Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, which opened in April 2018, is one of Abu Dhabi’s most exclusive destinations.
With seven different F&B offerings, it can meet demand in every way.
Starting with Si Ristorante Italiano & Bar, which serves genuine Italian dishes in a casual yet elegant setting, then Hamilton’s Gastropub with its British and American-inspired cooking, Turtle Bay Bar & Grill with a grilled meat and fish menu, continuing with Sama Lobby Lounge for tea and coffee breaks and sweets, Pool Bar for aperitifs and snacks, Nasma Beachfront Bar for sushi and cocktails and finally the international restaurant Sim Sim, winner of the FACT Dining Award of Abu Dhabi thanks to its famous brunches.

The brief

• As early as 2013, five years prior to opening, the consultancy MCTS was chosen to take part in the invitation to tender for development of the concept and design of all areas of Saadiyat Rotana.
• The design stage lasted two years and, as well as the kitchens, involved the entire building with seven dining areas, three areas for banquets and events, a ballroom and a spectacular outside space used for events.
• A main kitchen and an open one equipped with a series of workstations had to be planned for each area.

The solution

• For such a wide-ranging project, Elenco, traditional food service partner of Saadiyat Rotana, immediately thought of Ambach with a view to made-to-measure kitchens with single hygiene tops for the open area and rugged and high-performance modular systems for back of house.
• High-tech modular islands from the Ambach System 850 and Chef 850 lines were supplied for the kitchens, apart from the Pool Bar kitchen for which the more compact System 700 line was chosen.
• “Arranging the equipment in a kitchen is essential to the success of a restaurant. If a mistake is made, you’re forced to work much more”, claimed Thijs van Rhoon, executive chef of the resort. The chef declared himself to be very pleased with the high quality and resistance of the equipment installed inside Si Ristorante Italiano & Bar.
• This kitchen in the Italian restaurant was in fact the greatest challenge in this project. “In the Middle East there is a series of cultural and legal implications for the eating of pork, an aspect which necessarily has to be taken into account when separating the open kitchen from the one behind. This led to a series of discussions with local authorities and the work team to demonstrate the separation between handling of the product and the workflow”, commented Michael Chabowski, general manager of MCTS.
• One of the key elements in the success of this project, according to Chabowski, was the ability of the team to work immediately in close contact in a spirit of utmost cooperation.
• Ghassan Chbeir, Ambach sales director for the Middle East, declared himself to be in full agreement as regards the strength of the teamwork. “When one of the main businesses in the region, Rotana, a world leader consultancy such as MCTS and one of the best distributors of kitchens in the Middle East such as Elenco manage to work together effectively, there are no doubts as to the end result, which is absolutely extraordinary”, commented Chbeir.