ingredients

without a doubt, thisrestaurantis one of the best restaurants in abu dhabi. the food is very tasty, carefully prepared and there is a variety of meals. i visited thisrestaurantin ramadan and ate iftar. i recommend everyone to try it
the price of the buffet per person is about 250 dirhams
it has indoor and outdoor seating area , and free parking

its our first time in thisrestaurantand we celebrated our post christmas by joining them for brunch.

food - wide variety of options. i love their grilled seafood station with lobster! and also the pad thai is well recommended. asian station includes sushi, miso soup, sashimi, gyoza etc
arabic and indian stations are also available.

service - very few staff are on duty so its really difficult to get assistance on drinks, clearance and even on payment.

overall experience is very good! good food and ambience and great value for money

exceptional customer experience is relative to what the customer's baseline and expectations are. 

the same exact experience could be truly exceptional to one customer, while more or less average to another customer who might have different previous experiences. 

and, so the same applies to me as a customer. i have dined in restaurants a lot in the past few years, and some of my outings, especially when it's a big group, could end-up in a buffet. i know that buffets are even more popular during the month of ramadan, where practically everyone gets to eat at the same exact time. 

this week, i was part of a work workshop, which also happened to be in a hotel, anantara eastern mangroves abu dhabi. 

we had lunch there in a place called ingredients, and therestaurantoffered a buffet lunch.
my experience was a bit different than the buffets i have been used to. i was at some point surprised, pleasantly surprised, and so i want to walk you through my thought process, as a customer for myrestaurantcustomer experience with ingredients.

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step 1: discovering  

i have been practically living in abu dhabi during the week for the past 3–4 months, and so i wasn't staying in "downtown" or the more trendy places such as yas island. i was staying in an area that some could argue that it's in the middle of nowhere. 

i was staying close to adnec, abu dhabi national exhibition centre. that area is pure business and a bunch of hotels, and so the dining options that are nearby are limited. i knew a few places, one of them the eastern mangroves area, as well as, the restaurants close to the ritz carlton. other than that you will have to drive 20–25 minutes to have dinner, and while that is a reasonable time to travel for dinner, it's not really convenient to do it on a daily basis. 

i was always on the "look-out" for new places, but the one thing that i never caught, was the restaurants available anantara eastern mangroves abu dhabi, where it was practically 7 minutes away from where i was staying. 

the moment i was in ingredients and witnessed this incredible view, i thought to myself, how did i not find the place? 

according to the manager of the restaurant…

one customer told him he has been living in abu dhabi for 9 years and just found out about this place. 

now that he knows it, he will come more often. 

incredible. right? i haven't spoken yet about the experience, but you will gauge from what i just mentioned how awesome that place is, and hey did you see that view? 

step 2: sitting in the seating area

i can't mention enough how i fell in love with that view, and so that brings me to the seating area. 

i actually dined twice in this place, in two consecutive days. the first day i wasn't able to sit outside and enjoy the view because it was already booked. i guess this is something to take note of. always book outside, especially with the chill-out weather of abu dhabi in december. 

i was disappointed that i didn't get to enjoy the view on my first day, but hey i still sat next to the food. not a bad option. 

step 3: ordering the food or rather getting the food
since this is a buffet-based restaurant, then instead of 'ordering', we serve ourselves and get our own food. 

my strategy is first to skim the buffet. the last thing i want to do is put something on the plate only to find out later, that there is something better i would have liked to try. 

and so, i skimmed. there was a variety of options and cuisines, which i loved. i also knew that i had to go back to work, so i knew i wanted to get something light and not go crazy with stuffing my mouth. 

step 4: dining 

usually, when i go to buffets, there is some kind of hecticness in the process, especially if it was very busy. cluttery, glasses, and water are placed on the tables, but sometimes, there would be some missing items. if they were missing you either get them yourself, you ask the waiter or the waiter would notice it and get them for you. 

when it came to ingredients, everything was in place. in fact, when you go to get yourself some dessert, you come back to find the waiter sharing with you a small spoon for the dessert.
the waiter would bring you water and ask you if you want to have some juice.

but hey, enough talking about the service, because if the food isn't good, then what's the point anyways? 

there were multiple cuisines. in fact, there were 7 cuisines, some were better than others. the variety could cater to most people and whether you are a vegetarian as well. 

overall, the food was exquisite. i was surprised to find that even if the buffet preparing large portions of food and multiple cuisines, the food was actually very tasty!

step 5: paying the bill

since it was a work workshop lunch, i didn't really pay the bill, which made me intrigued to know how much this actually costs. 
lunch starts from 195 aed.
dinner starts from 150 aed. 

other than that, there is nothing else i could add.

step 6: telling my friends

one of the best things about this place is actually the view. when it comes to dining, many places are indoor, but this one, you can just sit and indulge at the moment. 

and if you are super hungry and don't want to wait to order, then this buffet is totally worth it. the quality of the food is really great. i'd be careful though, i usually overeat and stuff my face with food when it's a buffet. not so great for my scale.

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myrestaurantcustomer experience with ingredients was based on a buffet setting for work lunch. it was perfect for that, others come for friday brunches, and dinner buffets as well. i am betting the vibes are totally different.

the one thing that i would improve though is the discoverability of this place. it's incredible, and not so many people know about it!

go sushi promotion that is currently running daily from 7.00 – 11.00 pm, offering guests a wide selection of signature rolls for aed 99 net/person and 199aed with wine at ingredients, anantara eastern mangroves abu dhabi hotel. the ambiance is really nice and the staff is very welcoming and accommodating. i love the interior of the restaurant, very spacious , its a family friendlyrestaurantand perfect for having a good dinner with friends.

perfect buffet. from the variety of appetizers to the variations in the cuisines served and ends with the delicious desserts, this place has the best buffet in town. not only the food caught me but also the view of the mangroves the moment you step outside therestaurantis beautiful. so well done ingredients keep the yummy food coming.

amazing location. very relaxing for friday brunch. outdoor seating is highly recommended. food is great, especially grills and desserts. looking forward to visit therestaurantonce again; probably on a thursday for grill night. 👍

as you walk towards therestaurantmint aroma captivates you kinda preparing you for the brunch.once you enter polite and helpful staff/host not only walks you to your reserved table but also gives you a tour of what is there on for you. you will find wide choice almost covering cuisines from all parts of asia. its very difficult to say which one is more tastier than other but under one roof you find all the major asian cuisines competing with one and other. good view , cool breeze from the mangrooves a must try especially with family for a relaxed eat out. the music will compliment the eating experience with a dynamic dj🖒

you have got to love this restaurant. even though the whole thing is a bit confusing when you enter from the mangroves promenade - we had to search for 5 minutes before we found someone to show us the way to the restaurant. the food is delicious - hereby i mean the food in the asian part of the restaurant. you can literally feel the ingredients, so therestaurantundoubtedly lives up to its name! the service is very gentle, too! the chef came to introduce himself after we were done eating - this had never happened before in abu dhabi and was very much appreciated. we'll be back!

this is a cool breakfast outlet located in the anantara hotel of eastern mangroves. the outside seating here totally does justice to the location!

we went here for breakfast during our stay. thisrestaurantis only open in the morning, so perhaps they should keep the buffet open till a bit late. we sat outside on a table facing the mangroves and creek. the breakfast spread was good. eggs like you want, yoghurts, fruits, cold cuts of salmon & turkey, assorted breads, thai & chinese variants is just some of the items. my most favorite were the waffles and more so the syrup options to go with it. the service was good too.

i have had better breakfast buffets in terms of spreads, but this one has it's own charm mainly because of the location. do try!

and now they’re experimenting with a limited, exclusive, even almost intimate live sushi experience whereby two couples sit directly at the live sushi station!. close to the natural mangroves, ingredientsrestaurantis famous for its weekend brunches, where sushi and other live-cooking stations entertain the palates of the fortunate diners – but the sushi station serves as part of the immense buffet – now, instead, the luckiest of the fortunate can actually interact directly with the sushi chefs and enjoy an evening of customized sushi delights made just for you.

tried the breakfast buffet at thisrestaurantduring our stay at the hotel and were very impressed with the massive spread and the variety of options. they had pretty much everything you can think of .. live cooking stations for eggs, waffles and pancakes, separate counters for arabic, asian and continental breakfast dishes, choice of fresh juices and other beverages and great selection of breads and cheeses. we certainly had a delightful start to our day.

we visited the anantara for a birthday stop over in abu dhabi. the service is exceptional and the rooms are spacious and modern. breakfast is served in the ingredientsrestaurantwith an enormous selection of food from asia to the traditional english fry up. definitely a must if you are in the area.

nice place to visit in abu dhabi...the back water view along the pool i just amazing...as far therestauranti happen to hv their lunch buffet...wide spread...sushi counters..thai food...pasta live counter...custom made soft drinks..lots and lots...nice ambience...and lots of desserts...vfm...enjoy the lunch if u happen to b there...

i was surprise when i saw ingredients popping up as the list of restaurants that i have rated but not written a review on coz i remember clearly writing a very detailed review on ingredients right after i visited them (which is now months back). i have no clue how it got deleted from zomato! however, since ingredients is one of those rare places which gives you lifelong memories, it isn’t hard to rake my head to write about them again.

i have had the pleasure to stay at anatara eastern mangroves a couple of times. i would recommend this hotel to anyone who is interested for a getaway in uae as more than the ambiance (which is out of this world offcourse), the staff here treat you like royalty. the rooms are huge, the pool is amazing, the staff perfect and ingredients? just the best. i should admit that ingredients was one of the major reasons my stay at eastern mangroves hits a 100 on 100!

i don’t know if i should call their breakfast spread as just breakfast or brunch. when i entered therestaurantfor my breakfast i was pleasantly surprised at the spread. there were counters everywhere. i know what one would say – that’s how a breakfast spread looks at any star hotel. but let me correct you right there – you couldn’t be more wrong. their spread was unlike any i have seen before! they had counters for asian (which had a wide variety of noodles, dimsums, and rice including sticky rice), sushi, arabic breakfast, cold cuts, hot appetizers, cheese counters, seafood section, salads, a pancakes & waffles station, an egg station along with the droolworthy dessert station to top the fruits and juice bars. it was a food paradise. a special mention has to be made on the food quality here too because quantity can never beat quality – the pancakes were soft and delicious, the sushi perfect, the eggs fluffy and every dish i tasted topped the previous one. love!

therestaurantis very spacious and this helps in creating an air of freshness around you. it overlooks the mangroves and this makes your breakfast experience even more special.

i would recommend ingredients and eastern mangroves for anyone who is looking for a change from the usual crowded hotels. the staff is extremely friendly, the ambiance great and food spectacular.

we were taken away for a surprise – lets leave dubai for a while – valentines weekend trip last week and ended up staying at the beautiful anantara hotel resorts and spa, in abu dhabi. as we heard so many positive things about the hotel before, we were excited to check in and start our weekend trip.

up on arrival we were greeted friendly, welcomed with cold, scented towels and an iced date juice. one of us was asked to show the passport and to fill out the forms before we were escorted to out beautiful room at the second floor, overlooking the mangroves of abu dhabi.

as it was quite late already, and we were hungry we ordered a small snack with room service and went to bed, looking forward to the breakfast next morning.

the breakfast was served at ingredients, the all day diningrestaurantof the hotel. being located on the ground floor of the hotel, it was easy to find and one could smell the scent of freshly brewed coffee, pastries and eggs already when exiting the elevator.

therestaurantis huge, and most probably can be filled up with around 250 guests at a time inside as well as outside on the terrace. we were welcomed by a friendly hostess who asked for our room number and if we preferred to sit inside our outside.

given the opportunity to get a bit closer to mother nature, observing the mangrove’s wild live and being kissed by the sun, we chose to sit outside, left our keys and mobiles there and went back inside to discover the buffet.

while helping ourselves with the freshly squeezed juices and pastries, a asian looking gentleman approached us to ask if we wanted any kind of eggs for breakfast.

we ordered scrambled eggs with him and continued to storm through the buffet.

when our plates were filled up and we went back to the table, we found our coffees as well as the eggs waiting for us already, and linh, a gentleman from vietnam, pulled the chair for us to sit down, while wishing us a good morning and a nice breakfast.

not only linh, but all of his colleagues had something special about them.

from the check in – to the check out – everyone, and we mean everyone was super friendly, assertive, paid attention to details, acted pro-active instead of waiting for guests to ask for them and one could actually feel that everyone working in this hotel enjoys the job.

it happened many times that we checked in somewhere or went for dinner and one or two of the service staff was either smiling or generally good with guests, but everyone in the entire hotel, that was something new and impressive.

we also went to the spa and for dinner on this day, but keep our experience and stories to ourselves until being revealed through another review.

keep exploring,

seb