Barbassi Is Open - And Marmellata’s Little Brother Is A Sandwich Lover’s Dream Come True

Brought to us by the team behind Marmellata, the hotly anticipated Barbassi has finally opened its doors and this new sandwich shop looks set to attract just as much buzz as its older sister restaurant!

In between the truckloads of attention following Marmellata’s placement at number 29 in MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2025 - on top of the usual queues out the door for their iconic pizza - Raj Dagstani has found the time to shake up the foodie scene in Abu Dhabi once again with the launch of Barbassi.

It's their soft launch phase at the moment - meaning a smaller menu while the crew settles in - but in a few weeks there will be some more surprises on the menu. Tell your boss you're in a meeting and head in from 10AM - 2PM, Thursday to Sunday for a taste of what's to come.

So where are we going? 

A stone's throw from Marmellata in Zayed Port (if you have a really strong arm), it’s nestled in the streets of the Freezone between the Dates Market and Souq Al Mina. You won’t miss it once you’re close: like Marmellata, there is likely to be a line snaking around the corner and a chorus of hungry stomachs rumbling as diners wait to dig in. 

And what are we eating? 

Packed full of flavour and served on fresh-baked focaccia bread, there are currently three sandwiches on the menu: Bassi Boom, Bangga and Quadrado, their vegetarian sandwich. All three come in at a tasty AED45 and are plated up with a side of crisps. 

We jumped on the Bangga sandwich to add a bit of a spicy kick to our Thursday! On a base of crispy focaccia, a marriage of flavours from apricot jam, emmental cheese, lettuce, pickled red cabbage and banana pepper are topped with the heroes: beef spianata (spicy salami) and spicy labneh, mixed with Calabrian chili for an added kick. 

Bassi Boom is a cheesy concoction that combines Emmental cheese, Gruyère cheese, Comté cheese, grated parmesan and mornay (béchamel sauce with grated cheese added) with veal (beef) ham and piccalilli - Britain's take on Indian pickles. If the fanciest ham and cheese toastie you’ve ever set eyes on, a four cheese pizza and a croque monsieur had a baby, it might come close to this epic sandwich. 

‍For the vegetarians - and really, for everyone because this one was a strong contender for our favourite! - Quadrado is a treat! A tomato and olive focaccia bread topped with another cheese-fest - emmental, Gruyère, and Comté cheeses - along with spicy labneh, taggiasche olives, Italian onion. The star of this show for us? The apricot jam: it really made all the flavours pop and was one of the best sandwiches we’ve had in a while!

Feeling thirsty? 

We rated the bianco nero (AED25), for a coffee kick (it reminded us of less intense, fizzy americano - in a really good way) and there are specialty soft drinks in the fridge as well. Holding out hope we can get our fix of Marmellata's salted choc chip cookies here as well - hint hint - as more pastries and sandwiches start popping up in a few weeks time

We can’t wait to see what Barbassi has in store for us as summer rolls in: it’s a perfect spot to grab a tasty lunch, and the location makes it feel like a bit of a hidden gem - even if the hoards of hungry diners quickly dispel that illusion!

We’ll see you there for round two - and three, and four.

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Open: Thursday to Sunday | 10AM - 2PM

Contact: 024472362