Mate Saturday Brunch Is Your New Best Friend

Mate’s Asado Libre brunch is one people often talk about when discussing the best brunches in Abu Dhabi, and it’s easy to see why. Every single dish that comes to the table is tasty and looks beautiful. With the incredible open kitchen, the fabulous vibey music, fabulously engaging staff and the fact that this brunch is always full, adds to what is a culinarily amazing experience. 

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The experience kicks off with dishes from the Buenos Aires region. First up: berberechos empanada – a large and pretty funky black pastry filled with cockles and seaweed, served with chimichurri. It’s one of those dishes that catches you off guard: it’s a great bite into the soft, meaty cockles which give a hint of brine. The empanada pastry is soft and buttery with just the right amount of flake - this is a very hard dish to put down. 

The tiradito de trucha – cured trout with leche de tigre, roasted avocado, peanuts and criollita is a firm favourite for us. It’s fresh, zesty and full of texture – the crunch of the peanuts and the creaminess of the avocado balance the zingy marinade perfectly. 

We encourage you to  try the next dish, even if it doesn’t sound like your thing:  the cholgas escabechadas are smoked, pickled mussels with cauliflower and soft little arepitas. This dish is wonderfully tangy, slightly smoky, and comforting all at once and even if you ‘don’t like mussels’ is a gorgeous mouthful of food. 

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First up on the Rio Negro starters list is ensalada de centolla – a delicate king crab salad with cucumber pickle and red radish. Served in a giant crab shell, it’s fresh and crisp, and the sweetness of the crab really comes through. We really enjoyed this great vegetarian dish, the chipa guazu – a warm, cheesy provolone and corn cake served with corn cream, pickled onion, almonds and grilled avocado. It’s texturally interesting, and watching them flame these over the grill before they got to our table was a real treat. Meat lovers get their first hit with this last dish: this veal belly is cooked for 24 hours until it’s crisp on the outside and tender inside is a different flavour from your common-or-garden beef and really does melt in your mouth.  

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Choose one dish for mains from a line-up of serious heavy-hitters ... and in fact, we chose one each and there was plenty to share. Lomo is a black Angus tenderloin – a lean, buttery-soft cut that’s great for anyone who loves a lighter steak. It’s simply seasoned to let the quality of the meat shine, seared on the outside and meltingly soft when you cut into it. Ojo de bife is the black angus ribeye, a fattier, more marbled cut than the lomo, giving it that deep, beefy flavour and juicy texture. This is absolutely superb. Seafood lovers might prefer the langostinos, sea salt–grilled prawns, served with chimichurri. Tear into these beauties )they give you a towel to wipe your fingers!) that are charred on the outside, tender and juicy inside - absolutely delicious. 

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The star of the show, in a brunch that oozes theatre, is the tomahawk flambée. The meat is brushed with oil from a rosemary leaf brush, the cognac is flamed till it’s searing, then it’s splashed over the giant piece of meat that is the tomahawk steak.  The fabulous blue flame, and the live carving - it’s properly satisfying. It’s served to your table - do make sure you leave room for this, the king of cuts, that is gloriously tasty and beautifully textured.

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Sides don’t even really take a back seat in this brunch: the tomato salad, mil hojas de papas, kale and spinach salad, and grilled mushrooms are all beautiful and perfect if you’re vegetarian too. For us, the mil hojas de papas, a crispy potato mille-feuille, is the standout. It’s golden and crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy inside, and full of rich potato flavour. The grilled mushrooms are finished with a balsamic glaze that brings out their depth, while the kale and spinach salad adds a fresh contrast. The tomato salad, served with caper leaves, smoked olive oil, hummus and crumbled feta, ties it all together.

Desserts are hard to fault. Mate completely gets the assignment, understanding exactly what people need to finish brunch with a satisfying bank.  The churros come in two shapes, perfect for holding the silky white chocolate dipping sauce. The helado de dulce de leche – a cubes of dulce de leche ice cream encased in dark chocolate is simple and delicious. But the real standout is the panqueques: caramelised Argentine crepes filled with rich dulce de leche. These are lightly crisp at the edges, soft in the middle and absolutely loaded with caramel and Nutella - sweet but not overpowering. We could honestly have gone through a few more of these!

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Cocktails and mocktails are well-considered and paired thoughtfully with dishes, with staff offering confident, helpful recommendations throughout. The La Feliz, a gin-based cocktail infused with seaweed, citrus and passion fruit puree, they recommend alongside the cured trout. The acidity and brightness of the drink balance the richness of the fish beautifully. For the meatier mains, the Hornero is put forward – a smoky mix of mezcal, spiced maté syrup, lemon, grapefruit juice and italicus. It’s got a strong kick, but it holds its own against the deeper flavours. To finish, staff recommend the Tortoni, their take on an espresso martini. It’s bold and boozy, with a sweet edge from the foam and is ideal if you like a strong finish. There are also two mocktail options available, both on the sweeter side and always good to see on a menu.

It all makes for a brilliant brunch – excellent food, thoughtful drinks, and genuinely lovely staff who know the menu inside out. A live DJ spinning Latin tracks adds to the easygoing, buzzy vibe. It’s the kind of spot you leave full, happy, and already thinking about coming back. 

Where: Mate, Park Hyatt 

What to wear: it’s a more dressy brunch than many, no shorts for men and possibly even heels or fabulous flats for women

When: Saturday 1-4PM

Pricing: Soft AED395 | House AED495 | Champagne AED690

20% off all packages with BB+ (mention when booking) 

Booking: 054 309 6027

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