Fresh from a 2-hour bus ride from Al Ghubaiba bus station in Dubai, Ed and I hopped off the bus at Abu Dhabi's main terminal and embraced the hot, humid and hazy weekend morning! The summer heat was intense, yet I was still hyped up to revisit my favorite spots and to discover new places.
Our first destination should be Emirates Palace, but we were halted at the gates since Ed was wearing shorts! Without an extra time to waste, we immediately asked the taxi driver to take us to Marina Mall instead; where Ed could purchase a cheap pair of jeans and where we could have our early lunch.
Marina Mall is a shopping center located at Abu Dhabi's coastal area. It has always been a lunch break venue whenever I visit the UAE's capital. For a change, Ed and I skipped the food court area and had our meal up in the sky! Marina Mall has two restaurants at the Sky Tower; Tiara, a revolving restaurant for fine-dining and Colombiano Coffee House, a cafe/restaurant for casual dining. For lunch, we opted to dine at Colombiano as we want to save Tiara for a romantic dinner date on our next visit.
We rode a scenic elevator from Colombiano Coffee House at the ground floor to the cafe's branch at the Sky Tower. The elevator ride, itself, was such a treat. I'm quite scared of heights, yet I managed to conquer my fear and somehow enjoyed the spectacular view of Abu Dhabi's corniche on our way up.
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| Colombiano Coffee House at Marina Mall's ground floor |
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| spectacular view of Abu Dhabi's corniche from the scenic elevator |
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| conquering my fear of heights at the Sky Tower's elevator |
Colombiano Coffee House at Marina Mall's Sky Tower offers 360-degree views of the corniche. Despite the slight haze that engulfed the city's skyline that morning, the aerial view of the villas and the yacht club nearby were still wonderful! The cafe's relaxed ambiance and breathtaking views are perfect for a long, lazy weekend lunch. It has a very laid-back atmosphere. I almost forgot about our itinerary that has been at the back of my mind the whole time. If only I had a day to spare, I would rather curl up in the couch with a drink and just stare at awesome view til sunset!
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| Colombiano Coffee House at Marina Mall Sky Tower |
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| aerial view of the villas |
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| another view of Abu Dhabi's coast |
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| Abu Dhabi's yacht club and skyline |
Along with the great view was an equally stunning Latin-inspired menu. With the unfamiliar Latin words on the header, I thought I was bound to try something new, only to find out that bocadillo simply means sandwich, picoccino is iced beverage and cafe caliente is hot coffee!
Colombiano Coffee House is famous for its coffee beans imported from Latin America, but since I just had Arabica coffee for breakfast, I chose a fruity summer cooler from the list of frescatas (fruit juices and shakes). My refreshing smoothie, Vanilla Sky, was a tall glass of glorious creamy concoction of vanilla and strawberry. It looked fancy with whipped cream and fresh slices of strawberry on top!
Ed and I decided to share a bocadillo and an ensalada. We ordered 4 Cheese Blue sandwich, which was a good choice for us who really need to eat healthy and live healthy! The white baguette was filled with olives, tomato, cucumber slices and four types of cheese; mozzarella, blue cheese, Parmesan and yellow cheddar. We barely touched the side dishes as the sandwich alone was way too huge for our appetite!
We paired our sandwich with another healthy choice from the menu. The Italiano Chicken ensalada was served in a big bowl good enough for four people! It was a hefty serving of fusilli with pesto sauce, vegetables, grilled chicken, and a thousand island dressing was served separately. It was light and delicious!
Prices are quite higher than the regular cafes, but I wasn't really surprised as I have been to restaurants with scenic views wherein I don't just pay for the meal but for view as well! :) I'm just glad that Colombiano lived up to my expectations. The cafe gave us unique dining experience, along with delicious food and great service. It's always nice to drift away from the usual sometimes. We just had to splurge a little, but it was all worth it!
The Bill:
4 Cheese Blue: 54 AED
Italiano Chicken Salad: 58 AED
Vanilla Sky: 38 AED
Chocolate Shake: 38 AED
Location:
Colombiano Coffee House
Sky Tower, Marina Mall
Abu Dhabi
Colombiano Coffee House
Sky Tower, Marina Mall
Abu Dhabi
15 Blogger Comments
wow! amazing view.. surely it is nice to dine in this place.. the looks yummy as well..
ReplyDeleteRosemarie/Gven-Rose
The view is amazing indeed, but it would have been better is the there was no haze.
DeleteI am beginning to fall in love with the Middle East because of your beautiful posts! Makes me feel like I am there!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marie! :)
DeleteWow! UAE is indeed one rich country.. Look at yachts and the villas.. pang mayaman talaga!
ReplyDeleteYes Janz, their properties are really jaw-dropping here!
DeleteNice place with super view to go to... and the food looks good, too! Wasn't able to go to Abu Dhabi for a side trip, then, because, I had a workshop to attend in Dubai!
ReplyDeleteYou have a reason to re-visit UAE! :)
DeleteWow, what a wonderful view from above. I have fear of heights, too, though. haha! Anyways, perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee for a caffeine addict like myself. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have to conquer that fear, Marielle! :) We'll be missing a lot of wonderful stuff if we'll let our fear take over.
Deletebeen to colombiano way back 2009 i guess. it was a nice restaurant but not cheap. hahaha i only had some shake and got shocked with the price. :-)
ReplyDeleteHahaha! :) You paid almost twice the regular cost for the view. :)
DeleteThe place looks great! How I wish I or we can visit such great food place. Nice scenery too! Thanks for sharing them up!
ReplyDeleteAmazing view. But I'd die of nervousness and my kids too would be having cold hands and shaking as we see that view. I wish I wasn't too scared to try that.
ReplyDeletei was there in Marina Sky tower lastweek, It was a great place and an amazing view.
ReplyDelete