Frankie's

From Time Out Abu Dhabi Eating Out 2010

There are two names above the door at this impressive Italian, but we’re only really interested in one. Frankie Dettori may know a good pasta when he tastes one, but we’d trust him better if this were a stables. Marco Pierre White, on the other hand, is a name we can rely on – the Fairmont obviously does; he runs the restaurant next door, too. Opened by Prince Andrew in late October, 2009, there was barely time for us to try Frankie’s before going to press, but it already seemed to know what it was doing. A mere week in operation, it served up one of the finest Italian meals we’ve yet tasted in the capital.

As a child, Time Out lived next door to a genuine Italian mamma. Quite simply, our lifelong search for a pizza to match her tomatoey discs of homemade beauty came to an end at Frankie’s. Elsewhere on the table, we found gnocchi so light it almost floated away, and a tenderloin of beef that would’ve made its bovine donor proud. In short, the capital’s other Italian restaurants ought to watch their backs: there’s a new lad in town.

Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.