There are 10 new restaurants to sample between One&Only One Za'abeel and The Lana Dorchester Collection, Dubai’s two most recent hotels alone – plus chef Izu Ani's latest culinary venture, Maison de la Plage.
Restaurants at The Lana – Dorchester Collection
High Society
Cuisine: Mediterranean, International
One of two restaurants at the hotel run by celebrity chef Jean Imbert (who’s cooked for the likes of Rihanna and French president Emmanuel Macron), High Society is The Lana’s rooftop, poolside lounge.
On Imbert’s menu are sharing-style dishes including croque truffle, sea bass carpaccio, tarama and buckwheat wafer, crab brioche with avocado, veal vitello and eggplant miso.
Open Sunday to Wednesday, 5pm-11.30pm; Thursday to Saturday, 5pm-12.30am
Riviera by Jean Imbert
Cuisine: French, International
French chef Imbert’s main restaurant at the Dubai property is inspired by the vibe of the South of France, with botanical interiors, floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace stretching along Dubai Creek.
The chef’s culinary prowess shines through in the menu, with options such as marinated cucumbers with cream and herbs; confit capsicums with garlic; toasted focaccia with green beans; burrata with pistachio; Jacky’s gazpacho with mozzarella di bufala; and tuna tartare made tableside.
Open daily, 7am-10.30am, noon-3.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm
The Gallery
Cuisine: International, afternoon tea
The lobby lounge serves an a la carte menu and fanciful afternoon tea (on bespoke chinaware) with pastries by chef Angelo Musa.
The latter also offers scones with Devon clotted cream and chef Musa’s speciality jam; plus finger sandwiches, with flavour combinations ranging from smoked salmon with asparagus, honey, lemon cream cheese and caviar; Alaskan king crab with tarragon; Wagyu beef with caramelised shallot, foie gras and mustard; and Coronation chicken with yoghurt, vadouvan curry and chutney.
On the a la carte menu are dishes such as roasted mushroom and thyme soup with Roquefort croutons; burratina with marinated salmon, passion fruit, olive, dwarf peach, truffle and grisinni; and crystal bread with sobrasada, fried jammy egg, pickled shallots, capers and miso hollandaise.
Daily, 7am-midnight (1pm-6pm for afternoon tea)
Jara by Martin Berasategui
Cuisine: Basque
The chef with the most Michelin stars in all of Spain, Berasategui, pays tribute to the Basque Country community through his food.
His first Middle Eastern outpost is named after his granddaughter. While the menu for Jara has not yet been revealed, some of the chef's signature dishes include millefeuille with eel, foie gras and green apple; oysters with cucumber, sour fruit, kefir and coconut; black garlic and turnip ceviche; and mullet with edible fish scales, soya sprouts, semolina and squid.
Opens February 20
Veranda
Cuisine: Levantine, International
Located in a secret garden-style set-up, Veranda offers mixologist-curated beverages and light bites.
While the exact menu has not yet been revealed, chef Oliver Jackson will offer sharing-style tapas plus international dishes, all with a Levantine influence.
Opens February 26
Not all the restaurants at The Lana are open yet, but reservations can be made for the ones that are by contacting 04 541 7755 or restaurants.LAN@dorechestercollection.com
Restaurants at One&Only One Za'abeel
Andaliman
Cuisine: Indonesian
Named after an indigenous pepper found in Sumatra, Andaliman is helmed by Indonesian chef Ismawan Dzabir, and comes complete with sambal trolleys parked tableside, and “ambassadors” of the spice who prepare the chilli paste based on desired heat levels.
On the main menu are dishes such as Indonesian empanada with a chicken, glass noodle, ear mushroom and vegetable filling; potato cake with tuna tartare, crab salad and pickled pineapple; BBQ coconut prawns and honey-calamansi-chilli sauce and colo-colo; and coconut-infused yellow rice stuffed with beef rendang, wrapped in charcoal-grilled banana leaves.
Daily, noon-4pm, 6pm-11pm
DuangDy
Cuisine: Thai
Offering sustainably sourced Thai cuisine, DuangDy prides itself on its organic produce, commitment to eco-gastronomy and “uncompromising Thai flavours” made by hand from start to finish.
It is the brainchild of Thai chef Bo Songvisava and her Australian husband Dylan Jones, known for their Michelin-starred restaurant Bo.lan in Bangkok.
On the menu are delicacies such as organic duck salad with biodiverse sprouts and spicy soy dressing; spiced caramel-crusted venison with green mango and chilli dressing; red curry with organic chicken and green banana.
Daily, noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight
StreetXO
Cuisine: Avant-garde
Chef Dabiz Munoz is famed for at least two things – one, his dishes are likened to “madness on a canvas”. And two, he’s taken top honours at the Best Chefs Awards ceremony three years in a row.
Dishes he’s created in the past include sheep yoghurt with wild strawberries and coffee; cold poached chion chopped stick with roasted caviar, marine plankton and chicken yolk; and iced pizza margherita, made from Spanish goat mozzarella, Thai basil, spicy tomato consomme, matured vinegar and charcoal-roasted dough with shiso lime pesto.
At StreetXO, the UAE version of his famed Spanish restaurant DiverXO, Munoz will bring crowd favourites from Madrid, such as Pekinese dumplings, nigiri croquettes, sandwich club, RamenXO and Vietnam nem.
The venue deserves its own shout-out, replete as it is with whimsical decor such as a tunnel in lieu of an entrance, a bar covered in lava lamps and labyrinthine metal pipes holding glasses and bottles, a fabric wall with an onyx frame, LED mirror screens with optical illusions, and the sculptures of a “top hat man” who disappears into a water body at regular intervals.
Daily, 6pm-midnight
Tapasake
Cuisine: Nikkei
A restaurant and pool club concept, Tapasake offers diners a chance to splash about in the 120-metre-long suspended infinity pool atop The Link. The pool is reserved for those 21 years and above, while children can have lunch and dinner in the indoor family seating area until 8.30pm, after which this is an adults-only venue.
The menu, meanwhile, offers a fusion of Japanese and South American fare, with dishes including mushroom wanton with anticuchera sauce and shiitake chimichurri; charcoal-smoked lobster and heart of palm salad; chicken canchita; and Peruvian curry with udon noodles.
Daily, noon-4pm, 6pm-11pm
Qabu by Paco Morales
Cuisine: Spanish
Morales’s Dubai venue borrows many elements from Noor, the Spanish chef’s three Michelin-starred restaurant from the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.
Noor serves a cuisine packed with history, referencing the eighth to the 15th century, when the area was part of Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus. Qabu will also reflect historical periods in its menu, mainly from the 10th to the 18th centuries, and Morales tells The National it will consist of “Occidental cuisine with Andalusian touches”.
On the menu this translates to dishes such as eggplant beignet with date honey; red prawn infused in apple vinegar, blue fish sauce, turnip and caviar; and stewed vegetables with kazbra emulsion; and beef loin with black recado with chocolate and chicken liver pate.
Daily, 6pm-midnight
While the majority of these venues are located at The Link, the world's longest cantilever located between dual skyscrapers 100 metres above street level, StreetXO and Andaliman are part of the main hotel. More information and reservation details for all can be found at oneandonlyresorts.com
Maison de la Plage
Cuisine: French-Mediterranean
Coming from chef Izu Ani and restaurateur Evgeny Kuzin – the creative forces behind Gaia, Shanghai Me, Piatti and Scalini – the latest beach club on West Palm has both a party and family-friendly vibe.
Diners can choose from a market-style set-up, with a display of the catch of the day at La Poissonnerie, meat cuts at La Rotisserie and seasonal veggies at Le Primeur. Also expect chef Ani signatures including lobster linguine, buttered snails and grilled and lamb cutlets.
Daily, 10am-2am; West Palm Beach, Palm Jumeirah; reservations@maisondelaplage.com
