Travelling between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah by train now comes with a lot more than comfortable seats and nice views along the way. Etihad Rail has rolled out a specially curated onboard dining experience built around Emirati flavours, traditions, and hospitality.
The menu has been designed to make the journey feel genuinely connected to the UAE, pairing familiar local ingredients with a more modern take on railway dining. From dates and saffron to cardamom, local honey, and Arabic coffee, the offering brings pieces of Emirati culture right to passengers’ seats.
This experience comes courtesy of Capital Catering, the food and beverage arm of ADNEC Group and a Modon company. It is part of Etihad Rail’s larger push to build a passenger experience that reflects the country’s culture while still meeting what modern travellers expect.
A Culinary Journey Inspired by Emirati Culture
The concept behind the menu goes by “A Journey Through the Emirates,” bringing food, hospitality, and local identity together in one experience. The idea is simple: let passengers discover familiar Emirati flavours as they travel through the country.
Award winning chef Maitha Warshaw put the menu together with a focus on presenting Emirati cuisine in a more contemporary style. Her approach blends traditional ingredients and flavours with modern cooking techniques, making the dishes easy to enjoy for a wide range of passengers.
Warshaw has represented the UAE on the international stage before too, including a stint as Executive Chef of the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. That experience clearly shows in a menu that celebrates Emirati heritage while giving it a fresh, modern presentation.
Modern Take on Traditional Machboos
One of the standout dishes on the Etihad Rail menu is a modern take on machboos, one of the UAE’s most well known traditional rice dishes. The onboard version features slow braised short rib served alongside fragrant rice cooked with Emirati spices.
This dish sums up the philosophy behind the whole menu pretty well: keep the flavours that make Emirati cuisine special, but present them in a way that works for modern rail travel. It gives passengers a chance to enjoy a familiar dish in a way they probably have not tried before.
What Is Available on Etihad Rail?
Passengers travelling in both Comfort and Premium classes get to choose from a range of food and drink options. The onboard menu covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, so there is something suited to whatever time of day you are travelling.
Families travelling with kids are looked after too, with a dedicated children’s menu. It is part of Etihad Rail’s broader focus on making the journey comfortable and welcoming for passengers travelling with children.
On the drinks side, you will find traditional Arabic coffee, specialty coffees, premium teas, and fresh juices. These add yet another layer of Emirati hospitality to the whole onboard dining experience.
Ghaf Juice and Locally Inspired Chocolates
To mark the launch of this new service, travellers are being welcomed for a limited time with a complimentary Ghaf Juice Shot. The drink takes its inspiration from the Ghaf tree, recognised as the UAE’s national tree and one with real cultural significance.
Passengers can also try locally inspired chocolates built around flavours tied to the UAE, including Seven Spices, date and caramel, and gahwa and cardamom varieties.
Together, the welcome drink and chocolates offer a small taste of the UAE’s culinary identity before passengers settle in for the rest of their journey. These little details give the onboard service a distinctly local feel, rather than falling back on the usual generic railway snacks.
Passenger Experience Goes Beyond the Food
Etihad Rail says this culinary offering is meant to be part of a bigger passenger experience, not just a meal service tacked on for convenience. The company sees food as another way for travellers to connect with the landscapes, traditions, and stories tied to the UAE.
Adhraa Almansoori, Executive Director of Commercial at Etihad Rail Mobility, said passenger rail is about a lot more than just getting people from one place to another. She pointed to Emirati culture and hospitality as key parts of what makes the journey itself feel like part of the travel experience.
Capital Catering also sees this partnership as a chance to put a bigger spotlight on the role food plays in modern travel. The goal is to blend efficiency and contemporary service with a stronger sense of place and cultural identity.
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Chef Maitha Warshaw’s Role in the Menu
Chef Maitha Warshaw played a central role in putting this onboard dining experience together. Her work focuses on presenting Emirati heritage through contemporary food that connects traditional flavours with today’s audiences.
During the first few weeks of passenger operations, Warshaw also spent time interacting with travellers onboard. According to Etihad Rail, passengers responded well to both the food itself and the stories behind each dish, which added a nice personal touch to the whole dining experience.
Together, Etihad Rail and Capital Catering have combined rail travel with a genuinely thoughtful food concept. For anyone travelling between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, the journey now comes with a chance to experience real Emirati flavours alongside a modern rail experience.