The Eid Al Adha holiday weekend isn't just a time for reflection and celebration with family and friends. It's an excuse to indulge in everything from sizzling grills to bottomless brunches.
The holiday for workers begins on Thursday and Eid Al Adha itself runs from Friday to Sunday. Special menus and dining deals abound across the Emirates.
This list of dining options in Dubai is not exhaustive, but each is worthy considering.
Tatel
Cecina and live oyster stations are the highlights at the Spanish fine-dining restaurant part-owned by sporting superstars Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo. After a welcome drink on arrival, diners can choose from an a la carte menu that includes Balfego tuna and arroz del senoret – described as a “rich medley of seafood”. A new molten pistachio cake with vanilla cream and chocolate ice cream is among the dessert options.
Thursday to Saturday, 5pm to 2am; Hotel Boulevard, Autograph Collection, Downtown Dubai; 04 215 2121
Punjab Grill
There is a two-for-one offer on the Eid menu at the Indian restaurant's Abu Dhabi and Dubai branches. The set menu is Dh350 per person, but if you book in advance, it's buy one, get one free. The three-course sharing-style menu by chef Sandeep Ail includes a kebab platter, classic butter chicken and mango cheesecake.
Thursday to Sunday, all day; The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Canal, Abu Dhabi, 50 668 3054; Anantara Downtown Dubai, 50 194 1107
Maison de la Plage
The beach club venue has a live music lunch in a one-day-only celebration on Saturday. The band will perform indoors from 3pm, but guests can also dine al fresco by the pool. Chef Izu Ani, known for his Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, has curated a menu that includes an “indulgent” Izu burger and a burrata salad.
Saturday, 3pm; West Palm Beach; 044 52 3344
The Permit Room
Free baklava cheesecake is being dished out to every table at this Indian restaurant. It can be paired with chef Harangad Singh's best dishes, which include burrata chaat, truffle amritsari kulcha and spicy mushroom momos. The Ferrero Rocher choco bar is also recommended for dessert.
Thursday to Sunday; Majestic City Retreat, Mankhool; 05 479 11796
Baba’s
Diners are in for a sweet surprise at this Punjabi restaurant. Sit-in guests are treated to a free serving of traditional Punjabi kheer (rice pudding), usually priced at Dh24, for six days. Traditional dishes include tandoori platters and slow-cooked dal makhani. Baba's butter chicken recipe dates back to 1962.
Wednesday to Monday; Ground Floor, DXB Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre Area; 50 702 4944
Eid-E-Khaas
The affordable Punjabi dining spot, which has four branches across the city, is offering all-you-can-eat traditional thali for Dh65. Tangy Lahori chana chaat kicks things off and is followed by all the usual favourites, including slow-cooked mutton kassa and baklava shrikhand for dessert.
Thursday to Sunday; Dhaba Lane Karama, behind Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel; Dhaba Lane Garhoud, Al Garhoud Views Building; JLT, Cluster D, Podium, Jumeirah Lakes Towers; Al Nahda, Talal Humaid Belhoul Building, Street 13, Al Nahda
Akabeko
The Japanese restaurant specialises in yakiniku, a tabletop grilling style in which bite-sized pieces of meat are cooked in front of diners. A Wagyu feast is on offer for Eid, with three set menu options. There's a six-course beginner set for Dh450 per person; a 10-course intermediate set for Dh700; and a whopping 12-course set for Dh950 which must be booked in advance.
Friday to Sunday, 12pm to 2:30pm for lunch, or 6pm to 10pm for dinner; Voco Dubai, The Palm, G01, Palm Jumeirah West Beach; 50 561 8288
Amelia
Japanese and Peruvian cuisine with Mediterranean influences in a retro-futuristic steampunk three-level setting are all part of the appeal at this Downtown venue. The Eid menu highlights include hamachi ceviche and atun clasica, crafted with bluefin tuna and dragon fruit. Los Postres de Amelia, a curated selection of Amelia’s most iconic sweets, sounds like a dessert showstopper.
Thursday to Sunday, 7pm to 3am; Address Sky View, Downtown Dubai; 050 170 2805
Eat & Meat
For Dh199 per person, a lavish international buffet brunch with live entertainment and family fun is promised at the H Dubai dining destination. Early-bird and group bookings can be secured for Dh179 and children under 12 eat free. Flavours come from the Middle East, Asia and the Mediterranean, and a kids zone aims to keep children entertained with arts, crafts, balloon twisting and more. Free pool access after 4pm is an added bonus.
Saturday, 1pm to 4pm; The H Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road; 04 501 888
Entre-Nous
International buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner are available at the Novotel World Trade Centre restaurant for Eid. Highlights include Arabic lentil soup; mixed grill and lamb ouzi; and hot kunafa and kataif to end on a sweet note. The breakfast buffet is Dh99; lunch, from noon to 4pm, is Dh189; and dinner, from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, is Dh179.
Friday to Monday; Novotel World Trade Centre; 50 365 4315
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
