Abu Dhabi Nightlife

Comfortable place to watch an exciting football or rugby game. You can choose to either drink at the bar or dine and watch your favorite game. Hemingways is located adjacent to the Jazz Place and Cinnabar nightclub in the back of Hilton Abu Dhabi Hotel.

Dress Code: Smart Casual.

Level is a chilled out lounge that's located at the rooftop of the Crown Plaze hotel in Abu Dhabi. It's right on their pool, and there's a huge tent where you can sit on couches and bean bags. A live DJ plays incredible music - very loungy house music. It's a great place if you want to just hang out and have a drink. But one thing - it's only open on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.

Dress Code: Jeans and sneakers are acceptable, however no short or flip flops

Cinabar is a new location that opened early this year (2008) at the Hilton Hotel. It's great! Chilled out house music, amazing interior - just the right spot to either go for a drink or two, or even staying there the and dancing the night away. Entrance is 100Dhs (approx.$30) as they are trying to keep a certain upper scale level. However don;t get me wrong! It's not stuck up or expensive in any way. Great music and a fanastic atmosphere all around!

Dress Code: Casual - you can go with sneakers and jeans. However, men can't wear shorts or flip flops. Women can get away with almost anythign :0)

Escape is a chilled out spot at the Hiltonia beach club. Great music (the DJ from Buddah Bar Lebanon is playing) and you sit right by the pool and beach on bean bags. Unfortunately you won't be able to enjoy it in the summer months, but in winter and spring it's fantastic!

Dress Code: casual - you can go there dressed comfortably in sneakers and jeans, however not in shorts and flip flops

During the duration of our stay in Abu Dhabi, we visited many of the top spots in the city, none more disappointing than Oceans, which is suprising as the bar next door (Sax jazz bar) was amazing and we throughly enjoyed it. We found the service and food in Oceans to be worth nothing more than a 2 or 3 star rating. The hostess was very unpleasant and the waiters... rude! The management seemed very uninterested and distracted with their own affairs. The drinks were the same story, very bland. It also seems people are served according to wealth and not arrival. If i were to recommend a night spot filled with entertainment and flair i would direct ya'll to Rockwell's or Pj's.

Dress Code: The dress code is very smart, which is necessery for the star rating, however the bouncers at the door will find a reason to hassel you.

I've found in Abu Dhabi that certain places are bouncing on certain days and rubbish on others.

Upto now i'd reccomend:-

Tuesday Nights at Hemmingways and then The Jazz bar, both of which are in the Hilton Hotel.

Thursday Nights at Oceans and the Sax which are both at the Royal Meridian(Although the 2 bouncers on the door can be a right pain in the backside here at first)

Friday afternoons from about 4:30ish in PJ's Irish bar is a good laugh too.

Dress Code: Hemmingways and the Jazz Bar are Casual - no shorts etc

Oceans and Sax are Smart Casual, depends on the bouncers mood!

PJ's - anything goes.

Even if by it's name is not a night club ( SAX-Jazz Bar), it is actually one of the best places to go out on a weekend. It has a live band and a DJ. House cocktails are great(ask for the sax martini) and the staff is very friendly. If you get hungry, you can have a good meal at it's elegant dinning.

Dress Code: Smart casual. No torn jeans, sleavless (for males), hats or head scarfs.

The LAB bar was in the Beach Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi for the past few years. Well, it closed! Lots of people here recommended it, so wanted to let others know that it is no longer open in case they go looking.

The closest place to the old LAB now is probably ZAX bar in the Royal Meridian, 2nd floor.