If you’re partial to a mussel or few then one of the restaurants serving up whopping portions of these tasty little morsels is Spaccanapoli at Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi

Every Wednesday night from 7pm for just AED 99++ it’s possible to gorge yourself on pot after pot, if you have room after a visit to the antipasti buffet that is.

We arrived hungry (as instructed) and took our seat in one of the cosy little nooks that surround this busy restaurant.

Luckily we were close to the antipasti buffet and the wide selection of (unlimited) grape beverages on offer so we didn’t have to move that far!

After a bowl of creamy clam soup and plate of delicious stuffed peppers, caprese salad and sundried tomatoes to warm us up, we were ready to order our mussels. Torn between a spicy tomato sauce and the traditional white grape and garlic option, we were pleased with our decision when our steaming plate of garlic mussels arrived – we couldn’t resist instantly dipping a warm buttery roll into the sauce!

One thing we love, love, love about mussels is that you can happily sit and eat them with your hands. We like the technique (our Dad showed us many moons ago on a holiday to France) of scoffing the first mussel with your fingers and then using the shell of the recently devoured delicacy as a set of pincers to eat the rest. It works a treat and saves wasting time fishing around with a fork.

With lashings of bread, butter and tapenade on hand to help mop up the last remnants of our tasty sauce we’re soon stuffed to the gills. There was no room left for dessert, but we were feeling fat and happy anyway … and that was on one pot, some people had two! Next time …

Megan Wynes

What? Unlimited Mussels and grape beverages
Where: Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi, Hamdan Street
When: Every Wednesday from 7pm
We say: Great value for money
Cost: AED 99++  
Contact: 02 616 6261