Bord Eau - French Fine Dining at its best

We try the new menu at the Bord Eau, the award-winning French restaurant at the Shangri-La Abu Dhabi

When it comes to fine dining, we all know the French introduced us to this and have since been the masters at the game, but when it comes to fine dining, specifically French fine dining, there is no other place that does it better than Bord Eau at the Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi.

Situated on the banks of the Khor Al Maqta Canal with the most amazing view of the water and the Grand Mosque across, Bord Eau simply blows you away just with the views.

The Venue

You walk in, the lighting is mellow, a harpist plays the finest tunes, and you are greeted warmly by the hostess who will offer you a drink from their featured vineyards for the day and settle you down at your table, you will be transported in time to a fine dining room from the days of Louis XIII, its simply amazing.

The restaurant has recently reopened and has a fresh new menu which we had the privilege of experiencing and oh, it was a memorable meal. It’s an intimate dining space just off the majestic lobby of the Shangri-La dominated by the Charcuterie table that featured some of the of the finest cured meats, cold cuts, freshly baked breads, and ripened cheeses by Les Frères Marchand, established in 1880, in the East of France.

The Food

The menu is compact and elegant featuring some classic appetizers, mains, and dessert, you are offered a choice of sampling the Charcuterie table and one of the mains or you can just order off the à la carte menu.

We had to try the Charcuterie and some of the cheese will leave you amazed with their flavors, sadly there is so much to try we just couldn’t sample everything.

The highlights from the Foie Gras Terrine, and the classic French Onion Soup were absolute stars, the taste and the plating was amazing.

Entrees we tried were the Bord Eau Beef fillet, the meat was so tender it felt like it would fall apart if you just stared at it, the truffle jus took it to the next level, this is the best on the menu.

The Cannon of Lamb was the next highlight, the puree of peas along with the subtle flavors from the garlic made it irresistible with olive jus tying it all together, amazing.

We tried the seared sea bass, which was so delicately cooked and exquisitely presented, we just couldn’t get ourselves to dig in, looked like it was a work of art.

The Desserts

Moving on to the desserts, what can we say, each is a masterpiece, highly recommend the chocolate spheres and the cherry clafoutis tart, both spectacular with presentation to match.

It was a spectacular meal, the ambiance, service, food presentation and the superb wine selection all came together in one of the finest meals we have had in Abu Dhabi.

The Verdict

If you are after French fine dining in a suitable ambiance there is no place like Bord Eau, just the fact that it was almost full on a week nigh is testament enough, look around, you might just spot the French Ambassador having a meal with his family, it’s that sort of place.