Al Fanar at Yas Mall: Emirati Cooking Through the Lens of the UAE’s 1960s

A restaurant designed to make heritage tangible

Al Fanar takes its name from the old kerosene lantern and builds the rest of its identity around the same idea: illuminating a version of Emirati life that younger diners and international visitors may not have experienced first-hand. The Yas Mall branch uses a setting inspired by the UAE of the 1960s, before the modern skyline and mega-malls transformed the country. That could feel theatrical in the wrong hands, but the point here is practical. The recreated details give context to dishes that belong to family tables and local memory, while the location beside Ferrari World makes the restaurant unusually accessible to visitors who might otherwise never seek out Emirati food.

The menu is strongest when it stays close to traditional signatures

Al Fanar’s own current site points diners towards machboos, jesheed, seafood trays, luqaimat with date syrup and karak tea. Those dishes tell a concise story of the Emirates: rice perfumed with spices, fish shaped by coastal life, sweet fried dough and the tea culture that punctuates the day. The wider menu moves through grilled meats, breads and other local favourites, but the pleasure is not in ordering everything. A plate of machboos followed by luqaimat and karak is enough to understand why the concept has grown from a family-run idea founded in 2011 into a recognisable UAE restaurant brand.

Yas Island gives the concept an interesting audience

Inside Yas Mall, Al Fanar serves residents, tourists, families and theme-park visitors in the same room. That mix is valuable: Emirati cuisine is presented not as a specialist excursion but as a normal, appealing choice in one of Abu Dhabi’s busiest leisure districts. The restaurant and mall both currently list the branch as active, although their published opening times differ slightly, so visitors should follow the mall’s live trading hours on the day. The essential point is unchanged: this is one of the easiest places on Yas Island to turn a shopping or attraction day into a genuinely local meal.

Practical details

Location: The Fountains, Ground Floor, Yas Mall, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Cuisine: Emirati and Middle Eastern
Telephone: +971 2 877 2272
Official email: info@yasmall.ae
Signature dishes: Machboos, jesheed, seafood trays, luqaimat and karak