Silk & Spice Thai Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Abu Dhabi

We visited this restaurant as a team for a celebratory lunch, using a 2000 AED cash gift voucher provided by another company (based in the UK) to thank us for our efforts on a recent co-hosted event. Unfortunately, what should have been a positive experience quickly turned into a frustrating and uncomfortable one.

As soon as we presented the voucher, the staff questioned its validity and even implied it may have been fabricated. Despite the voucher clearly stating it was for the Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche and containing a voucher code, several managers were called in to examine it. They hesitated to take any food or drink orders and only served complimentary prawn crackers while they “investigated.”

The top manager insisted that the voucher required both a signature and an official stamp, adding that the maximum amount they ever issue is 500 AED—further implying the voucher might be fake. I calmly explained that it was most likely purchased online and pulled up the official Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche website on my phone, showing that similar vouchers were available for purchase—up to 5000 AED. Interestingly, the top manager herself checked the same website, saw the identical information, and quietly walked away to confirm with other staff once she realized she may have been mistaken.

Even if they weren’t familiar with this specific voucher, staff—especially managers—should be fully aware of what their own hotel offers. The lack of awareness across all levels of management was surprising.

Even after all of this, the attitude and service did not improve. At no point did anyone ask whether we were still happy to dine (which we were). Staff remained visibly annoyed and dismissive. One of my colleagues even found a small insect on their plate, and it was handled with indifference—no apology or acknowledgment.

The whole verification process took nearly an hour, delaying everything. Despite only one other table being occupied, our food and drinks took far too long to arrive. We were also told we had to use the entire voucher in a single sitting (despite the voucher clearly stating it could be used fully or partially). Additionally, they wouldn’t allow us to mix between the à la carte and business lunch menus, limiting our options.

Finally, although we finished late due to their delays, we were rushed out because they were closing—no apology for the lost time or poor service.

While the food was tasty and enjoyable, the overall service was poor, and the experience left a lot to be desired. This experience was well below what one would expect from any restaurant, let alone one affiliated with the Sofitel brand. A simple verification handled professionally could have prevented this, but instead we were made to feel like a burden from start to finish. I genuinely cannot recommend this restaurant based on our experience.

This is the official website they appeared to be unaware of: https://experiences.sofitelabudhabicorniche.com/property/scovae/vouchers/list

Ironically, this is the official platform where high-value Sofitel vouchers—like the one I presented—are sold. However, based on my experience, I would not recommend purchasing anything from this site, as the staff (including management) seemed entirely unaware of its existence and had no idea what these vouchers looked like. Notably, the cash voucher was removed from the website just over the weekend.

Attached are pictures of the voucher and what it looked like on...

Silk & Spice at the lovely Sofitel Abu Dhabi Cornice was one of the most popular and authentic Thai restaurants in town until they had to close during the pandemic and when we learned they were open ad=gain we just had to go over and try.

Thai cuisine in known for its fresh ingredients, bold flavors and intense heat making each meal an adventure.

We were over for a weeknight dinner a couple f days ago and are happy to say its still as good if not even better than before.

The Venue

It’s a big space, tastefully furnished with different styles of seating available, you can sit on the floor around a waist high table and eat in the authentic style or get a table by one of the huge windows and enjoy the superb views or even your very own private room.

On one side is a sleek black and chrome bar and this is a very nice place to sit and enjoy some of their excellent drinks and nibbles.

We are warmly greeted, and they took us to a very nice table by the windows that hey has prepared for us, just like old times.

The Food

We settle down order some drinks as we discuss the menu with our hostess who has some very cool suggestions as to what is in season and what we absolutely must try.

We decide to pass on the soup and start the meal with their sampler platter and an order of the spicy beef salad.

The sampler platter had tasting portions of all their classic appetizers, the beef satay, spring rolls and the tempura prawn were amazing.

The spicy beef salad was a masterpiece, from the exquisite presentation to the superb flavors and the spice levels just right for us. The portions are all in sharing style so it’s great.

It’s time to order the mains and there is so much we want to try which makes it extremely difficult to choose, we finally settle on the wok fried Angus Beef tenderloin, a Thai green curry with chicken some Pad Thai and a seafood sampler platter, each of the mains come with unlimited Jasmine rice which was fresh and aromatic

The tenderloin is superb, done medium with the flavors of lemongrass and pepper adding their distinctive touch, the seafood sampler is another highlight of this meal, fresh lobster tails, huge gulf shrimp, calamari and a host of other stuff and it was almost a meal in itself.

The Thai Green curry was an absolute delight, the coconut milk flavored curry was a perfect compliment to the Jasmin rice and the bite size chicken pieces just melted in your mouth, loved it.

The Pad Thai was simply amazing, the fried rice noodles with grilled tiger prawns and the spicy topping absolutely blew us away, this combined with the spicy pak choy and fried tofu made an excellent combination. By this point we are absolutely stuffed and the table is still heaving with food on it so we ask for a takeaway and an order of mango sticky rice with ice cream, the perfect dessert to end a glorious meal.

The Verdict

We are glad to say Silk & Spice is back, bolder, and even better than before, all set to lead the Thai fine dining culture of Abu Dhabi.

Its understated elegance, superb food and amazing service all come together to create memorable dining experiences each time you visit.

Hats of the the Chef and his team for giving us this stunning place and the...

The decor was very elegant and we loved that there were different options for seating (they had some tables set up so you could sit cross legged on the floor when dining). We were given a table by the window so we had a gorgeous view looking out over the skyline. The menu had quite a few spicy dishes (I’m glad they were marked out because I’m very sensitive to spice 🌶️). The woman serving us gave us a recommendation but I ended up choosing the sweet & sour chicken still (very conscious of the spice) which came with jasmine rice. The jasmine rice arrived in a wicker looking bowl, wrapped in bamboo leaves which looked amazing and gave an authentic feel. You could ask and have as much rice as you wanted but the portions were huge. You could probably even share one main between two or if you had a bigger group, just try a few different mains and share them all between you. We had the mixed starter because we couldn’t decide on which one to try but from that, the satay chicken skewers were the best. The peanut sauce was super fresh with plenty of nuts and flavour. My partner ordered a beef dish in oyster sauce (can’t remember what the actual name was-ooos!) and despite being sceptical at first, it was absolutely amazing! I got a bit of food envy and ALMOST preferred his dish. It was rich in colour with plenty of sauce which perfectly complimented the succulent beef. Mine, again, was VERY good. The chicken was really tender and the vegetables were cooked...