Dubai Restaurant Week – or should that be fortnight – is upon us. Between May 1 and 17, venues from around the emirate pull together set menus, inviting foodies to visit unexplored venues, sample innovative flavours or discover new cuisines altogether.
For the event, which kick-started in 2016, restaurateurs align on pricing. This year, the two-course lunch menus are priced at Dh125, while the three-course dinner menus sit at Dh250.
Many Michelin-starred and Mena's 50 Best-awarded restaurants are taking part, alongside menus from famous chefs and homegrown talent.
Here's where you'll find The National team dining over the coming weeks.
11 Woodfire
Where: Jumeirah Beach Road
I adore 11 Woodfire and won't be passing up the chance to enjoy a Michelin-starred dinner for all of Dh250.
A homely setting, in a villa on Jumeirah Beach Road, 11 Woodfire is the creation of chef and restaurateur Akmal Anuar. The menu focuses on open-fire cooking, with great-quality ingredients, simple presentation, and exceptional quality at its heart.
Starters include smoked burrata, calamari, lamb ribs and grilled avocado. For mains, choose between French turbot, smoked Woodfire chicken, 250g rib-eye black Angus steak and cauliflower steak; all mains are served with a choice of broken potatoes or shallots and corn kernels. For dessert, pick between a purple corn dish, which plays with different textures, or bone marrow chocolate with tonka ice cream and banana.
Farah Andrews, head of features
Avli by Tashas
Where: Gate Village, DIFC
I admire – and adore – Natasha Sideris. Not only has she built a restaurant empire through her Tashas Group nearly single-handedly – writing a cookbook or two along the way – but she’s also warm, dynamic and forever innovating. For all of that, the food at her venues, from Flamingo Room to Avli by Tashas and Bungalo34, is consistently delicious.
Avli, which is participating in Dubai Restaurant Week this year, offers a three-course dinner menu in line with the Greek-South African entrepreneur’s culinary philosophy: high-quality ingredients and simple but masterful cooking techniques.
How I’ll decide among the feta saganaki, seabass ceviche and black garlic and squid ink calamari from the appetiser options is anyone’s guess. At least the main and dessert are a no-brainer: aubergine papoutsakia with beef mince, tahini yoghurt, a sourdough crumb; and crunchy hazelnut and dark chocolate with vanilla bean ice cream.
Panna Munyal, features sub-editor
Baoli Dubai
Where: J1 Beach
A tropical party spot that blends French, Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine under soft lighting and an atmosphere that begs you to unwind, Baoli is the ideal place for a special weekend dinner.
The last time I visited I enjoyed the sushi platter, rich Wagyu steak, and decadent Isfahan rose cake with matcha foam and lychee sorbet. This time I'm looking forward to sampling the tomato carpaccio with yuzu creme fraiche and tanoki crumbs; the duck and ginger rice pot; and the orange blossom creme brulee, which sounds like summer in a bowl.
Speaking of which, this is an opportunity to enjoy the best of Baoli – a meal at which usually goes for Dh500 per person – before Dubai nights become hotter.
Hala Nasar, social media journalist
Canary Beach
Where: Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah
Canary Beach, the sister venue of Joey Ghazal's Canary Club, does exactly what you want it to. Tables are set directly on the sand, close enough to the water to feel like you’ve properly left the city behind.
I was expecting it to lean louder – the JLT original has become a weekend party spot – but here the tone is much more measured. Service matches that mood. The staff are attentive without being overbearing and quickly find a natural rhythm with the table. Its location on the quieter end of the Palm helps; Canary Beach feels removed from the busier West Palm stretch.
The menu sits in that Latin American–Japanese space, with a focus on clean flavours, citrus, and a bit of heat. Think toro rolls, teriyaki salmon and soy-glazed sirloin.
It suits the setting – straightforward, well-executed and built for sharing over a long, unhurried lunch or dinner. And if you look a little closer inside the restaurant, away from the beach, there's an ice box behind which you might find something surprising.
Nasri Atallah, TN magazine editor
Ce La Vi
Where: Address Sky View Hotel, Downtown Dubai
There was a time when I couldn't scroll Instagram without seeing a snap of Ce La Vi. After it opened in January 2020, the restaurant enjoyed three months of social media posts featuring the supersized swing that frames the Burj Khalifa skyline. Then the pandemic hit...
Yet in the years since, the Southeast Asian restaurant – with establishments in Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei and London – has continued to be a favourite in the city. And, shamefully, I still haven't visited. So this week I'm going to snap up the lunch menu offer, which I'm pleased to see has vegan options. Meaning it's the gem lettuce salad, mushroom kamameshi and a trio of seasonal sorbets for me.
Hayley Kadrou, deputy features editor
CQ French Brasserie
Where: Grand Millennium Hotel, Barsha Heights
CQ is a forever favourite of mine, be it for a date night or an evening with friends. It is also notable for its very good deals throughout the week; the set-price ladies' night is close to unbeatable in my eyes.
So it's no surprise that the French brasserie-style restaurant is stepping up for Dubai Restaurant Week. The vast majority of its menu is available for both the lunch and dinner sittings.
You can't go wrong with a table out on the terrace at the Dubai-grown chain's latest opening in Barsha Heights. I'm always happy to start a meal by sharing some starters, favourites include escargots, salads and calamari. Come the main, I am always ordering steak frites; for non-meat eaters, the main options also include moules-frites and mushroom risotto. For dessert, look no further than the creme brulee or chocolate mousse.
Farah Andrews, head of features
Demon Duck
Where: Banyan Tree, Bluewaters Island
Have you ever tried to cook a duck? It’s not easy. I tried to roast a whole duck after watching too many chefs on YouTube; the bird was expensive, and my skills were lacking, so it's probably best to leave it to the professionals.
Luckily, Dubai has the answer for that craving: Demon Duck, by Michelin-lauded chef Alvin Leung. The restaurant offers pan-Asian cuisine, with a few surprises or as the restaurant calls it, their “own unapologetic twist”.
I am especially excited to try crispy duck and Alvin’s special hummus, which is an obvious nod to our location and sounds delicious. For those less enthusiastic for duck, there are plenty of other options. I will be making a note to try the tongue-numbing Sichuan dishes.
Enas Refaei, assistant editor-in-chief
Gerbou
Where: Nad Al Sheba
On a quiet street in the green surroundings of Nad Al Sheba, Gerbou offers a modern take on Emirati flavours, and has a calm, assured feel that suits the cooking.
The lunch and dinner menus serve as a fine introduction. The chicken arseeyah is worth ordering because it understands what slow-cooked chicken and rice should be: soft, rich, generous and deeply comforting. The chicken machboos, meanwhile, brings the familiar Gulf combination of spiced rice and chicken, done with real care.
Vegetarians have options, too: vegetable salona at lunch and roasted cauliflower with granola, bell pepper and smoked yoghurt at dinner.
Saeed Saeed, arts and culture reporter
Jun's
Where: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard
May is only just upon us, but my thoughts are already turning to Jun's.
The swish Downtown Dubai restaurant is well worth a visit at any time of the year, featuring a menu overflowing with such quality and variety that no two trips need ever be the same.
Award-winning chef Kelvin Cheung has brought his Chinese heritage and North American upbringing to the table in a fine dining fusion of delicious dishes, offering everything from tempura zaatar chaat and char siu Wagyu claypot to dan dan spaghettini prepared with an extra dash of class with a mushroom-peanut-coconut broth.
Perfect for a culinary encore after a night out at the opera, Jun’s offers a theatre of food that is enough to take star billing in its own right.
Chris Maxwell, news editor
The Nine
Where: Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk, Wafi City
Sometimes all you want is to taste a little bit of home, and for me, The Nine offers that in abundance. In my humble opinion, this gastropub offers the finest British cuisine in the Emirates, not least its beef Wellington.
Head chef Shankar Majhi has lived in Dubai for a decade, working at several notable brands before moving to Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk. He's a firm believer in experimenting with ingredients and flavour combinations while always honouring British culinary heritage, making for a potent gastronomic combination when you visit as a diner.
It’s sort of the best of both worlds; comfort food but often with an unexpected twist that makes it stand out. For the three-course Dubai Restaurant Week dinner, I’ll be heading down for the braised beef cheek with mushroom tart, followed by the slow-braised Welsh lamb shank pie and, if there’s any room left, it’ll be The Nine’s signature apple pie with custard for dessert.
Tom Evans, assistant news editor
Xu Dubai
Where: Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, Al Barsha
Since moving to the UAE more than a decade ago from the US, I’ve missed authentic Cantonese food. That’s why Xu Dubai has caught my attention as it leans into classic flavours with a refined edge, and the set menus feel like a good way to sample a bit of everything. The restaurant is also on the Michelin Guide’s list in Dubai, which gives a sense of how seriously it takes its food.
I have my eye on the Wagyu beef charsiu and black pepper beef, as well as on comforting staples, such as hot and sour soup and kung pao chicken, which I grew up with and are the ones I’ve missed most.
Evelyn Lau, assistant features editor
