are already looking at additional outlets in the emirate – with Al Ain now firmly in our sights."