SATURDAY BRUNCH

We love Graphos, the main restaurant on the pool level at Hilton Yas, for its funky decor, cute spaces which means that it always feels busy, its excellent indoor-outdoor flow and its central open kitchen area where you can watch the magic happen. And they really brought the noise for this brunch ... actually literally, since the singer was really, really good and totally lifted the whole experience!

Food. First of all, there are a lot of different food stations. The sushi station was a stand-out with the most amazing fresh sushi and sashimi, gorgeously presented and screaming out for a second helping. There was a great Indian food section - please ... the naan ....! and an even better Asian food section. For me, a brunch is made with the presence of duck wraps and we quadrupled down on those, along with a little guy in front of me who piled his plate high! We also loved the very fresh seafood plates, an eclectic bread table (yes to the cinnamon roll!), the Italian station with pasta for days, the really excellent fish goujons and chips and the good-looking salads. Speaking of healthy, there's a green bar! You can go and get all manner of healthy and vegan plates put together which will be such a massive draw for a lot of people who love the vibe of brunch but want to stay in their zones - this was a great addition to the brunch and put it a nose ahead.

Pass-arounds. The highlight for us was the roving paella trolley, groaning under the weight of a huge pan of fragrant, steaming, seafood laden paella. It was not only an absolutely outstanding idea but it was so smoky and perfectly cooked. We could've easily had seconds of this but by this stage, we'd slowed down ... there was lots of food!

Sweeties. We were seated near to the dessert section but I'm ashamed to say we didn't cover it all. The best was the macaron sandwiching fat blackberries and creme anglaise and the excellent eclairs. We loved the addition of a kids area with the usual burgers and nuggets but the kids (or adults if you're me!) dessert selection was epic: made-on-the-spot candy floss, cute themed cupcakes and sweets. Brunch isn't brunch without ice-cream and it was fun to watch this being made in front of us, served in waffle cones and topped with the best sprinkles ever! Ever wanted to be a dragon? Hilarity reigned when they brought around what looked like innocuous macarons until you bit into them - Nat took great pleasure in rolling on the floor laughing as I navigated my way through the snorting of dry ice out my nose and mouth mid-chew. This was brilliant and such a fun pass-around - the guy was like the Pied Piper with kids running after him begging for third and fourth goes at this! The best of the best was the fabulous chocolate shawarma, sliced off and added to make the most decadent of crepes - everyone we saw picked up this brilliant option and I'd go back just for this.

Drinks. Outside there were numerous drinks stations, all beautifully pristine, set up under stripy umbrellas and feeling very cosmopolitan. Our favorite of these was the daiquiri station - Nat's passionfruit daiquiri was served in a quirky can ... really in keeping with the Graphos semi-industrial decor. We finished our brunch with an espresso mule from the cart - these carts and the whole drinks set-up was really good and the whole outside area is absolutely perfect place to sit in cooler months and while away hours with drink in hand and paella on plate.

Graphos is a great addition to Abu Dhabi's brunch scene and bound to be a favourite of many!

Fridays 1-4.30PM

AED269 soft beverages

AED379 house beverages

AED499 bubbly (Prosecco)

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Rachael Partington