Olio: Mediterranean Cooking at the Water’s Edge of Sir Bani Yas Island

The island is not just the backdrop

Olio would be a pleasant Mediterranean restaurant almost anywhere, but Sir Bani Yas Island changes the scale of the experience. It sits at Anantara Al Yamm Villa Resort with uninterrupted views of the water, turning breakfast, lunch and dinner into part of the slower rhythm of an island stay. Anantara describes the restaurant as a celebration of Mediterranean living, and that is more accurate than calling it simply Italian. The menu draws on the generosity and directness of the region – pasta, grilled meat, seafood and dishes built around freshness rather than elaborate construction. Because the resort itself is low-rise and close to the shoreline, Olio feels less like a hotel dining room and more like a coastal restaurant that happens to have villas behind it.

Ravioli, Josper fire and a sommelier’s hand

Two details in Anantara’s current description give Olio its culinary shape: homemade ravioli and lamb grilled in the Josper oven. One is about craft and softness, the other about heat, smoke and caramelisation. Together they explain why the restaurant moves comfortably between refined pasta and more robust grill cooking. Wine recommendations are offered by the sommelier for each course, which makes sense in a venue designed for unhurried resort dinners. The food does not need to compete with a city skyline or loud entertainment; it can lean into clean Mediterranean flavours and the quality of ingredients. That restraint is particularly welcome on Sir Bani Yas, where a day may already have included wildlife drives, beach time or water activities. Dinner should feel restorative rather than like another scheduled attraction.

From sunrise breakfast to midnight lounge

Olio currently serves à la carte breakfast from 6am to 10am, lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, while the bar and lounge run from 9am to midnight. The contact number is +971 2 801 5400. For Simply Abu Dhabi, the strongest recommendation is to use the restaurant differently across a stay rather than treating it as a single dinner reservation. Breakfast shows the calm of the shoreline; lunch catches the island at its brightest; dinner gives the Josper grill and wine service more room to shine. If choosing one sitting, make it dinner and ask for a table that takes advantage of the sea. Olio’s luxury is not excess – it is the feeling that the restaurant and the landscape have been allowed to belong to each other.

Practical details

Location: Anantara Al Yamm Villa Resort, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Telephone: +971 2 801 5400
Hours: Breakfast 6am-10am; lunch 12pm-3pm; dinner 6:30pm-10:30pm; bar/lounge 9am-12am
Setting: Oceanfront resort dining
Editorial status: Open