The 10 best restaurants in Dubai right now
The message of the Dubai food scene is: go while you can. This is an emirate obsessed with what’s new and what’s next, so even exceptionally good restaurants can fail, simply because the masses have moved on to the latest opening — of which there are many. Michelin-starred, Netflix-featured chefs continue to set up shop here and it is relatively easy to book tables at their Dubai outposts, often with as little as a day’s notice, when it would take weeks or even months on their home turf. Obviously, though, do check availability, just in case that little spot you fell in love with last time has closed down. From underwater fine dining to rooftop restaurants by chefs with Michelin-star-studded CVs, Destination Expert Sarah Hedley Hymers shares her favourites.
For further Dubai inspiration, see our guides to the city's best hotels, shopping, nightlife, things to do and family-friendly things to do.
Palm Jumeirah
Ossiano
This seafood specialist is billed as Atlantis The Palm’s underwater restaurant thanks to sharing a glass wall with the resort’s 11-million-litre aquarium, which houses 65,000 marine animals. The resulting blue hue casts a cold light over the venue, and the air-conditioning can be chilling, but wrap up and push the boat out with a tasting menu. Any guilt about watching your dinner’s cousins swim by will soon be washed away by dishes such as caviar-topped rainbow trout floating in cauliflower velouté.
Contact: atlantisthepalm.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: £££
Best table: Ask for one right by the aquarium for a close-up of the sharks and stingrays
Trèsind Studio
Trèsind is a portmanteau of très (very) and Indian, and this restaurant group aims to elevate the legacy of Indian cooking with French techniques. Trèsind Studio is the brand’s intimate haute cuisine experience, headed by chef Himanshu Saini, a global tastemaker in Indian fine dining. His intimate studio’s tasting menus – available for both vegetarians and carnivores – are legendary in Dubai. With complex and compelling dishes such as wild mushroom chai with dehydrated mushroom and truffle milk powder, an umami-laden soup. In 2022 it moved to new premises in Nakheel Tower on Palm Jumeirah.
Contact: tresind.com
Nearest metro: Al Jafiliya
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
Little Miss India
Rammed full of curiosities, including a vintage gramophone, eclectic Indian artworks and ceremonial jewellery in display cases, this intriguing restaurant tells the tale of its fictitious founder, Mohini Singh, through her treasures. A bejazzled Bedford truck, parked directly through the exterior wall, has been converted into a bar. Request a table in Mohini’s herb garden, parlour or open-plan dining room where the kitchen pumps out aromatic puffs of steam. Order the smoked lamb chops, served in a mason jar that, when popped at the table, releases another fabulously fragrant cloud right beneath your nose.
Contact: fairmont.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
Best table: Any of those in the parlour
Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) and Dubai Marina
Marina Social
Founded seven years ago by UK chef Jason Atherton, Marina Social, overlooking Dubai Marina, has now struck out on its own, but British expats still seek comfort in its homely dishes, including fish and chips (fat, square-cut and artfully stacked like Jenga pieces), with a familiar bottle of Sarson’s vinegar on the side. The restaurant also does gourmet Sunday roasts that are loaded with crispy potatoes, fluffy Yorkshire puddings and meats slow-cooked in a Josper.
Contact: marinasocialdubai.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
Best table: When the climate is mild, book one on the terrace
Tamoka
Tamoka’s island-inspired interiors – rustic teak wood, open ‘barbacoa’ fire pits and potted palms – are designed to transport diners to The Antilles while the menu tours South America. The sauteed chicken livers entrada with mole sauce and poached egg is superb. Mains include pork belly with burnt onion purée, Caribbean seafood casserole, and whole-baked pumpkin loaded with cheese and plantains. Save room for Antillean egg flan with an unstinting dollop of dulce de leche, best enjoyed with a lip-smacking Arabica Caipirissima, a coffee rum and liqueur concoction sweetened with passion fruit, pineapple and lime. Follow the winding path from the Ritz-Carlton’s new beachside dining destination and you’ll discover Caña by Tamoka, the only licensed bar on this prime stretch of JBR shoreline.
Contact: tamokadubai.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
Best table: Ask for a beach view
Jumeirah
Nusr-Et Steakhouse Dubai
Proprietor Nusret Gökçe’s (otherwise known as 'Salt Bae') strangely compelling butchery skills made him a social media star. Though he doesn’t make daily appearances at his Dubai steakhouse (he is more likely to be present when celebrity patrons such as Leonardo DiCaprio book a table), the waiters here appear to be modelled on Gökçe and have adopted his skills, so condiments will be sprinkled with panache. With only one fish dish and four desserts, this wood-decked and panelled carnivore’s cabin is the place to meet for meat. Beef cuts from Tomahawk steaks to filet mignon, lamb five ways, burgers, sausages and even meatballs are all served on chopping boards.
Contact: nusr-et.com.tr
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Mimi Kashuki
Another hit from the team behind Twiggy by La Cantine, Ninive and La Cantine du Faubourg, atmospheric Mimi Kakushi is designed to conjure 1920s Osaka. Located at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, the name refers to the fashionable bob haircut of the time (translating as ‘covering ears’) and the interiors recall the salons occupied by the artists and poets of the modernist Mavo art movement that tore through Japan in that decade. Giant tropical pot plants, low-hanging tasselled lampshades and richly embroidered fabrics create a den of intimacy. Service is impeccable and the menu is loaded with temptation. Try the succulent skewered toro tuna belly; tenderloin with soy and ponzu; donabe clay pot rice with wild mushrooms, and rose-infused chawanmushi (egg custard) for dessert.
Contact: mimikakushi.ae
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: £££
Hoseki
Raw fish fanatics worship at the counter of Dubai’s most exclusive Japanese restaurant, which features just nine seats and set menus created by a sixth-generation sushi chef from Tokyo. Hoseki’s Masahiro Sugiyama delivers multiple small courses omakase-style, meaning he chooses the dishes, made with ingredients arriving daily from Japan. Scene-stealers include the foie gras-like monkfish liver and the delicate Chinese mitten mrab. Hoseki (which means 'gem' in Japanese) is hidden at the Bulgari Resort Dubai, where it is accessible by private lift. The dark quarters once you arrive ensure that the pale wooden dining counter takes centre-stage.
Contact: bulgarihotels.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: £££
Best table: A secret dining room with a single table seating 12 is also available for private parties
Tasca by José Avillez
José Avillez, one of Portugal’s leading culinary stars, is behind the country’s Michelin-starred Belcanto and Bairro do Avillez. Sample versions of his most famous creations at Tasca (the Portuguese word for tavern) on the sixth floor of Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai. Satisfyingly creamy and crunchy, the avocado tempura is a triumph. Algarve prawn ceviche, spiced with chilli and served on half a lime, is deliciously sweet and sharp. Bucket list pasteis de nata – classic Portuguese egg custard tarts – are served with rich coffee ice cream for a grand finale. Though José makes regular appearances, in his absence his team is warm, friendly and well informed, and the setting is spectacular, with chic teak wood, teal accents and olive trees lining the azure rooftop pool.
Contact: mandarinoriental.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: £££
Best table: Ask for a pool view
Trade Centre and DIFC
Zuma Dubai
Upscale Japanese bar and restaurant Zuma Dubai bucks the local trend for brief tenures — at more than 10 years old, it’s one of the UAE’s most long-standing restaurants. It's set over two floors, with a glass lift, a floating staircase and a lively bar above the dining room, and staff dressed like Robert Palmer’s backing singers guide punters to their preferred zone. Much loved izakaya-inspired menu staples made for sharing, particularly the robata-grilled spicy beef and the black cod, keep them coming back for more.
Contact: zumarestaurant.ae
Nearest metro: Emirates Towers
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: £££
