Thalassa: Aegean Dining at Abu Dhabi’s Most Intimate Santorini-Inspired Retreat

A restaurant scaled to a 22-room retreat

Thalassa belongs to one of Abu Dhabi’s smallest luxury resorts, and that intimacy shapes the meal. Anantara Santorini Abu Dhabi Retreat has only 22 rooms and borrows the whitewashed, sea-facing calm of the Greek island rather than the scale of a conventional Gulf resort. Thalassa sits at sea level, with glass walls and outdoor tables keeping the water in view. That setting could invite a menu of vague Mediterranean greatest hits; instead, Anantara is clear about Greece, the Aegean and Santorini as the reference points, with a la carte dishes and grills built around produce from the sea, farms and groves of Southern Europe.

The menu is brighter and more contemporary than a taverna pastiche

Current menu highlights show how the kitchen handles that brief. Watermelon and feta is sharpened with cucumber, mint and balsamic; beef tartare is served with bone marrow and rye toast; grilled octopus comes with smoked fennel puree, Greek chimichurri and an ancho chilli glaze; and a lemon dessert layers Cretan lemon mousse with mint and chocolate soil. Condé Nast Traveller’s current hotel review describes the restaurant as a sea-level Greek room and notes traditional references such as spanakopita, tzatziki, souvlaki and moussaka alongside more contemporary treatments and a broad selection of grilled fish and meat. The combination keeps the food recognisably Greek without treating tradition as a costume.

Dinner is intentionally destination-led

Thalassa is open for dinner from 6:30pm to 11pm, and Anantara requires advance restaurant reservations for external guests. That rule makes sense at a 22-room retreat where capacity and atmosphere depend on keeping numbers controlled. The direct dining contact is +971 56 533 7501. For Simply Abu Dhabi, Thalassa is worth the drive because the food, architecture and scale all point in the same direction. This is not a restaurant to squeeze between appointments. Arrive with daylight left, allow the coast to change colour, order seafood or something from the grill, and accept that the strongest luxury here is not excess but the feeling that the room has been designed for far fewer people than most Abu Dhabi resorts ever attempt.

Practical details

Location: Anantara Santorini Abu Dhabi Retreat, Ghadeer Al Tayr, Al Jarf / Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Cuisine: Greek and Mediterranean; Aegean seafood and grills
Telephone: +971 56 533 7501
Hours: Dinner 6:30pm-11:00pm
Reservations: Advance reservation required for external guests
Editorial status: Open