Good news for pastry people: bkry, the Dubai bakery with a serious croissant following, opens its first Abu Dhabi outlet at The Arcades this October. It's a significant move for a brand that has built its name on flaky laminated dough and craft-led cooking, and the capital is getting more than a copy-paste branch.
The new spot launches with a Grab & Go concept designed specifically for the location — ready-to-eat dishes, fresh produce and retail shelves stocked with goods from independent local suppliers hand-picked by co-founder and head chef Kameel Rasyid. The idea is that everything on sale meets the same standard as what comes out of bkry's own kitchen, while giving small producers a platform inside the store.
The Grab & Go menu reads well beyond your standard sandwich counter. There's a granola yoghurt bowl layered with hung vanilla yoghurt, strawberry compote and passion fruit; a beef bulgogi wrap built on wagyu, sushi rice and black beans; a haloumi sandwich on ciabatta with two kinds of pesto and mustard aioli; and a chicken teriyaki sandwich on shokupan with kewpie mayo and house tonkatsu.
On top of that, The Arcades gets its own exclusive menu. Bakery-wise, look out for a Coconut Croissant and a chocolate peanut caramel babka, while the savoury side includes a Korean chicken sando with honey gochujang glaze and pickled gherkins, plus a beetroot and orange salad with spiced yogurt and greek feta.
The space itself sounds worth lingering in: warm timber, exposed concrete and terrazzo, olive-toned seating, communal tables and a marble-topped coffee bar. An open bakery and pastry display puts the making on show, and arched windows look out onto the surrounding courtyard.
For travellers, this is a simple reason to add a food stop to a UAE trip. Abu Dhabi has been steadily building a reputation as more than Dubai's quieter neighbour, and openings like this — an established Dubai food brand expanding to the capital — are part of that story. If you're based in Dubai, The Arcades makes an easy day-trip target; if you're staying in Abu Dhabi, it's a solid breakfast or coffee stop with a proper pastry case. Croissant obsessives should aim for the morning, when the first bake is freshest and the display is fully stocked.
