Forget the bottomless brunches: Dubai is in the middle of a fine dining revolution. Since the introduction of the Michelin Guide in 2022, a host of celebrity chefs have arrived in the City of Gold hoping to bolster their star appeal. Dubai’s culinary landscape has changed dramatically in the last two years, with world-leading names now contributing to this list of best restaurants.
In 2023, Michelin Guide Dubai sprinkled another load of stars of the city. Dubai is still yet to boast a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, but Trèsind Studio was bumped up to join STAY by Yannick Alléno and Il Ristorante – Niko Romito in the exclusive list of two-Michelin-star restaurants.
The Michelin Guide Dubai 2023 also awarded three new restaurants one star, while a further 17 were granted Bib Gourmands – a separate award that recognizes excellent gastronomy at more pocket-friendly prices (if such a thing exists in Dubai). Thankfully, no restaurants were stripped of their stars.
However, if you’re only visiting for a short time, trying to visit all of the best restaurants in Dubai is a fruitless endeavor. Our guide to the city’s best eateries promises a selection that will not only deliver on flavor, but also on atmosphere, service and crowd.
[See also: Elite Traveler Reveals Top Restaurants Readers’ Choice 2023]
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
When Atlantis The Royal arrived on The Palm in 2023, it brought some of the world’s most revered culinary superstars with it. Heston Blumenthal led the line by opening his first Middle Eastern outpost. Sticking to a winning formula, the bespeckled chef of Fat Duck fame copied the concept of his two-Michelin-starred London restaurant, Dinner. The menu is inspirated by the Middle Ages, with the dishes stretching back over 700 years of British culinary history. That includes his trademark meat fruit, a chicken liver parfait dish that looks indistinguishable from a mandarin (picture above).
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Don’t worry if fine dining doesn’t quite do it for you. The restaurant also serves an astounding roast dinner on Sunday, in line with Great British tradition so you can swap your tasting menu for Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Whichever one you prefer, this is a culinary gem and with one star already awarded, Michelin agrees.
Jara by Martín Berasategui
Following Atlantis The Royal’s success as a culinary outpost, it seems no hotel can open without star F&B appeal. The Lana – Dorchester Collection, which opened in March 2024, took things to the next level by convincing Martín Berasategui to open his first Dubai restaurant. The Spaniard, with eight Michelin stars to his name, specializes in traditional Basque cuisine, and he has brought his trademark style to the UAE here.
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Named for the Spanish chef’s granddaughter, Jara is a refreshing alternative to the glitz and glamour for which Dubai is now known, with a focus on family-style eating and traditional Basque Country recipes. The menu is crafted around bold sharing plates – things kick off with hot and cold starters such as oysters with Berasategui’s signature gazpacho, but the real highlight is the grilled main dishes. A clay-pit oven is used to pull rich, smoky flavors out of the most prime cuts of meat and fresh seafood. Highlights include Spanish lamb shoulder, wagyu T-bone and whole blue lobster – order a mix to share.
La Dame de Pic
Not to be outdone, One&Only brought its own multi-Michelin-starred chef to the UAE for the first time with the culinary-focused One Za’abeel hotel. With 10 Michelin stars, Anne-Sophie Pic is one of the most successful chefs in the world today, and the most successful female chef. Her signature Le Dame de Pic, present in London, France and Singapore, carries five of those 10 Michelin stars. Few will be surprised if this latest outpost adds to that total.
Situated on the 25th floor of The Link and within the hotel, the pink-hued La Dame de Pic offers typically wonderful cityscape views. Its modern interiors are complemented by natural woods, gold accents and white marble. it sets a smart casual vibe, but the menu is very much in the fine dining era. Choose from one of two tasting menus (vegetarian and vegan options also available): Symphony and Harmony.
Symphony offers the very best in Pic’s cuisine. Expect high-end ingredients cooked with modern French techniques. In particular, the hand-dived scallop, served with geranium ice cream, sake gel and kohlrabi, brings Pic’s creative utilization of vegetables to the fore.
Trèsind Studio
After being awarded one Michelin star in the inaugural Dubai guide, Trèsind Studio has been ceremoniously promoted to a two-star rating in the 2023 iteration, with inspectors noting chef Himanshu Saini’s “originality, intrigue and precision.” The restaurant offers a refined, elegant take on the diverse culinary landscape of India, with its multi-course tasting menu separated into four sections exploring the country’s east, south, west and north.
Offering space for just 20 guests with each seat overlooking the open kitchen, Trèsind Studio promises not only one of the most accomplished dining experiences in Dubai, but also one of the most intimate.
Orfali Bros Bistro
Recently named the number-one restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa by the 50 Best Awards panel, Orfali Bros Bistro is a Dubai must-visit. Helmed by three Syrian brothers – Mohammad, Wassim and Omar Orfali – the restaurant is an expression of a love of food. Pinning down the cuisine is impossible – some dishes are Greek, others Asian-inspired and plenty Middle Eastern. What unites them, however, is the passion with which each is made. The charm of the service is another key draw here: Mohammad is known to to descend on the tables, explaining to diners exactly why each dish or flavor combination found its way onto his menu.
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STAY by Yannick Alléno
Found in the exclusive island enclave that is One&Only The Palm, STAY by Yannick Alléno is one of just two restaurants in Dubai to hold two Michelin stars. Offering Alléno’s signature take on classic French cuisine, a meal at STAY is nothing short of an epicurean adventure, with a series of surprise tasting menus showcasing the finest ingredients. While the restaurant pushes the boundaries of fine dining, the guide particularly emphasized its praise for the chef’s ‘less is more’ approach – a style that is admittedly rare in Dubai.
Nowadays, service is becoming as important as the food itself in creating a show-stopping restaurant, and STAY appears to have got it just right; servers are knowledgable without being pretentious, and helpful without being overbearing. The setting itself is equally as thoughtful, with a high-ceilinged dining room adorned with vibrant artworks setting the tone for a very special culinary experience to come.
Estiatorio Milos
Escape the tasting menus and revel in the casual-yet-upscale Greek restaurant Estiatorio Milos, another of Atlantis The Royal’s culinary gems. The restaurant from celebrity chef Costas Spiliadis is an eternally popular spot in New York and is proving equally so in Dubai. Sitting adjacent to the main building, the restaurant’s terrace is the best seat in the house for the nightly Skyblaze fountain shows. But you should also come here for elevated Hellenic cuisine, including fresh fish delivered directly from Greece and the restaurant’s signature Milos Special (a fried eggplant and zucchini tower on a bed of tzatziki).
Il Ristorante – Niko Romito
The second Dubai restaurant to be awarded two Michelin stars is Il Ristorante by Niko Romito, which sits within the impossibly luxe Bulgari Hotel. The Italian chef has long been famed for his lighter, healthier take on gourmet cuisine, with a style that goes light on fat and carbs, but heavy on flavor.
Heading the kitchen at Romito’s Dubai outpost is fellow Italian Giacomo Amicucci, who, according to the Michelin guides’ inspectors, “cooks assured, sophisticated modern Italian dishes, which are far more complex than they at first appear.” While there is an extensive à la carte offering, if you’re in Dubai the chances are you aren’t someone who does things in half measures, so go all out with the Degustazione menu.
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Al Muntaha
Sitting on the 27th floor of the iconic Burj Al Arab, Al Muntaha occupies what is easily one of the most coveted spots in all of Dubai; request a table by the floor-to-ceiling window for some of the best views in the city. Led by chef Saverio Sbaragli, the restaurant is firmly rooted in European cuisine, with classic French flavors and techniques seamlessly blending with a few Mediterranean touches. The result is a menu full of bold dishes that has secured Al Muntaha a coveted Michelin star. There’s also an impressive Champagne list for when the occasion calls for celebrating.
Ristorante L’Olivo at Al Mahara
Capri’s Michelin-starred Ristorante L’Olivo brings a taste of Italy to the city as one of the best places to eat in Dubai. Having only moved into Burj Al Arab Jumeirah’s iconic restaurant space earlier this year, L’Olivo is still a newbie on the competitive Dubai dining scene, but guests are already being delighted by chef Andrea Migliaccio’s culinary delights – and of course, the iconic aquarium setting. Drawing inspiration from both its watery surrounds and Capri’s long ocean heritage, the menu at Ristorante L’Olivo at Al Mahara is seafood-heavy, with a focus on rich flavors and culinary craftsmanship.
Fi’lia
With successful restaurants in the US and the Bahamas, Fi’lia brought its unique brand of Italian cookery to the United Arab Emirates in 2021. Despite being one of the city’s newer eateries,it is already gaining a reputation as one of the best restaurants in Dubai’s ever-evolving dining scene, and has now been awarded a Michelin Big Gourmand. Fi’lia offers beautiful food and stunning cityscape views from its position on the 70th floor of SLS Dubai, however, what makes it stand out is not its location or its menu but its leadership team, which is entirely female-led.
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Helmed by Jordanian-Palestinian chef Sara Aqel, Fi’lia offers an authentic taste of Italian cookery. Based on the age-old concept of recipes being passed on from one generation to the next, the restaurant’s name ‘Fi’lia’ – taken from figlia, the Italian for ‘daughter’ – was born out of this intergenerational approach. A fitting title for putting a modern spin on traditional and much-loved Italian-Mediterranean dishes.
Eauzone
The atmosphere at Eauzone is casual during the day, reflecting the slow pace of the One&Only Royal Mirage and the lazy sea beyond. After sunset, however, this venue smartens up into a sleek, refined restaurant serving modern Asian cuisine. The design is beautifully positioned around the pool, giving the impression that it is floating on the translucent water. A winding walkway over the pool shows the way into the restaurant where there is a stylish bar and a glamorous, striped poolside marquee deck. We recommend a table close to the water for the ultimate Eauzone experience.
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Zheng He’s
Award-winning chefs at Zheng He’s pride themselves on creating dishes that blend modern Western presentation with old Chinese flavors. The setting adds to this fusion — on the ‘dockside’ of a canal that weaves itself into the Jumeirah Mina A’Salam resort, it has an atmosphere of ancient simplicity while retaining views of the Burj Al Arab and the Gulf beyond. Be sure to try the signature Fortune Beggar Chicken among the exquisite Chinese fare on offer.
[See also: Elite Traveler’s Guide to the Best Brunches in Dubai]
