Your Guide to Mina Zayed | The Hippest Neighbourhood in Abu Dhabi

‍

Souq Al Mina 

The beating heart of Mina Zayed, Souq Al Mina is packed full of excellent restaurants, cafes and eateries - a popular spot for Abu Dhabi residents and locals to gather for a meal, to wander around and enjoy a picnic by the water of the port. 

This slice of the city is often overlooked, but is home to a bunch of epic eateries you need to have on your radar. With free parking, a play area for the kids and plenty of space to lay down a picnic blanket and watch the goings on at the port, we know you’ll love it. As the sun sinks over the water and the sky turns pink, the festoon lights turn on and the Abu Dhabi foodies turn up!

‍

Our favourite spots in Souq Al Mina to grab a bite?

Marmellata

These guys hardly need an introduction any more, they’ve basically become part of the cultural fabric of Abu Dhabi. Raj Dagastani and his team churn epic pizzas by the armful, and are always rammed with hungry patrons. If you can’t jag a seat, take your pizza and sit on the grass - the sunsets at Mina Port are gorgeous, and it’s always filled with families picnicking and flying kites in the cooler months. 

‍

J.Lato

No trip to Souq Al Mina is ever complete without a hefty scoop or two of J.Lato’s finest. One of the best gelatos in the city, the flavours are on point - everything from pistachio or peanut butter to avocado or raspberry mint - and the gelato is impossibly smooth. 

‍

Kuzina‍

Is a little Balkan cuisine your thing? Try this one - the food is really good, simple but delicious. 

‍

Check out our full roundup of Souq Al Mina here.

‍

Scratch the shopping itch with a handful of hip boutiques - Min'na Gifts is filled with local products and other handmade homewares, Hubel Clay is a ceramic studio with gorgeous locally made ceramics - or ready made items to buy - or check out Peninsula record shop and cafe for a coffee along with shelves full of records to flip through. 

Souq Al Mina kid’s park is buzzing of an evening and on weekends, as families set up for a picnic. Baqalas sell kites for cheap, or bring yours from home - the sea breeze makes it an ideal spot for some kite flying in the evening.

‍

Abu Dhabi Fish Market

Love yourself some fresh seafood? It doesn’t get fresher than Abu Dhabi’s new Fish Market. We’ve got a full guide to the Fish Market here, or you can check out our visit on Instagram for a look inside, but the most important things to know before you go? 

1. It’s loud and chaotic! Embrace the chaos - if you’re going to run the gauntlet and choose your own fish, be ready to be shouted at (a lot) by all the fishmongers. Once you choose a seller, the others will back off a bit, but even if you’re just wandering around for a look they’ll be pretty relentless in their efforts to call you in - it’s all part of the experience. 
2. You can have your fresh catch cooked on site! There are a bunch of restaurants lining the central market, and after you make your choices you can head to one of these spots and they’ll cook it up for you (for a fee, with sides costing a little extra on top).
3. Want to avoid the haggling and shouting? Beeline for one of the restaurants and choose from their menu. You might miss out on the buzz of choosing your own fresh lunch, but the seafood is still excellent and it’s a bit less intimidating - a good introduction for your first visit. 

‍

Abu Dhabi Plant Market 

In the market for some greenery for your home or backyard? Head to Mina’s Plant Market for some of the best value plants in the city. Whether you want to bring the outside inside and green up your apartment or need anything from water features to fruit trees, you’ll find some gorgeous - and cheap - plants at Mina. You can bargain if you’re buying a few plants, and the shopkeepers are friendly and helpful - they’ll even pot up your purchases if you’re buying pots to put your new snake plant or fiddle leaf fig in before you take it home.

‍

Abu Dhabi Date Market 

Got visitors in town and want to give them a classic Abu Dhabi experience? Or maybe you’re just keen to restock your pantry with delicious dates, dried fruit, nuts and other goodies? Head to the Date Market! Right by Abu Dhabi’s fruit and vegetable market as well - if you want to round out your weekly shop for a fraction of the cost of the big supermarkets - the Date Market is a must-do at least once. It’s an assault on the senses: the shops are bright, often busy and packed from floor to ceiling with all manner of dates and treats, and the vendors will start calling you in from the moment you step out of your car. Don’t be put off - they’re a friendly - if persistent - bunch, and again your haggling skills will come in handy here.  

Most shops will offer you free samples, and tiny cups of Arabic coffee and water as you browse, and you’ll probably go home with more than you planned. Visitors will love the chance to stock up on gifts for home - fresh or packaged dates, knock-off (but still good) Dubai chocolate, all manner of packaged sweets, tahini, pomegranate molasses to make fattoush at home, nicely packaged tea and coffee. Don’t be afraid to say ‘no thanks, I’m just looking’, take a sense of adventure and don’t take yourself too seriously and you’ll enjoy the experience.

‍

More Places We Love?

421 Art Campus 

421 has a little bit of everything: a space dedicated to emerging artists and creatives in the UAE, a gallery for changing exhibitions, a small but nicely curated gift shop and even a cute cafe. It’s a great one to keep an eye on - follow them on socials or check out their website for updates - as they have a year-round program of exhibitions, talks, workshops and special events, as well as programs for kids and teens. The best part? Plenty of these activities are accessible to the wider community, so you can level up your hobbies or learn something new. 

The space itself is open to the general public, so head in for a wander through the exhibitions - and file it away as a great spot to escape the heat in summer.

‍

4.13 Pie House

Our latest trip to Mina brought us to 4.13 Pie House - and we’re so glad it did! Born in the UAE, founder Mohammed moved to Canada and lived there for many years - long enough to become a certified pie enthusiast - before returning to Abu Dhabi. He saw a gap in the market for really, really great pies - enter 3.14 Pie House They’re in the hip MiZa neighbourhood - specifically, The Alley - around the corner from Barbassi and Mina Creamery. Check out what we loved here (spoiler: everything) and be sure to pop in and grab a fresh-from-the-oven chicken pot pie or apple pie next time you’re in Mina.

Barbassi 

We never thought we’d drive all the way across the city for a sandwich, until Barbassi opened their doors in 2025. The younger brother of Marmellata, Raj extended his unique style of culinary soul to sandwiches - and next minute, Barbassi entered the Abu Dhabi zeitgeist. Opening to lines out the door - deja vu for Marmellata up the road - the operation is just as smooth, and delicious. Sandwiches are prepped fresh to order, and they nail the flavour combos. Head in for a lunchtime treat - it’s one of the best.

Mina Creamery 

There’s no shortage of excellent ice cream and gelato vendors in Abu Dhabi - we need something to get us through those summer months - but Mina Creamery deserves its roses. Beginning as a delivery operation across the UAE - with sell-out drops to Abu Dhabi and Dubai each week - this homegrown hero opened their first brick-and-mortar store in Mina Zayed. Each ice cream is a delightful Frankenstein coupling of flavours that just work - with blueberry earl grey tea, white choco matcha and cheeseboard (a cream cheese base with cheddar, apricot chunks and graham crackers) just some of the innovative creations that have graced their kitchen in the past. Each week is a new flavour adventure, and we’ve been in more times than we care to admit in the name of research.

What’s Next For Mina Zayed?

‍

The New Souk and Heritage Area

If you’ve driven through Mina lately - or strolled along the eastern end of the Corniche - you’ve probably spied a lot of work and some heritage style buildings popping up on the waterfront. Hello, new Souq and Heritage area, we see you! Set to open any time now, it’s the next phase of the Modon project in Mina. Kicking off in 2020, the project is well underway - the new Fish Market was the first to move back in 2022, so huge success. 

Mina’s other existing markets will shift gradually into the new heritage construction - the plant market, date and fruit and vegetable markets will all find a new home. While this will be a great move for tourists and locals alike - make for a lovely spot to stroll and shop, as well as continuing the revitalisation of the Zayed Port area - it does represent a goodbye to a piece of Abu Dhabi's history.

‍