Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi port · Abu Dhabi

Mina Zayed Fish Market

The capital's working fish market, rebuilt and still genuinely a market rather than a heritage exhibit. You pick your fish off the ice, take it to the cleaning counter, then to a cook shop that will grill or fry it with rice and salad for a fraction of a restaurant bill. The date market and plant souk are next door.

Food being prepared at a busy street stall

Why go

Buy off the ice, have it cleaned, have it cooked on site
Date market, plant souk and carpet souk in the same quarter
Prices are negotiable and lowest early morning
Free to walk around

How it works

Buy first. Prices are per kilo, negotiable, and lower in the early morning when the boats have just come in. Hammour, kingfish, sheri and prawns are the usual. Take the bag to the cleaning counter, where gutting and scaling costs a few dirhams, then to one of the cook shops, who charge a small fee per kilo to grill it with whatever you ask for.

The whole thing — fish, cleaning and cooking — comes to well under what a hotel would charge for the same plate, and it is the most enjoyable meal in the city.

Next door

The same quarter holds the date market, which sells dates by weight from across the Gulf and is worth a detour in itself, the fruit and vegetable souk, the plant nursery market, and the carpet souk. Mina Zayed is also where the old dhow harbour still works.

Mina Zayed Fish Market, answered

Can you eat at Mina fish market?

Yes, and that is the point. Buy the fish, pay a few dirhams to have it cleaned, then take it to a cook shop who will grill or fry it with rice and salad. Far better and far cheaper than a restaurant.

What is the cheapest market in Abu Dhabi?

Mina Zayed, on all counts — fish, dates, fruit and vegetables, plants and carpets are all cheaper here than anywhere in the malls, and the prices are negotiable.