The coronavirus crisis is having an impact on businesses worldwide. And despite a directive from the Government of Dubai and Dubai Tourism that restaurants can remain open for now, while bars, clubs and shisha joints must shut down, some restaurants have decided to lock their larders anyway.
Here is a list of venues that are now temporarily closed.
Atlantis, The Palm
The following restaurants are all voluntarily closed as of now: Ossiano, Wavehouse, Ayamna, Asia Republic, Shawafel, Burger Joint, Sharkbites, Kaleidoscope, Platos and Poseidon Cafe. The bar areas in Nobu and White Beach are closed, too, but the restaurants remain open.
Fouquet’s
The Parisian brasserie within the Louvre Abu Dhabi is closed until the end of the month in keeping with the museum's closure.
The Loft at Dubai Opera
Similarly, The Loft is closed as a result of Dubai Opera temporarily closing its doors.
Scalini
The fine-dining Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons Resort on Jumeirah Beach Road announced it will close its doors from Tuesday, March 17, stating: "The health, safety and well-being of our guests and employees is our main priority, and because of this we will be temporarily closing until further notice."
Gaia
Dubai chef Izu Ani's well-regarded Greek restaurant in DIFC (a favourite of Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan) is closed until further notice.
Like Scalini, Gaia is part of the Bulldozer Group, which released a statement that reads: "Due to a profusion of caution surrounding the onset of Covid-19, we have made the decision to temporarily close our restaurants in Dubai from Tuesday, 17 March, until further notice.
During these uncertain times, we feel it is our responsibility to support social distancing and ensure we are prioritising the health, safety and well-being of our guests and employees by adhering to regulations and advice of the government and Global health authorities.
This is a preventative and precautionary measure, and we will re-open all of our venues as soon as it is possible to do so."
Cipriani Dubai
Another Bulldozer entity, the fine-dining Italian restaurant in DIFC is closed. Cipriani on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is open as of now, but will close for the month of Ramadan.
Shanghai Me
Bulldozer Group's fourth and latest restaurant, the fine-dining Asian concept Shanghai Me in DIFC is closed as of now.
Matto
The Italian restaurant at The Oberoi in Business Bay is "closed for the next couple of months".
Couqley
The French bistro in JLT announced via text message that it's "temporarily closed for dine-in". However, its delivery service is still open.
Beluga
The restaurant in Mandarin Oriental Jumeira is temporarily closed, but the team says this was planned "to kick-off renovations, and the restaurant will be relaunching post-Ramadan with a new look and new menu".