All the winners from The What’s On Dubai Awards 2026

The What’s On Dubai Awards 2026 was last night and it was the biggest night in Dubai’s food and entertainment calendar.

The What’s On Dubai Awards is the largest food and entertainment industry awards in the UAE – and the only one voted for entirely by the public. Every year it shines a light on the restaurants, bars, attractions, and experiences that genuinely define life in this city: the brunch that has regulars booking months ahead, the spa that actually lives up to the hype, the newcomer that had people talking from its first week of service.

Last night, across a stellar field of categories spanning Entertainment & Leisure, Restaurants, Food Concepts, Casual Dining, Fine Dining, and the coveted Editor’s Choice awards, the trophies headed home.

Without further ado, let’s see who the What’s On Dubai Awards 2026 winners are…

Entertainment & Leisure

FAVOURITE ATTRACTION

WINNER: Global Village

Global Village is, by any measure, a phenomenon. The world’s largest multicultural festival destination brings together more than 90 countries, 3,500 shops, 250 dining options, and 40,000 live performances across a single season – and it does so in a way that feels genuinely exciting rather than simply enormous. Year after year it draws the crowds, and year after year it earns them.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Game Over Escape Rooms

Game Over Escape Rooms continues to set the standard for immersive puzzle entertainment in Dubai, with consistently clever theming and production values that put it in a category of its own.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Wild Wadi Waterpark

Wild Wadi Waterpark remains one of the most enduring names on Dubai’s leisure landscape – a reliable, exhilarating day out that has earned its status as a resident and tourist staple alike.

FAVOURITE CONCERT, SHOW OR FESTIVAL

WINNER: Swan Lake at Dubai Opera

When the Hungarian National Ballet brought Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake to Dubai Opera, it sold out 8,000 seats across six nights. That number speaks for itself. This was classical ballet at its most transported, performed with the precision and passion that reminded the city exactly why live performance – done properly – is irreplaceable.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Grease The Musical at Dubai Opera

Grease The Musical brought genuine West End energy to the Dubai Opera stage, drawing audiences who hadn’t set foot in a theatre in years — which is exactly what a production of this scale should do.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ushuaïa Dubai Harbour Experience

Ushuaïa Dubai Harbour imported the spirit of Ibiza’s most iconic club to the UAE waterfront, delivering an outdoor festival experience with production values that Dubai has come to expect from the best in the world.

FAVOURITE DAYCATION

WINNER: La Cantine Beach Dubai

On Bluewaters Island, La Cantine Beach Dubai has cracked something that many beach clubs still struggle with: an offer that feels genuinely active and genuinely relaxed at the same time. Pickleball, paddle yoga, and real waves on a stretch of sand that’s arguably the city’s finest – it’s the daycation that manages to feel like a holiday.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: One&Only Royal Mirage

The private beach and manicured gardens of One&Only Royal Mirage offer a daycation experience that feels a world away from the city – which, given how much city there is to escape, is the whole point.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Summersalt Beach Club, Jumeirah Al Naseem

Summersalt Beach Club at Jumeirah Al Naseem delivers the kind of refined beach day that only a Jumeirah property can – clean lines, great service, and an address that carries genuine weight.

FAVOURITE STAYCATION: DUBAI

WINNER: Banyan Tree Dubai

Banyan Tree Dubai on Bluewaters Island is the kind of property that earns this award by doing everything properly rather than loudly. Five hundred metres of private beach, an award-winning spa, and a TakaHisa omakase counter sourcing fish directly from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market – it’s a stay-and-never-leave proposition that delivers on every front.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort

Thai-influenced, lagoon-fringed, and reliably excellent, Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort is the Palm Jumeirah staycation that keeps its regulars loyal and its newcomers immediately converted.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Sofitel Dubai The Palm

Sofitel Dubai The Palm brings French-accented luxury to the island’s western crescent – elegantly designed, generously proportioned, and with a pool and beach setup that makes it feel like a long-weekend in the south of France.

FAVOURITE STAYCATION: NORTHERN EMIRATES

WINNER: Anantara Mina Ras Al Khaimah Resort

The UAE’s only overwater villas sit above a protected mangrove sanctuary – and Anantara Mina Ras Al Khaimah Resort makes the most of its extraordinary setting at every turn. This is a Maldivian escape that, critically, requires no long-haul flight – just an easy hour’s drive north of Dubai.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: DoubleTree By Hilton Resort and Spa Marjan Island

DoubleTree By Hilton Resort and Spa Marjan Island is one of RAK’s most well-rounded escapes – a full-facility resort with a generous beach, reliable spa, and the kind of amenities that make a weekend feel genuinely restorative.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rixos Bab Al Bahr

Rixos Bab Al Bahr earns its reputation through the sheer scope of its all-inclusive offer – multiple pools, a private beach, and entertainment that keeps families and couples equally well-served.

FAVOURITE BAR

WINNER: Mimi Kakushi

Recognised by both the World’s 50 Best Bars and the Michelin Guide, Mimi Kakushi is the bar that Dubai’s most discerning drinkers keep returning to. The 1920s Osaka-inspired setting at Four Seasons Dubai is immaculate, the cocktail programme is among the most thoughtful in the city, and it manages to feel like a discovery even when it’s full.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Aether Dubai

Perched inside W Dubai – The Palm, Aether Dubai has carved out a reputation for atmospheric bar experiences that match its dramatic setting, with a drinks list that rewards attention.

 HIGHLY COMMENDED: Amelia Dubai

Amelia Dubai brings a polished, European lounge sensibility to the city, with a bar programme and setting that have made it a firm favourite for after-work drinks and weekend evenings alike.

FAVOURITE SPA

WINNER: Talise Ottoman Spa, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray

The facts are compelling on their own: 8,200 square metres, 42 treatment rooms, three authentic Turkish hammams, and a 4.5-tonne Bohemian crystal chandelier overhead. But Talise Ottoman Spa at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray wins this award because the experience behind those numbers lives up to them. The Middle East’s largest spa, and still its most impressive.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Bianco SPA, Jumeirah Golf Estates

Bianco SPA at Jumeirah Golf Estates is the city’s most compelling neighbourhood luxury spa – one that gives residents in the area an in-emirate retreat that rivals anything on the hotel circuit.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Pearl Spa & Wellness, Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach

The Pearl Spa & Wellness benefits from the Four Seasons standard that runs through everything at the Jumeirah Beach address – impeccably trained therapists, considered treatment menus, and a facility that never feels anything less than pristine.

FAVOURITE PILATES STUDIO

WINNER: Tula Studios

Tula Studios wins this award for range as much as quality. Reformer Pilates, aerial barre, pre-natal classes, multiple locations across Dubai – and throughout, small classes led by instructors who care. In a city where the wellness market grows faster than the infrastructure to support it, Tula has scaled without losing the thing that makes boutique studios worth attending.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: BODY BASE

BODY BASE at JW Marriott Marquis has built a strong community around its Pilates programme – the kind that keeps the timetable full and the waiting list longer.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Paus Club

Paus Club has become one of the city’s most talked-about wellness spaces, earning its reputation through an environment that takes both the physical and the mental side of a workout seriously.

RESTAURANTS    

FAVOURITE ALL-DAY DINING RESTAURANT

WINNER: Huqqabaz Dubai, Jumeirah

Huqqabaz Dubai does something genuinely well: it transitions. Leisurely Turkish breakfasts become a polished Anatolian evening lounge without the experience feeling forced or split. The shisha programme has been elevated thoughtfully, and the whole offer reads as considered rather than cobbled together – which is exactly what all-day dining should be.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: AMAYA

AMAYA continues to perform across breakfast, lunch and dinner with a consistency that earns loyal regulars and keeps its tables reliably occupied.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: SANA

SANA has carved a strong identity in the all-day dining space with an offer that feels both considered and accessible – the kind of place people return to on different occasions for different reasons.

FAVOURITE BRASSERIE

WINNER: Brasserie Uptown, SO/ Uptown Dubai

Led by a Normandy-born chef, Brasserie Uptown at the fashion-forward SO/ Uptown Dubai is the brasserie that knows what it is and executes it with clarity. Daily themed dinners, a terrace overlooking the Jumeirah Islands, and a classically grounded French kitchen that doesn’t need to announce itself.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rare Brasserie & Bar

Rare Brasserie & Bar has established itself as one of the city’s most reliable evening destinations – confident cooking, a well-considered drinks list, and an atmosphere that makes it easy to stay longer than intended.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Maine Land Brasserie

The Maine Land Brasserie brings the group’s established formula to a mainland setting without losing any of the energy – a brasserie with genuine character and a crowd that knows it.

FAVOURITE BRUNCH: A LA CARTE

WINNER: Tête-à-Tête, FIVE LUXE JBR

Described as Dubai’s most beautiful restaurant, Tête-à-Tête at FIVE LUXE JBR is a lavender-ceilinged French Riviera jewellery box of a space where dinner evolves, naturally, into a party. The à la carte brunch format suits it perfectly – this is a room that rewards time spent in it.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Shi Restaurant

Shi Restaurant has built a strong brunch following through attentive service and a menu that feels personal rather than produced at scale.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Beam by Nick Alvis

The Beam by Nick Alvis brings serious culinary credentials to the brunch circuit – the cooking reflects the calibre of a chef who has earned his reputation the long way.

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT: NORTHERN EMIRATES

WINNER: Sanchaya, DoubleTree by Hilton Resort & Spa Marjan Island

RAK’s dining scene has grown significantly, and Sanchaya at DoubleTree Marjan Island is its strongest argument. Waterfront terrace dining on the Gulf edge, a pan-Asian menu that stretches from Cambodian duck curry to miso black cod, and the emirate’s only dedicated night brunch – it is, by some margin, the most complete restaurant experience north of Dubai.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Mekong, Anantara Mina Ras Al Khaimah Resort

Mekong at Anantara Mina is a strong Southeast Asian restaurant in a setting that makes every meal feel like an event – the mangrove views don’t hurt.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ula Beach RAK

Ula Beach RAK has arrived at exactly the right moment for the emirate’s tourism boom, offering a beach dining experience that feels contemporary and relaxed in equal measure.

FOOD CONCEPTS   

FAVOURITE BREAKFAST

WINNER: Zou Zou

The tableside grill shows are theatrical, the Turkish-Lebanese menu is showstopping, and the energy at La Mer is reliably high – but what earns Zou Zou this award is that it manages to be a proper dining experience from the first meal of the day. Breakfast and brunch here is an event, not an afterthought.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: BRUNCH & CAKE Jumeirah Islands

BRUNCH & CAKE Jumeirah Islands has built a loyal weekend following through an all-day breakfast offer that is consistent, generous, and satisfying in all the ways that matter.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Jones the Grocer, Emirates Golf Club

Jones the Grocer at Emirates Golf Club brings the brand’s beloved café-deli formula to a beautiful golf course setting – an easy morning out that doesn’t require any effort to justify.

FAVOURITE CAFE

WINNER: Apricot Dubai

There’s a particular skill in making a café feel like a neighbourhood discovery in Downtown Dubai – a neighbourhood that, by design, isn’t really a neighbourhood at all. Apricot Dubai has managed it: a sun-drenched European retreat with Burj Khalifa garden terrace views, all-day breakfasts done properly, and a fresh-baked deli that feels genuinely local. The kind of place you take visitors who think Dubai has no soul.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Comptoir 102

Comptoir 102 on Jumeirah Beach Road remains one of the city’s most enduring café-concept-stores – effortlessly positioned at the intersection of wellness, design, and genuinely good food.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Unwind Boardgame Café

Unwind Boardgame Café fills a gap in the city that nobody quite knew was there – a genuinely sociable, screen-free space where the coffee is good and the evenings go longer than planned.

FAVOURITE AFTERNOON TEA

WINNER: Balloons at the Palace Afternoon Tea, Jumeirah Al Qasr

Afternoon tea inside gently anchored hot air balloon baskets on a fifth-floor terrace, with Burj Al Arab views and Arabian Gulf sunsets completing the picture. Balloons at the Palace at Jumeirah Al Qasr wins because it has created an experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere – and, crucially, the food inside the baskets matches the spectacle outside them.

HIGHLY COMMENDED : Grand Palaces Afternoon Tea at Blüthner Hall, Raffles The Palm Dubai

Grand Palaces Afternoon Tea at Raffles The Palm is anchored by one of Dubai’s finest rooms – the Blüthner Hall provides a setting of genuine grandeur for a tea service that is as considered as its backdrop.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Maison Devoille, One&Only One Za’abeel

Maison Devoille at One&Only One Za’abeel brings a French patisserie sensibility to afternoon tea – precision, provenance, and the kind of pastry work that sets a high bar for everything that follows.

FAVOURITE BUSINESS LUNCH

WINNER: Cé La Vi Dubai

A Michelin Guide-listed rooftop on the 54th floor of Address Sky View, 220 metres above Downtown Dubai. At Cé La Vi Dubai, the Burj Khalifa-framed flower swing has become the city’s most Instagrammed moment, but the business lunch works because the food and service are worthy of the room, not just its view.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: L’Amo Bistro del Mare

L’Amo Bistro del Mare is the kind of lunch address that Dubai’s business community relies on – relaxed enough for real conversation, polished enough for any guest.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Pierchic, Jumeirah Al Qasr

Built on a pier extending into the Arabian Gulf, Pierchic at Jumeirah Al Qasr remains one of the most scenically impressive business lunch settings in the city – seafood-forward, impeccably served, and memorable for all the right reasons.

FAVOURITE PUB GRUB

WINNER: Garden on 8, Media One Hotel

Over a decade of getting the basics brilliantly right. Garden on 8 at Media One Hotel has earned this award by never overcomplicating its proposition: a rooftop sports bar with big screens, a Marina skyline backdrop, and pub grub that knows what it is. In a market full of concepts chasing novelty, consistency is its own kind of achievement.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ernst Biergarten and Wirtshaus, 25hours Hotel One Central

Ernst Biergarten and Wirtshaus brings a genuinely authentic German beer hall experience to the heart of the city – generous portions, long tables, and an atmosphere that doesn’t need to try.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Irish Village, Al Garhoud

The Irish Village is one of Dubai’s genuinely iconic venues – a garden pub that has been serving cold pints and reliable food to the city’s residents since before most of its competitors existed.

FAVOURITE PET-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

WINNER: Goose Island Tap House, FIVE LUXE JBR

Chicago’s award-winning brewery doesn’t just bring its craft beers to JBR – it brings its ethos. Goose Island Tap House at FIVE LUXE JBR is dog-friendly, outdoor, draft-forward (20+ craft beers on tap), and home to a Sunday roast that the city has declared its best. The F1 simulators are a bonus.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: FEBRUARY 30

FEBRUARY 30 is the neighbourhood gem that pet-owners in its catchment area treat as their own – relaxed, welcoming, and genuinely four-legged-friendly in a way that goes beyond a policy statement.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: LOCAL DUBAI

LOCAL DUBAI has earned its reputation as one of the city’s most genuinely community-minded venues – a place where the dog is as welcome as its owner.

FAVOURITE ROOFTOP RESTAURANT

WINNER: Zeta Seventy Seven, Address Beach Resort

On the 77th floor of Address Beach Resort, adjacent to the world’s Guinness-certified highest outdoor infinity pool, Zeta Seventy Seven commands panoramic views from the Gulf to the Palm. The sushi-forward Asian fusion menu is sharp and the service matches the altitude. A rooftop that earns its superlatives.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Above Eleven Dubai, Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah

Above Eleven Dubai brings the acclaimed Peruvian-Japanese concept to a rooftop address that delivers consistently on both food and atmosphere – a reliable evening pick for residents and visitors alike.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Level 43 Sky Lounge, Four Points Sheraton, Sheikh Zayed Road

Level 43 Sky Lounge holds its own in one of the most competitive rooftop markets in the world – panoramic city views, a solid cocktail list, and an address that has proved its longevity.

FAVOURITE BURGER

WINNER: Eleven Green

Born from a competition-winning Bull Burger, Eleven Green is a homegrown success story built on wagyu patties, Hokkaido milk buns, and a loyal following that keeps the queues real. In a city where the burger market is fiercely contested, this husband-and-wife team’s operation wins on substance: the product is simply better.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Junk Smash Burger

Junk Smash Burger has become one of the most talked-about casual dining addresses in the city – delivering the smash burger format with an energy and quality that justify the conversation.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: SMOKD EATERY

SMOKD EATERY rounds out a strong category with a genuinely characterful burger offer – the kind of eatery that has regulars defending its honour in conversation.

FAVOURITE ALFRESCO RESTAURANT

WINNER: Gigi Rigolatto

From the shores of Saint-Tropez to J1 Beach – and the translation is seamless. Gigi Rigolatto brings its iconic Bellini Bar, private cabanas, and truffle gnocchi to Dubai with a confidence that only comes from knowing exactly what you are. The best French-Italian beach-house experience in the city, outdoors and proud of it.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: ATTIKO Dubai

ATTIKO Dubai occupies a rooftop perch that makes alfresco dining in this city feel like an occasion – a crowd-pleasing address with views that do most of the heavy lifting before the food even arrives.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kaimana Beach

Kaimana Beach is the beachside alfresco spot that gets the fundamentals right: sand underfoot, sea in view, food worth ordering twice.

CASUAL RESTAURANTS

FAVOURITE CASUAL ASIAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: BA-Boldly Asian, Fairmont The Palm Dubai

Enter through a hypnotic doorway and the mood shifts immediately. BA-Boldly Asian at Fairmont The Palm is an Asian wonderland that fuses China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan with genuine ambition — bold, untamed flavours and roaring nighttime energy that earns its Fairmont address rather than relying on it.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: 77 Asia JBR

77 Asia JBR delivers a wide-ranging Pan-Asian menu from a prime beachfront address – reliable, energetic, and with a terrace that makes it a go-to for casual group dinners.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Lah Lah

Lah Lah at Zabeel House The Greens is one of the city’s most charming neighbourhood Asian restaurants – colourful, casual, and cooking food that actually tastes like it came from Southeast Asia.

FAVOURITE CASUAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Isola Ristorante

Tucked into the Jumeirah Islands Clubhouse beside a serene lake, Isola Ristorante is the kind of neighbourhood Italian that Dubai residents outside its catchment area genuinely wish was closer. Stripped-back coastal cooking, a kitchen that doesn’t overcomplicate things, and the warmth that keeps regulars fiercely – sometimes territorially – loyal.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Basta!, The St. Regis Downtown Dubai

Basta! at The St. Regis Downtown delivers Italian cooking in a setting that manages to feel accessible despite its address – a genuinely enjoyable option for pasta and pizza in the heart of the city.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tutto Passa, Delano Dubai

Tutto Passa at Delano Dubai brings an Italian sensibility to a hotel that already does stylish very well – relaxed, well-executed, and a useful reminder that hotel dining doesn’t have to mean formal.

FAVOURITE CASUAL INDIAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Asha’s Restaurant

Founded by Bollywood icon Asha Bhosle in Dubai in 2002, Asha’s Restaurant is one of those rare hospitality stories where the founding narrative is fully backed up by the food. The heirloom North-West Indian recipes, drawn from the legendary singer’s own personal collection, are the reason this institution has been winning awards for over two decades.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rang

Rang has built a strong reputation in Dubai’s competitive Indian dining landscape through cooking that balances regional specificity with broad appeal – no small achievement.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rohini, Mövenpick Hotel, Jumeirah Lakes Towers

Rohini at Mövenpick JLT is the local neighbourhood Indian that the JLT community rightly claims as its own – dependable, warmly run, and genuinely good.

FAVOURITE CASUAL FRENCH RESTAURANT

WINNER: Couqley French Brasserie

Steak frites at honest prices, a Dubai Canal terrace, and interiors by artist Ana D’Castro that feel genuinely Parisian rather than performing Parisian. Couqley French Brasserie wins this award by doing the difficult thing simply: making French cooking feel accessible without making it feel compromised.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Chez Wam

Chez Wam brings a casual, neighbourly French spirit to its corner of the city – one of those rare restaurants that feels like it has been there for years, even when it hasn’t.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: CQ French Brasserie

CQ French Brasserie earns its highly commended through consistent, unfussy French cooking. The kind of food that doesn’t announce itself but keeps the tables full.

FAVOURITE CASUAL JAPANESE RESTAURANT

WINNER: Izakaya, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai

The Sake Boy comes to the table. The Wasabi Girl prepares fresh wasabi in front of you. Izakaya at JW Marriott Marquis is the kind of Japanese restaurant that treats dinner as a night out rather than a meal to get through – and it has been doing it long enough that its energy feels earned, not manufactured.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Goldfish Dubai

Goldfish Dubai is the city’s most-loved sushi-and-yakitori casual concept – a reliably buzzing room that hits the mark for weeknight dinners and special occasions alike.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kumo

Kumo has cultivated one of the most devoted followings in Dubai’s Japanese dining scene – small, focused, and cooking with the kind of precision that makes the queue worth it.

FAVOURITE CASUAL LATIN AMERICAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Fusion Ceviche

Twenty-six seats in JLT. A self-taught chef-owner, Penelope Diaz, serving tiger-milk-drenched ceviches that earned Fusion Ceviche a World’s 50 Best Discovery listing and half the city queueing outside. This award recognises exactly what the category should reward: a restaurant that earns its reputation through the food on the plate alone, with zero venue, zero budget, and zero compromise.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Esco-Bar, Palm Jumeirah

Esco-Bar brings Latin American energy to the Palm with a party atmosphere and cooking that gives the music real competition for your attention.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Mama Zonia

Mama Zonia is Dubai’s most exuberant celebration of Latin American cuisine – a high-energy, immersive dining experience where the food is every bit as bold as the décor.

FAVOURITE CASUAL MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Fi’lia Dubai, SLS Hotel & Residences

The region’s first female-led restaurant, perched on the 70th floor of SLS Dubai, and holder of a Michelin Bib Gourmand – Fi’lia Dubai wins this award for the cooking above all else: handmade pasta, wood-fired dishes, and genuine Italian warmth delivered at an altitude and a price point that defy expectation.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Blume Dubai Mall

Blume Dubai Mall has found an audience that appreciates its Mediterranean offer in one of the city’s highest-footfall locations – no small achievement when the competition is this dense.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Dish By ChefSperxos

The Dish By ChefSperxos is a welcome addition to the casual Med scene – chef-led, personal, and cooking the kind of Greek-influenced food that reminds you that the best Mediterranean cooking is about ingredients, not theatre.

FAVOURITE CASUAL MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Awani

Awani earns this award through culinary conviction. Centuries-old Levantine recipes prepared using traditional methods, Armenian influences woven through the menu, fresh bread arriving from the oven as you sit, and Dubai Fountain views completing the scene. This is the kind of Middle Eastern restaurant that the UAE’s dining landscape has genuinely needed more of.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Allo Beirut

Allo Beirut is the casual Levantine street-food concept done with heart – falafel, wraps, and shawarma rooted in real Beiruti kitchen tradition rather than a Dubai approximation of one.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Courtyard at The Heritage Hotel, Autograph Collection

Courtyard at The Heritage Hotel provides a setting steeped in Emirati heritage that adds genuine context to its traditional menu – one of the most culturally rooted dining experiences in the city.

FAVOURITE CASUAL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

WINNER: The Maine Oyster Bar & Grill

Hidden in a DoubleTree carpark in JBR since 2015, The Maine Oyster Bar & Grill is one of those Dubai restaurants that has earned its cult status over time rather than overnight. No-frills New England brasserie charm, live lobster tanks, seafood towers, and a crowd who return with the kind of frequency that says everything about the cooking.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Aprons & Hammers

Aprons & Hammers remains one of the city’s most fun seafood propositions – roll up your sleeves, get into the shellfish, and leave messily satisfied.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ibn AlBahr

Ibn AlBahr is the traditional Emirati seafood restaurant that Dubai residents point visitors towards without hesitation – honest, well-sourced, and cooking fish the way the Gulf intended.

FAVOURITE CASUAL BRUNCH: BUFFET

WINNER: Golden Ticket Brunch, Fairmont The Palm Dubai

A Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed Saturday brunch where Oompa Loompas greet guests, children hunt golden tickets, and adults tackle prime rib and chocolate fountains at Fairmont The Palm’s Flow Kitchen. The theme could easily be the whole story, but the buffet itself is extensive and genuinely well-executed, which is why it wins rather than just entertains.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Be Beach DXB

Be Beach DXB offers a casual waterfront brunch with enough variety and atmosphere to make it a reliable weekend call – sand, sun, and a spread worth the effort.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Float Lounge, Vida Creek Beach

Float Lounge at Vida Creek Beach is the Creek Harbour brunch that makes the most of its waterfront address – a relaxed, view-forward afternoon that earns its spot in the rotation.

FAVOURITE CASUAL STEAKHOUSE

WINNER: Rowley’s Restaurant

A 50-year London institution arriving in DIFC – and the cultural fit is immediate. Rowley’s Restaurant brings its legendary secret Roquefort butter sauce, unlimited frites, and a speakeasy bar downstairs to the heart of Dubai’s financial district. The rooftop mini-golf waiting zone with Burj Khalifa views is a detail that tells you this is a restaurant that has thought about everything.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Fire Lake Grill House Restaurant & Bar, Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills

Fire Lake Grill House is the community steakhouse for a growing residential catchment that deserves it – properly grilled cuts, a welcoming bar, and the kind of casual steak-night format that fills tables without effort.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Le Relais de L’Entrecôte

Le Relais de L’Entrecôte operates on the same principle it always has: one dish, done perfectly, every night. The secret sauce, the unlimited frites, and the steak – and nothing else required. Dubai’s most refreshing approach to the steakhouse concept.

FINE DINING RESTAURANTS

FAVOURITE FINE DINING ASIAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Buddha-Bar, Grosvenor House Dubai

Dubai Marina’s most iconic pan-Asian venue keeps its reputation alive by never standing still. Buddha-Bar at Grosvenor House offers world-class live entertainment, theatrical brunches, and a mixology programme that has earned Michelin recognition – all wrapped in an atmosphere that has defined the Marina’s evenings for years.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ronin, FIVE LUXE JBR

Ronin at FIVE LUXE JBR is one of the city’s most compelling new fine dining Asian addresses – precise, atmospheric, and cooking Japanese-influenced food with real intent.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tong Thai, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai

Tong Thai at JW Marriott Marquis is Dubai’s most enduring Thai fine dining address – elevated, considered, and serving a market that knows what authentic Thai cooking should taste like.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING BRUNCH: BUFFET

WINNER: Al Qasr Brunch, Jumeirah Al Qasr

Award-winning, perennially packed, and delivering on both counts every Saturday. The Al Qasr Brunch at Jumeirah Al Qasr blends Mediterranean and Asian live stations in a conservatory-style setting with hospitality that Jumeirah has spent decades perfecting. It wins this award because it has earned its front-of-queue status through consistent quality, not brand weight alone.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Bubbalicious Brunch, The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina

Bubbalicious Brunch at The Westin Mina Seyahi is one of the city’s grand-scale brunch traditions – extensive stations, a buzzy beachfront setting, and years of loyal following.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Café Nikki, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai

Café Nikki at Nikki Beach brings the brand’s signature beach-club energy to brunch in a way that makes the format feel like a natural extension of the day – music, sun, and a food spread that earns the occasion.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING FRENCH RESTAURANT

WINNER: Maison Revka

Maison Revka at Delano Dubai is a French Slavic gem celebrating Central European heritage with caviar, smoked salmon, four varieties of pavlova, and a chic, Côte d’Azur-inflected energy by the water. It wins because it has arrived with a distinct point of view – this is not generic Gallic fine dining, it is something more personal and more precise.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Josette

Josette is the French restaurant that Dubai’s most food-literate diners recommend without hesitation – a classical foundation executed with genuine care and a wine list that rewards exploration.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: La Maison Ani

La Maison Ani brings chef Izu Ani’s celebrated touch to a French-inflected menu that draws on his global experience – artful, considered, and worth every course.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING INDIAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Kinara By Vikas Khanna, JA Lake View Hotel

Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna’s restaurant at JA Lake View Hotel is the kind of destination that makes fine dining Indian food feel necessary rather than aspirational. Kinara delivers a homage-to-regional-India menu at an accessible price point – smoked tandoor flavours, spice-display-lined interiors, and cooking that earns its star’s name.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rang Mahal, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai

Rang Mahal at JW Marriott Marquis is one of the city’s most established fine dining Indian kitchens – elevated, elegant, and still setting the benchmark after all these years.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tresind Studio

Tresind Studio is the most technically adventurous Indian restaurant in the UAE – a tasting menu experience that challenges its guests to reconsider what Indian fine dining can be.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING ITALIAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Il Borro Tuscan Bistro

Beside Jumeirah Al Naseem’s Turtle Lagoon, with organic produce grown on the Ferragamo family estate – olive oil, honey, wine – delivered direct to the Dubai kitchen. Il Borro Tuscan Bistro is Michelin-selected for the same reason it wins here: the cooking is rooted in a real place, not constructed for a Dubai audience. Pure Tuscany, transplanted faithfully.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Chic Nonna

Chic Nonna has built a devoted following through Italian cooking that wears its roots lightly – refined, seasonal, and run with the warmth of a family kitchen at a considerably higher altitude.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Isabella Cucina Italiana

Isabella Cucina Italiana is a genuine Italian fine dining address that earns its reputation through consistent, craft-led cooking – the kind of restaurant where the regulars bring the people they most want to impress.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING JAPANESE RESTAURANT

WINNER: Akira Back, W Dubai – The Palm

Internationally acclaimed chef Akira Back’s modern Japanese cuisine – Korean-inflected, globally informed – arrives at W Dubai – The Palm with panoramic Palm Jumeirah views to match. The cooking is confident, creative, and rooted in a chef who has earned his name across multiple continents. A worthy winner in one of the awards’ most competitive categories.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: BÂoli

BÂoli brings a Monaco-born concept to DIFC with all the theatrical style the original commands – Japanese-Mediterranean food delivered with a glamour that Dubai’s fine dining scene suits very well.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Mimi Kakushi

Recognised by Michelin and the World’s 50 Best, Mimi Kakushi at Four Seasons also earns its place here on the food alone – the 1920s Osaka-inspired kitchen delivers at the level of precision its reputation demands.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING LATIN AMERICAN RESTAURANT

 WINNER: Nazcaa Dubai

A 12th-floor Downtown Dubai terrace with the Burj Khalifa as its closest neighbour. Nazcaa Dubai calls its cuisine “Beyond Nikkei” – a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese culinary traditions that pushes both forward. The cooking is inventive without being inaccessible, and the view completes a dining experience that ranks among the city’s most memorable.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: COYA

COYA Dubai is one of the city’s most established and well-loved fine dining Latin American addresses – a gold-standard Peruvian kitchen paired with an atmosphere that makes the evening feel like a celebration before the food arrives.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: La Niña Dubai

La Niña Dubai brings a distinct and personal Latin American perspective to the fine dining circuit – bold flavours, considered technique, and a kitchen with something genuine to say.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Lana Lusa

Dubai’s finest Portuguese restaurant. Lana Lusa wins this category for the same reason its regulars return weekly: garlic-glazed gambas, monkfish rice in terracotta, and pastéis de nata that are genuinely as good as anything you would find in Lisbon. Portuguese fine dining is underrepresented globally. Here, it is done with total conviction.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kira

Kira is a Mediterranean fine dining address built on ingredients-first cooking – clean, considered, and refreshingly free of unnecessary embellishment.

HIGHLY COMMENDED:  Shimmers, Jumeirah Mina Al Salam

Shimmers at Jumeirah Mina Al Salam has one of the finest outdoor dining settings in the city – a waterfront Mediterranean table with Burj Al Arab in view and a kitchen that earns the location.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

WINNER: Huqqa Dubai Mall

Fashion Avenue’s most glamorous terrace – Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain views, an Anatolian menu executed with care, and a shisha experience elevated well beyond the mall-adjacent standard. Huqqa Dubai Mall wins because it turns the world’s most visited shopping destination into the backdrop for a genuinely special dinner.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Gerbou

Gerbou is one of the UAE’s most thoughtful expressions of Emirati and Gulf cuisine at the fine dining level – a restaurant doing important cultural work through the medium of genuinely excellent food.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ninive

Ninive brings an archaeologically rich perspective to Lebanese and Levantine fine dining – the menu is a journey through ancient culinary tradition, plated with contemporary precision.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

WINNER: Son of a Fish

An Athenian Riviera-inspired day-to-night destination at Dubai Harbour – fresh fish displays, Greek sharing plates, Modern Aegean Electronica, and bobbing superyachts as the backdrop. Son of a Fish wins because it has created a total experience rather than simply a restaurant, and because the fish at the heart of it is sourced and cooked with the seriousness the concept deserves.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kraken Dubai

Kraken Dubai is a statement seafood address – grand in scale, dramatic in design, and cooking fish and shellfish at a level that justifies the ambition.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Sea Fu, Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach

Sea Fu at Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach is the seafood restaurant that benefits from one of the best hotel addresses in the city – fine ingredients, a polished kitchen, and a terrace that faces the water in the way that a seafood restaurant absolutely should.

FAVOURITE FINE DINING STEAKHOUSE

WINNER: The Cullinan

Named after the world’s largest diamond, located at Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, with Burj Al Arab views and a menu of 25 premium cuts attended by a dedicated meat sommelier. The Cullinan earns this award because it has brought a genuinely new perspective to the Dubai steakhouse category – the “Nine Cocktail Cuts” menu alone demonstrates a kitchen thinking beyond the standard proposition.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: leÑa

leÑa Dubai is the Dani García Group’s wood-fire steakhouse concept translated for the city with total confidence – fire-led cooking, Spanish spirit, and cuts that arrive with the right amount of ceremony.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Prime52, Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites

Prime52 at Dubai Marriott Harbour earns its place with panoramic harbour views and a premium cuts menu that makes it the natural choice for a celebratory steak dinner at the water.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

The Editor’s Choice awards are not decided by public vote. They are the What’s On team’s own recognition of the restaurants, chefs, and openings that have most meaningfully shaped Dubai’s dining conversation in the past year.

WHAT’S ON HOMEGROWN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

WINNER: MIDDLE CHILD

The name is autobiographical, but the achievement is anything but. Beirut-born Middle Child founder Lynn Hazim spent a decade at Google before trading data for dough – and the restaurant world is significantly richer for it. Opened in 2025 at Alserkal Avenue, Middle Child occupies a narrow warehouse as three things simultaneously: a 40-seat all-day eatery, a cookbook shop stocking over 500 titles, and a gourmet pantry of the kind of small-batch condiments you buy on instinct. The menu is concise, deeply personal, and calibrated with precision — labneh with yuzu kosho, cured sea bass, pappardelle Bolognese, and a club sandwich that has taken on near-mythological status among its regulars. No reservations. No pretension. No noise. Just honest cooking and an eight-seat counter where strangers become regulars. MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants handed it the One to Watch Award months after opening. We are handing it this one.

WHAT’S ON CHEF OF THE YEAR

WINNER: GABRIELA CHAMORRO – GIRL AND THE GOOSE

In 2019, Gabriela Chamorro opened a supper club from her Dubai apartment: 10 seats, a WhatsApp message, and a warm Nicaraguan welcome at the door. Five years and 5,000 home-cooked meals later, she opened Girl and the Goose as a full restaurant inside the Anantara Downtown Dubai Hotel, earning a place at No.43 on MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 in its debut year. The Central American cuisine she champions – pupusas, miso seabass ceviche, clay-pot short ribs in toasted cornmeal – is a first for Dubai, drawing on her grandmother’s recipes, years flying as an Emirates cabin crew member, and training at the Culinary Institute of Barcelona and Copenhagen’s MAD Academy. What makes this award straightforward is not the ranking. It is that Chamorro scaled an underground dining sensation into a bricks-and-mortar institution without losing a single drop of the intimacy, the storytelling, or the personal warmth that made people fall in love with it in the first place.

WHAT’S ON NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

WINNER: BARRAFINA

For 18 years, Barrafina stayed in London. Five locations, a Michelin Star, legendary queues on Dean Street. Not one venture outside the UK – until Dubai. The decision to make this city the brand’s first international outpost is both a statement of confidence in Dubai’s culinary credentials and, for us, a significant responsibility to judge fairly. Barrafina has delivered. At its 55-seat DIFC home in Gate Village – surrounded by Zuma, Gaia, and the rest of the city’s fine-dining first team – the counter dining concept translates with total conviction. Watch the chefs at work from your stool as gambas rojas, the Classic Tortilla, and chicken thighs with romesco emerge from an open kitchen that treats every plate with the unhurried craft that made the original a London institution. Brothers Sam and Eddie Hart, raised in Mallorca, have brought something Dubai needed: a restaurant with no noise and no theatrics –  just impeccable Spanish tapas and the belief that the best seat in the house is always at the counter.

WHAT’S ON RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

WINNER: MANĀO

Five months. That is all it took for Manāo to earn a Michelin Star – one of the fastest in UAE culinary history, achieved without a celebrity name above the door. What it has instead is Chef Abhiraj Khatwani, winner of the Michelin Young Chef Award in the same year his restaurant was starred, and co-founder Mohamad Orfali, the mind behind Orfali Bros – named the Best Restaurant in the Middle East three consecutive years running. The result is a restaurant ranked ninth on MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026: a contemporary love letter to Thailand’s culinary heritage, built on time-tested techniques, heritage ingredients, and a sensory confidence that blurs the line between fine dining and something far more personal. Manāo is the reason this award exists. Because once in a while, a restaurant arrives and changes the conversation. This is that restaurant.

That’s a wrap on the What’s On Dubai Awards 2026. Congratulations to every winner and highly commended across the night – and to everyone shortlisted. Dubai’s food, leisure, and entertainment scene continues to set the standard, and these awards exist to celebrate the best of it. See you next year.