(DailyExpertNews) — Dubai is known around the world as a center for fabulous indulgence and ambitious innovation and the restaurant scene is no different. A seemingly incessant wave of new openings has cemented its place as one of the best places in the world to eat out.
Whether you’re looking for a hip fast food chain straight from California, or the world’s most expensive restaurant experience, there are sensational options for every price range on a tour from Ibiza.
While there are dozens of new openings to choose from each month, here are 11 recently opened spots worth checking out.
Dave’s hot chicken
With backers including celebrity fans Drake and Samuel L. Jackson, Dave’s Hot Chicken has seen a meteoric rise since opening in an East Hollywood parking lot just five years ago.
The latest launch takes place at The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, where long queues have already testified to their poultry haul. The chicken is flavored with an array of signature spices from No Spice to The Reaper – clearly not for the faint hearted, and requires you to sign a disclaimer.
Taste and technique are everything and Chef Dave Kopushyan has an impressive resume, having trained at Thomas Keller’s famed French Laundry restaurant, which has held the maximum three Michelin stars since 2007.
In addition to chicken tenders and sliders, Dave’s Hot Chicken’s fries, mac and cheese, and kale slaw make sure no one goes hungry.
Philia
Sara Aqel was born and raised in Jordan in a Palestinian family for whom food was everything. After her culinary training, she worked in famous kitchens around the world before taking on the role of global executive chef of Fi’lia at the age of 26, with responsibility for branches in Miami, the Bahamas, Paris – and Dubai. Based in the UAE, she now proudly runs the first restaurant in the Middle East with an all-female management team.
Working alongside superstar chef Massimo Bottura, her kitchen on the 70th floor of SLS Dubai is Italian with Mediterranean influences, inspired by recipes passed down through the generations. In fact, even the wine list is 100% from women producers. Look out for feta and herb-crusted sea bass, impeccable pasta and decadent desserts, while the service team is known for being some of the warmest in town.
Ginger Moon, W Dubai – Mina Seyahi
The W Dubai – Mina Seyahi, a brand new hotel opening on Barasti Beach, overlooks the sleek yachts in the harbor and the bay beyond. The Ginger Moon restaurant bills itself as an “urban beach club” thanks to an expansive terrace and infinity pool that draws a crowd eager to find the perfect Instagram shot as they kick back in cabanas to DJ sets.
Among the entrees on the eclectic and international menu, marinated red snapper or hamachi ceviche sit alongside beef tartare or creamy burrata with smoked peaches. For the main event, seafood is the main draw in fragrant bowls of mussels, crispy sea bass with tamarind or shallow fried squid with sweet chilli dipping sauce.
L’Olivo in Al Mahara, Burj Al Arab
Capri’s L’Olivio is in an elaborate pop-up in the Al Mahara at the Burj Al Arab.
L’Olivo
While restaurant Al Mahara has been a fixture at Dubai’s legendary Burj Al Arab hotel for years, it recently welcomed an elaborate pop-up from Chef Andrea Migliaccio of two-Michelin-starred restaurant L’Olivo at Capri Palace Jumeirah in southern Italy. As this is Dubai and the Burj, the setting of Al Mahara is extraordinary as dinners are served surrounded by a large coral reef aquarium.
Whether choosing their tasting menu or dining à la carte, the dishes come straight from Capri, including their tagliolini al limone. Fine strands of homemade pasta are scented with lemon, oyster leaf and topped with burrata cheese and a spoonful of sweet red shrimp. A goldhead fish entrée is lifted by the classic Sicilian caponata sauce, famous for its sweet and sour balance, before an apricot sorbet and meringues round out the five courses by once again celebrating the finest Italian ingredients.
Demon Duck by Alvin Leung, Caesars Palace Dubai
Chef Alvin Leung’s Demon Duck is the latest addition to Caesars Palace Dubai’s extensive dining options. There’s no doubt you’re in the right place, as the walls are adorned with quirky images of ducks by photographer Mark Chung, while there are no prizes for guessing the star of the menu.
Leung’s slow-roasted Peking duck is a signature dish worthy of its name, thanks to an extensive, time-consuming process of brining, blanching, maturing and slow cooking before being quickly cooked at high temperatures, all to ensure crispy skin and succulent meat . He serves it on bao buns scented with calamansi, a type of citrus, accompanied by “demon sauce,” but purists can opt for traditional pancakes, scallions, cucumber, and hoisin sauce.
Orfali Bros
Orfali Bros has been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its great value dishes.
Orfali Bros
Three Syrian brothers, Mohammad, Wassim and Omar Orfali. have created one of the hottest culinary tickets in town with this contemporary bistro that celebrates their global dining experiences. In the open kitchen, diners can watch Mohammad at work on dishes such as Guess What?, which combines lacto-fermented local tomatoes with cucumber, herbs, sourdough and feta, or Come with Me to Aleppo, a kebab with sour cherry, pine nuts and cinnamon .
Maya bay
Two Asian cuisines meet at Maya Bay, a restaurant that first opened in Monaco in 2005 and has now arrived at Dubai’s Jumeirah Al Naseem hotel with its fusion of Thai and Japanese dishes. That translates into an extensive menu with everything from sushi and sashimi to curries and salads, Japanese mochi sweets to Thai pandan cake.
British chef Shane Macneill sends the team overseas serving both classics and new creations, some with optional added decadence, such as the uramaki sushi roll with wagyu and caviar. Signatures include black cod in sweet miso sauce cooked over charcoal, or the versatile stir-fried noodle favourite, Pad Thai. In terms of drinks, cocktails have a tropical vibe, while sake and tea are other combination options.
Inti, the Dubai EDITION
Inti serves Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine near the Burj Khalifa.
INTI
Inti is named after the word for sun in Quechua, the language of the Incas that is still spoken in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Start with eggplant cooked tempura style, gyoza dumplings with black cod, or perhaps their wide selection of ceviches and salads. In addition to steaks and seafood grilled in the Josper oven, their anticuchos skewers are also popular, with marinated chicken, prawns or corn as options.
Sublimation, Mandarin Oriental, Dubai
It may only be a six-month residency ending in May 2023, but the multi-sensory dining pop-up Sublimotion – mostly based in Ibiza – is the 12-seat diner everyone will want to book. Well, anyone with seriously deep pockets, because this is known as the world’s most expensive restaurant: dinner costs a barely believable 5,000 Dirhams ($1,361) per person. But hey, unlimited premium drinks are included.
The offer is a tasting menu of no fewer than 20 interactive culinary theater courses. Projected images and music combine to ensure guests can only expect the unexpected as the dining room transforms into environments that include ocean and forest, while VR headsets also take food in completely unexpected new directions.
TABŪ, St. Regis Downtown
Unexpected and surreal theater entertainment is a hallmark of the menu at TAB® on the 23rd floor of The St. Regis Downtown. Sumo wrestlers, human ‘wolves’, magicians and geishas all perform on various stages throughout the evening, mingling with diners to the sounds of the resident DJ.
On the food front, TABŪ’s Executive Chef Roberto Segura oversees a Japanese-Peruvian menu that includes sushi and ceviches, salads and Ishiyaki stone bowls, as well as an array of steaks.
Tuna tartare in sesame horns or sea urchin with caviar are some of the small appetizers to start with, before more substantial entrees such as clay pot with Chilean sea bass, king crab leg with yuzu or gently braised beef short ribs. They also emphasize their vegan credentials, including in desserts.
avatar
Finally to Avatāra, an all-vegetarian gastronomic experience that celebrates the diverse cuisines of Northeast India. Chef Rahul Rana hails from Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas and serves dishes that reflect his background and experience, while also trying to change the perception of vegetarian food.
So a steamed dumpling known as a momo is filled with jackfruit, giving it a meaty texture similar to pulled pork, accompanied by thukpa, noodle soup flavored with lemongrass. Another dish traditionally served during festive feasts is fried lentil fritters served with fermented carrot. Coconut kheer – a type of fragrant pudding – is a light way to end a tasting menu with a strong emphasis on health.