14 places
Seafront tables a few steps from the sand, with grilled lobster and the catch of the day.
A floating restaurant on the UAQ lagoon, with water on every side of your table.
You eat a health-focused breakfast or lunch with the sea directly in front of you and the sun setting over it.
A table above Fashion Avenue that overlooks the Dubai Fountain, at café prices instead of a fine-dining bill.
A long terrace right on the water with sea and Hajar mountain views, and a pistachio chocolate kunafa to finish.
Grilled seafood looking out to Dibba Rock, with fish (and sometimes turtles) in the water below the deck.
Pier-side tables over the water at Yas Bay, looking across Al Raha Creek.
Floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace near the top of the UAE's highest mountain, where it's noticeably cooler than the coast.
Sea views along the Mamsha Al Saadiyat beachfront.
You eat right in front of Surf Abu Dhabi's wave pool and watch surfers drop in.
A terrace on Yas Marina looking straight over the moored yachts.
A beachfront terrace on Saadiyat with the water a few steps away.
Sourdough-crust pizza on a terrace that looks straight out at the Gulf.
Harbour views from the Etihad Towers, with Lebanese food to match.