8 Fine Dining Spots in Dubai Where People Go to Be Seen
Dining in Dubai is about discovering places where flavor, atmosphere, and imagination collide. A tasting menu might come with a side of storytelling, and a plate of pasta can transport you straight to the Amalfi Coast (without the jet lag, of course).
Here’s a guide to some of the most standout restaurants defining Dubai’s luxury dining today.
Trèsind Studio
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With just 20 seats and a 16-course tasting menu, Trèsind Studio redefines modern Indian cuisine. Chef Himanshu Saini draws on regional ingredients and memories to create plates that look like art and taste like stories. It’s no wonder this spot cracked the World’s 50 Best list.
Row on 45
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Jason Atherton’s 17-course experience sprawls across three rooms on the 45th floor of Grosvenor House. British, Japanese, and Southeast Asian flavors appear in tightly choreographed succession, from foie gras brioche with Hatta honey to rotating seafood and meat dishes. Although it’s a recent arrival in Dubai, it already holds two Michelin stars.
Orfali Bros Bistro
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Not every fine dining experience comes from a palace—sometimes it starts with three brothers and a serious love of food. Orfali Bros is what happens when Middle Eastern flavors meet culinary adventurism. Chef Mohamad Orfali’s dishes are layered and always a little rebellious. The world-class pastries from his brothers are also next-level.
Il Ristorante – Niko Romito
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At Il Ristorante, Chef Niko Romito, who also oversees the three-Michelin-starred Reale in Italy, deconstructs traditional Italian dishes to their core elements. Every plate is built around one or two high-quality ingredients, like line-caught fish, artisanal pasta, or slow-extracted olive oil, prepared using advanced techniques to intensify flavor without embellishment.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
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At Atlantis The Royal, Heston Blumenthal’s Dubai debut serves dishes straight from centuries-old cookbooks. The signature “Meat Fruit” and pineapple-laced “Tipsy Cake” are as playful as they are rich.
STAY by Yannick Alléno
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Inside One&Only The Palm, this Michelin-starred spot delivers haute French cuisine with a serious technical pedigree. Yannick Alléno’s tasting menu is precise without feeling cold, and the interactive Pastry Library offers guests a rare chance to customize desserts in real-time with expert chefs.
Ossiano
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Yes, you’re dining next to an aquarium the size of a city block. But what’s on the plate is just as mesmerizing as the 65,000 sea creatures circling around you. Chef Grégoire Berger doesn’t do “under the sea” gimmicks. Instead, guests get foie gras candles, caviar that’s worth remembering, and dishes plated like modern sculpture.
Gerbou
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As Dubai’s first fine dining Emirati restaurant, Gerbou is an ambitious tribute to regional tradition. Chef Ionel Catau isn’t reinventing Emirati cuisine so much as reshaping how we experience it. The fish mathrooba is comforting and complex, while the falafel curry is a curveball that works.
Jun’s
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Downtown Dubai’s Jun’s combines Chinese heritage, North American upbringing, and international style in dishes that sidestep clichés. One day it’s a beef tartare that tastes like no tartare you’ve had before; the next, it’s heirloom carrots playing the lead. The menu keeps changing, and that’s exactly the point—predictability has no place here.
Manāo
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Manāo in Jumeirah keeps things intimate and refreshingly understated. Chef Abhiraj Khatwani’s Thai-inspired tasting menu has spiced short ribs kissed with coconut smoke, charred cabbage hiding plump shrimp, and kombucha pairing flights that somehow just work.
Gaia
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Chef Izu Ani’s Greek concept in DIFC turned heads when it debuted—and kept them turned with its disciplined simplicity. Whole fish on ice, truffle pastas, and pristine carpaccio are presented with flawless execution.
Maison de la Plage
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Maison de la Plage is Chef Izu Ani’s breezy take on French beachside dining. You’ll find wagyu meatball spaghetti (yes, that’s a thing), harissa-dusted prawns, and a raw bar that doesn’t overcomplicate things. The serene terrace, roaming musicians, and visible seafood displays make long lunches feel like the main event.
Mimi Kakushi
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1920s Japan, smoky lighting, leather booths–Mimi Kakushi is as much a vibe as a restaurant. Still, its menu—featuring baked bone marrow, gyozas, and a donabe rice pot—demands attention. It toes the line between luxury and liveliness, especially when the bar crowd starts to spill in.
The Guild
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The Guild spans multiple spaces within DIFC. One room holds a rockpool of live crab, another an open-fire kitchen dishing out prime steaks and impeccable Sunday roasts. Spearheaded by Tom Arnel, this is a place where you settle in, explore, and maybe even lose track of time.
Fusion Ceviche
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At Jumeirah Lake Towers, Chef Penelope Diaz’s Peruvian seafood is fresh and fiery with leche de tigre-marinated sea bass and scallops with aji amarillo. Regulars know to reserve the tres leches dessert early, before it vanishes.