Country dossier
Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries across United Arab Emirates in the En Primeur Club guide.
Accolades in United Arab Emirates
Dubai holds the deepest concentration of starred kitchens in our guide, with Palm Jumeirah and Jumeira carrying many of the most formal tasting-menu rooms.
Palm Jumeirah’s Trèsind Studio holds three Michelin stars from 2025 and a wine list with sommelier-led service and craft cocktails. The meal is a tasting menu of modern Indian fine dining, moving through four regions of India in an intimate rooftop room.
Palm Jumeirah’s FZN by Björn Frantzén has three Michelin stars and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. The restaurant combines tasting menu and counter dining formats with an exceptional wine program, in a multi-room setup built around modern Scandinavian-Japanese fine dining.
Palm Jumeirah’s STAY by Yannick Alléno holds two Michelin stars for 2025 and an exceptional wine program with sommelier-led service. The kitchen serves modern French fine dining as a tasting menu and à la carte. Chef Ilya Evdokimov cooks inside One&Only The Palm.
Jumeira’s Hōseki holds one Michelin star for 2025, alongside a wine list and a sake program. Its traditional Japanese omakase is served at the counter, with seating for 17 guests. Chef Masahiro Sugiyama’s sushi is flown in from Japan. The restaurant is a Gault & Millau UAE Selected Restaurant.
Abu Dhabi’s guide is smaller, but its Michelin-recognised rooms and wine-led service are concentrated in a few clearly defined neighbourhoods.
Al Ras Al Akhdar’s Hakkasan holds one Michelin star and a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. The modern Cantonese kitchen works across tasting menu, à la carte, and small plates formats, supported by a wine list and craft cocktails.
Al Ras Al Akhdar’s Talea by Antonio Guida has one Michelin star and a wine list. The restaurant serves Michelin-starred Italian cucina di famiglia through à la carte and family-style formats, with terrace views of the Arabian Gulf.
Al Hisn’s Erth holds one Michelin star and a wine list with sommelier-led service. The kitchen serves modern Emirati fine dining à la carte and as a set menu. It is the first Michelin-starred Emirati fine dining restaurant, set in the Qasr Al Hosn cultural complex, and it draws ingredients from 90 UAE farms.
These bars are in Dubai, in Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, and Za'abeel 2. Soirée and Honeycomb Hi-Fi have wine programs, Amelia holds Star Wine List recognition and pours craft cocktails, and Galaxy Bar is a craft-cocktail bar.
Business Bay’s Soirée holds Star Wine List recognition for 2024, 2025, and 2026, and an exceptional wine program. The bar pours natural wine and conventional wine, plus craft cocktails, low-abv drinks, and zero-proof options. It occupies a floor of the Opus tower in the ME Dubai hotel, with an art-deco bar and vinyl records.
Business Bay’s Honeycomb Hi-Fi has a wine list and pours craft cocktails, sake, conventional wine, and craft beer. It is a Japanese izakaya speakeasy with nightly DJ sets and vinyl records. In 2025, Tatler named it Bar of the Year for the Middle East, and Top 500 Bars ranked it number 243.
Downtown Dubai’s Amelia holds Top 500 Bars recognition for 2025 and Star Wine List recognition for 2026. The bar pours craft cocktails. Interiors are aviation-themed, drawn from Amelia Earhart, and the menu is Japanese-Peruvian.
Za'abeel 2’s Galaxy Bar is a craft-cocktail bar. World’s 50 Best Bars ranked it number 45 in 2021. Tatler recognized it for Best Innovation. The bar draws on Greek heritage and celestial design, and the drinks are inspired by star formations.
On Palm Jumeirah, One&Only The Palm houses STAY by Yannick Alléno, and Atlantis The Royal houses Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. In Umm Suqeim, Jumeirah Burj Al Arab houses Al Muntaha. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Al Muntaha hold Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence honors.
Palm Jumeirah’s One&Only The Palm holds Michelin 2 Keys and Forbes 4-Star recognition. It houses STAY by Yannick Alléno, a modern French restaurant with two Michelin stars and an exceptional wine program, serving a tasting menu and à la carte. La Liste gives the hotel a Top Hotels ranking.
Palm Jumeirah’s Atlantis The Royal holds a World’s 50 Best Hotels rank of number 4 for 2026. Its Michelin-starred restaurant is Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, with a Michelin star, a wine list, and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. The restaurant serves historic British fine dining as a tasting menu, a set menu, and à la carte.
Umm Suqeim’s Jumeirah Burj Al Arab houses Al Muntaha, which holds one Michelin star and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. Al Muntaha has an exceptional wine program and serves a tasting menu and à la carte. The cuisine is sophisticated French with Italian influences, and the restaurant is on the 27th floor.
Palm Jumeirah, Jumeira, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Za'abeel 2, Al Ras Al Akhdar, and Al Hisn hold the strongest scene in our guide. Dubai carries most of the starred restaurants and serious bars, while Abu Dhabi concentrates its best dining around Al Ras Al Akhdar and Al Hisn.
Our guide counts 24 Michelin-starred restaurants in the UAE, with 31 Michelin stars in total. Dubai holds the larger share, especially on Palm Jumeirah and in Jumeira, while Abu Dhabi adds a smaller set of starred rooms in a few clear neighbourhoods.
Palm Jumeirah holds tasting menus at Trèsind Studio, FZN by Björn Frantzén, STAY by Yannick Alléno, Ossiano, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and Smoked Room. In Jumeira, Il Ristorante-Niko Romito, Manāo, and Tasca by José Avillez serve tasting menus, and Hōseki serves omakase at a counter for 17 guests.
In our guide, Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence goes to Palm Jumeirah’s FZN by Björn Frantzén, Ossiano, and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and to Umm Suqeim’s Al Muntaha. Wine Spectator Award of Excellence goes to Palm Jumeirah’s Hakkasan Dubai and Al Ras Al Akhdar’s Hakkasan.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
City atlas
United Arab Emirates
Selected entries from the current guide for United Arab Emirates.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Trèsind Studio sits in Dubai’s high-spend Indian dining tier, where tasting-menu structure, spice technique, and theatre carry more weight than à la carte familiarity. Himanshu Saini’s 20-seat format has serious external validation: Michelin three stars in 2025, OAD Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #2 in 2026, La Liste 93 points in 2026, and Tatler Best Middle East Restaurant of The Year 2025.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Row on 45 holds two Michelin stars (2024–2025) and a World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 rank of #17, operating from the 45th floor of Grosvenor House Dubai. The 17-course tasting menu unfolds across three distinct spaces for a maximum of 22 covers per sitting, with wine pairing programmes overseen by head sommelier Lorenzo Abussi. Reservations are required; business casual dress applies.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm holds a Michelin star (2025), ranks #5 in the World's 50 Best MENA 2024, and scores 93.5 points on La Liste 2025. Chef Grégoire Berger's 10-course tasting menu maps the Atlantic coastline, from Seville to Brittany, in a 54-seat dining room set against floor-to-ceiling aquarium windows. Wine Director Gordana Josovic oversees 885 selections across 4,115 bottles, with particular depth in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Italy.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
FZN by Björn Frantzén holds three Michelin stars at Atlantis, The Palm, placing it among Dubai's most formally recognised fine-dining addresses. Led by chef Torsten Vildgaard, the restaurant runs a nine-course tasting menu that draws on modern European technique with Japanese influences. La Liste ranked it at 97 points in 2026, and its wine program has maintained a top-15 position on Star Wine List throughout 2025.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Orfali Bros has held the top position in the Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants ranking for three consecutive years (2023, 2024, 2025) and re-entered the World's 50 Best at number 46 before climbing to 64, all while operating as a neighbourhood bistro on Al Wasl Road. Three Syrian-born brothers run the kitchen across two floors: savoury below, pastry above, with a Michelin star awarded in both 2024 and 2025.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
A Michelin-starred wood-fire kitchen operating out of a Jumeirah villa, 11 Woodfire ranks #28 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 and carries a Opinionated About Dining placement for 2025. Chef Brando Moros builds his menu across meat, seafood, and vegetables, treating each with the same precision over oak, hickory, and hay coals. Dinner service runs from 6 pm on Mondays; Tuesday through Sunday opens at noon.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Twelve seats, twice nightly, in a converted Al Satwa address that holds a Michelin star and a top-ten MENA ranking from the World's 50 Best. Chef Solemann Haddad's 12-course creative menu is plated at the counter in full view of every diner. The format is closer to a private kitchen than a conventional restaurant, and the reservation list reflects that scarcity.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On the second floor of the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Atlantis The Royal, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal reconstructs centuries of British culinary history through dishes drawn from medieval manuscripts, Tudor kitchens, and Georgian banquet tables. The wine program runs to 1,560 selections across 7,310 bottles, with Burgundy and Bordeaux as the headline strengths. Ranked #33 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 and #76 on La Liste's 2026 global list.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Zuma sits in DIFC's Gate Village as the Dubai outpost of a global Japanese contemporary group, holding a Michelin Plate (2025) and ranked 19th in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA list for 2024. The shared-format menu draws from robata, sushi, and izakaya traditions, while the bar programme, sake, shochu, and Japanese whisky, is woven into the meal rather than treated as an afterthought. Weekend DJs, a large terrace, and an island bar make this one of DIFC's more animated dining rooms.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
STAY by Yannick Alléno brings two Michelin stars to Palm Jumeirah inside the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star One&Only The Palm. Chef Ilya Evdokimov executes contemporary French technique across a five- and six-course menu format, with a dining room defined by black crystal chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, and Baroque detailing. La Liste has scored the kitchen at 85 points in both 2025 and 2026.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
LPM Restaurant & Bar Dubai brings the sun-drenched rhythms of the French Riviera to the financial district of DIFC, holding a 3-Star Accreditation from the World of Fine Wine & Lifestyle Awards. The space translates the La Petite Maison formula, Provençal sharing plates, animated dining rooms, a bar that pulls its weight, into one of Dubai's more reliably social addresses for a midweek lunch or a Saturday evening that runs long.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Perched on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab, Al Muntaha holds a Michelin star and a position in the La Liste global rankings, pairing contemporary French cuisine under Chef Saverio Sbaragli with a wine list of 1,455 selections and 9,000 bottles in inventory. The cellar draws heavily from France, Italy, California, and Champagne, overseen by Wine Director Samuel Lacroix. Few dining rooms in Dubai place this much emphasis on both kitchen credentials and list depth simultaneously.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Il Ristorante-Niko Romito holds two Michelin stars at the Bvlgari Resort on Jumeirah Bay Island, placing it among Dubai's most decorated Italian tables. The kitchen operates under the intellectual framework Niko Romito developed at Reale in Abruzzo, applied here to a setting of Arabescato marble and private marina views. Reservations at this price tier warrant advance planning.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Hakkasan at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental holds a Michelin star and the top ranking from Star Wine List (2024), placing it among the more formally recognised Chinese restaurants in the Gulf. The kitchen serves Cantonese cooking in a format that ranges from weeknight dinner to Saturday dim sum lunch, backed by a 325-label wine list with 960 bottles in inventory. The setting is the kind of room that earns repeat visits from people who know exactly what they are returning for.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On the 22nd floor of Atlantis, The Palm, Nobu Dubai has operated as one of the city's most recognisable Japanese-Peruvian addresses since 2008. Holding a Michelin Plate (2025) and ranked #276 on Opinionated About Dining's Asia list, it sits in Dubai's upper tier of destination dining. The Star Wine List has recognised its cellar seven consecutive times in 2025 alone.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Al Mahara sits inside the Burj Al Arab, Dubai's most architecturally assertive hotel, and places Italian-accented fine seafood at the centre of a dining room built around a floor-to-ceiling aquarium. Chef Andrea Migliaccio leads a kitchen recognised by La Liste (76pts, 2026) and Michelin, while Wine Director Samuel Lacroix oversees a list of 1,105 selections spanning Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Italy.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
TakaHisa at Banyan Tree Dubai on Bluewaters Island holds a Michelin Plate (2025), a Star Wine List White Star, and a ranking of 41st in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024. The kitchen is led by wagyu specialist Chef Hisao Ueda alongside sushi master Takashi Namekata, a two-chef model that positions this as one of the more seriously composed Japanese addresses in the UAE.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On Level 122 of the Burj Khalifa, At. Mosphere holds a 2025 Michelin Plate and an Opinionated About Dining ranking among Asia's top restaurants. The Modern European kitchen runs from breakfast through late night, with seven- and thirteen-course tasting menus anchored by Wagyu, caviar, and French technique. Reservations are required; a jacket is expected.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Alici holds a Michelin star at Borgo Santandrea, a clifftop hotel just outside Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast. Chef Crescenzo Scotti draws from the coastal flavours of Amalfi, Naples, and his native Ischia, with Amalfi lemon threading through much of the menu. Dinner is served on a terrace with a majolica floor overlooking the sea, and the setting is as deliberate as the cooking.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Manāo brings a Michelin-starred Thai contemporary kitchen to Jumeirah 1, where an India-born, Dubai-raised chef channels years spent in Thai working kitchens into a menu framed around Emirati context. The result is one of Dubai's most considered Southeast Asian addresses, earning its first Michelin star in 2025 and rated 4.9 on Google across early reviews.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
LPM Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi presents French Mediterranean cuisine rooted in Niçoise tradition. Must-try dishes include Niçoise-style Salad, Whole Grilled Sea Bass and Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb. The kitchen highlights market-fresh seafood, seasonal produce and simple, bright preparations that let ingredients sing. A recent accolade—World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, Rank #38—underscores the restaurant's regional standing. Expect warm service, an extensive French and Mediterranean wine list, and plating that emphasizes color, texture and clean flavors. The overall experience is lively yet polished, with fragrant olives, caramelized crusts and citrus brightness on every plate.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Jun's sits on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard in Downtown Dubai, where Kelvin Cheung, a third-generation Chinese-Canadian chef with formative years in Hong Kong, North America, and India, runs a kitchen that refuses easy categorisation. Ranked seventh in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA list for 2024 and recognised with a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, Jun's has established itself as one of the more credentialed addresses in Dubai's Asian dining scene.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Located at lobby level inside the Burj Khalifa, Armani/Ristorante Dubai is MICHELIN Guide-selected and 76 points on La Liste's 2026 ranking. The menu runs from gold-leaf burrata and blue lobster tortelli to an eight-course degustation, all served inside a room of caramel tones, marble floors, and an open kitchen that faces the dining room directly.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Kinoya is an izakaya in Dubai's Greens neighbourhood, awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2025 and ranked third in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA list for 2024. Five ramen varieties anchor a menu that extends to sushi, sashimi, robata, and tempura. Counter seats offer a direct view of the kitchen and should be reserved in advance.
United Arab Emirates
Selected entries from the current guide for United Arab Emirates.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On the west crescent of Palm Jumeirah, One&Only The Palm operates at the quieter, lower-density end of Dubai luxury. Ninety keys, Moorish-Andalusian architecture, a Guerlain Spa that is the brand's only UAE outpost, and a two-Michelin-star restaurant under Yannick Alléno place it in a distinct competitive tier from the emirate's high-rise beach hotels.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Atlantis The Royal opened on Palm Jumeirah in February 2023 as among the more architecturally ambitious resort hotels in the Middle East, with 795 rooms, 17 restaurants including the Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and a 22nd-floor infinity pool. Ranked sixth on the World's 50 Best Hotels list in 2025 and awarded Best Innovation by Tatler Asia, it occupies a distinct tier in Dubai's ultra-luxury market.
Palm Jumeirah, United Arab Emirates
Atlantis The Royal holds Three MICHELIN Keys in the 2025 guide, placing it among a small cohort of UAE hotels recognised at that level. The property sits on the outer crescent of Palm Jumeirah, where scale and architectural spectacle define the competitive set. For travellers calibrating between Dubai's mega-resort tier and more intimate luxury alternatives, this is the reference point against which the others are measured.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
On Abu Dhabi's western Corniche, Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental occupies 85 hectares of private grounds with 1.3 kilometres of beach, a scale that places it in a different category from the city's tower-based luxury hotels. Its 390 rooms and suites, renovated in 2023, earned Tatler's Best Service recognition for the Middle East in 2025 and a 90.5-point score from La Liste's Top Hotels ranking. The property holds three consecutive World Travel Awards titles, including World's Leading Luxury Beach Resort for 2025.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Standing on its own purpose-built island off Jumeirah Beach, the Burj Al Arab is Dubai's most architecturally singular hotel: 198 duplex suites across 321 metres of sail-shaped structure, with eight dining venues including an Al Muntaha restaurant holding one Michelin star and four Gault & Millau Toques. Rates begin at approximately $1,600 per night. Reservations require direct confirmation through a customer service team.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Bvlgari Resort and Residences Dubai occupies Jumeirah Bay Island via a 980-foot private bridge, with 101 rooms and suites from $1,225 per night. Rated 98 points by La Liste Top Hotels 2026, the property combines Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel's Mediterranean architecture with Michelin-linked dining and a full yacht club. Suite guests receive 24-hour butler service and in-room check-in.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
At 77 storeys above Jumeirah Beach Residence, Address Beach Resort holds the record for the world's highest outdoor infinity pool, with unobstructed sightlines across the Arabian Gulf and toward Ain Dubai. The 217-room property pairs that spectacle with considered interiors, a multi-concept dining floor, and direct beach access, all within walking distance of JBR's waterfront promenade. La Liste ranked it at 97 points in its 2026 Top Hotels list.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
One of five glass skyscrapers anchoring Abu Dhabi's Corniche, the Conrad Etihad Towers puts 377 rooms above a private beach, four MICHELIN Guide-selected restaurants, and a rooftop bar at level 62 that earns its reputation by what you see from it. Scored 95 points in La Liste's 2026 Top Hotels ranking, it operates at the upper tier of the capital's most competitive luxury corridor.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Dorchester Collection's first Middle East address, The Lana sits along the Marasi Bay waterfront in Business Bay, where two interlocking towers designed by Gilles & Boissier hold 225 rooms, a Dior spa, and restaurants by Michelin-recognised chefs Martín Berasategui and Jean Imbert. Tatler named it Best City Hotel in the Middle East for 2025, and it placed 35th on the World's 50 Best Hotels list the same year.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Occupying floors within the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, Armani Hotel Dubai positions itself at the intersection of fashion-house design and personalised hospitality. With 160 rooms, 11 restaurants and lounges, and a Lifestyle Manager service that functions as a dedicated personal consultant, it earned the 2025 World Travel Awards title of World's Leading Luxury Landmark Hotel and a La Liste score of 97.5 points.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Where contemporary Dubai's skyline dissolves into memory, One&Only Royal Mirage occupies a kilometre of Jumeirah Beach behind 65 acres of palms, lawns, and Arabesque architecture that reads as deliberate counterpoint to the city's glass towers. Three distinct residential environments, The Palace, Arabian Court, and The Residence, offer graduated levels of privacy, from 221 sea-view rooms to 48 suites and a standalone Beach Garden Villa.
Liwa Desert, United Arab Emirates
Rising from the dunes of the Empty Quarter, Anantara Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort occupies a genuinely remote position in the Liwa Desert, roughly 90 minutes from Abu Dhabi city. With 206 rooms, villas, and suites built in a fortress-palace vernacular, and a La Liste Top Hotels score of 94.5 points in 2026, it sits at the upper tier of destination desert resorts in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
On Saadiyat Island's protected coastline, a short distance from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, this Jumeirah Group resort pairs 293 rooms, suites, and duplex villas with three beachfront pools, a seafood-led dining program, and sustainability credentials that go well beyond gesture. Rates start at 1,100 AED per night. The property scored 91 points on the 2026 La Liste Top Hotels list and won the 2025 World Travel Award for World's Leading Luxury Resort and Villas.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Forty kilometres from Dubai's skyline, Bab Al Shams sits on Al Qudra Road where the desert opens into dune terrain that the city's coastal properties cannot replicate. The resort belongs to the Rare Finds collection, a positioning that signals deliberate distance from the international chain model. For guests seeking genuine arid landscape rather than a beach backdrop, it occupies a category of its own within the Dubai accommodation market.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The first Mandarin Oriental property in the UAE, this 251-room beachfront resort on Jumeirah Beach Road earned Dubai's Leading Luxury Resort at the 2025 World Travel Awards and a La Liste Top Hotels score of 97 points. Rates from around $1,086 place it in Dubai's upper tier, with Michelin-starred dining at Tasca by José Avillez and a private beach strip facing the Arabian Gulf.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Positioned on Al Maryah Island between Abu Dhabi's central business district and Saadiyat Island's cultural corridor, the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi earned 92 points on the 2026 La Liste Top Hotels ranking and took the 2025 World Travel Awards for Abu Dhabi's Leading Luxury Hotel. Across 200 rooms, a 2,000-piece art collection, and a multi-outlet restaurant program that draws city residents as much as hotel guests, it functions as both a self-contained property and a gateway to the emirate's most active cultural quarter.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Palm Jumeirah's anchor resort has held its position as one of Dubai's most recognised large-scale properties since opening in 2008. With 1,548 rooms, 27 treatment rooms, Aquaventure waterpark access included for all guests, and recognition as the 2025 World Travel Awards World's Leading Landmark Resort, it operates at a scale and visibility that few competitors in the region can match.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ranked #20 on the World's 50 Best Hotels list in 2025 and named Best New Hotel in the Middle East by Tatler Asia, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab sits on the Umm Suqeim waterfront where Dubai's beach hotel corridor reaches its most ambitious recent expression. The property operates at the upper end of the Jumeirah group's own portfolio, competing directly with the ultra-luxury tier that includes Atlantis The Royal and The Lana.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The first Rosewood property in the UAE, Rosewood Abu Dhabi occupies a knife-edge tower on man-made Al Maryah Island, surrounded by the waters of the Gulf and the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial district. Its 189 rooms and suites combine dark natural materials with floor-to-ceiling Gulf views, four distinct restaurants, and a full-service spa. La Liste awarded the hotel 92.5 points in its 2026 Top Hotels ranking.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Set within the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, Al Maha is a 42-villa Bedouin-inspired retreat operating at roughly $1,409 per night, positioned firmly against the UAE's small-footprint, ecology-led desert properties rather than the coast's high-rise spectacle. Two complimentary activities per night, a full-board format, and a functioning wildlife sanctuary distinguish it from standard luxury accommodation in the region.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Occupying the lower 18 floors of The Palm Tower on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah, The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm is among the city's quieter luxury addresses, earning 94.5 points on the 2026 La Liste Top Hotels ranking. Art deco interiors, 290 rooms with floor-to-ceiling views, complimentary 24-hour butler service, and a rooftop dining cluster that includes Trèsind Studio and Aura Skypool give it a competitive position well above its price point.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates occupies a singular position on Sheikh Zayed Road: a five-star property with direct access to over 700 shops and, more unusually, a ski resort built into the desert city. The 20 Aspen Chalets, some with views over Ski Dubai's indoor slopes, signal the hotel's design ambition clearly. La Liste ranked it 94.5 points in 2026, with Global Winner honours for Luxury Shopping Mall Hotel.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach has collected three consecutive World Travel Awards titles in 2025, World's Leading Luxury Resort, Middle East's Leading Luxury Resort, and Middle East's Leading Luxury Beach Resort, alongside a 98-point score from La Liste.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
On Saadiyat Island's six-mile beach, roughly 15 minutes from Abu Dhabi's city centre, the St. Regis operates 376 rooms and suites across a beachfront resort that pairs the brand's signature butler service with six distinct dining venues. La Liste placed it at 95.5 points in its 2026 Top Hotels ranking. A phased renovation of guest rooms begins June 2026, with the resort remaining fully operational throughout.
United Arab Emirates
Selected entries from the current guide for United Arab Emirates.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Zuma sits in DIFC's Gate Village as the Dubai outpost of a global Japanese contemporary group, holding a Michelin Plate (2025) and ranked 19th in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA list for 2024. The shared-format menu draws from robata, sushi, and izakaya traditions, while the bar programme, sake, shochu, and Japanese whisky, is woven into the meal rather than treated as an afterthought. Weekend DJs, a large terrace, and an island bar make this one of DIFC's more animated dining rooms.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Galaxy Bar sits inside DIFC's Gate Village and holds a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list, reaching number 45 in 2021 and number 50 in 2023, before landing at number 182 on the Top 500 Bars ranking in 2025. Recognised by Tatler Asia's Best Bars Middle East 2025 for Best Innovation, the bar draws on Greek heritage and celestial design to build a cocktail program around narrative and craft.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Set across three floors in DIFC Pavilion, Amazónico brings the scale and energy of Latin America's most ambitious restaurant format to Dubai. The menu spans Amazonian-influenced sharing plates, grilled meats, sushi, and an extensive South American wine program recognised five consecutive years by Star Wine List. The open kitchen and panoramic terrace make floor choice a decision worth making before you book.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Honeycomb Hi-Fi sits on the second floor of the Pullman Dubai Downtown, combining Japanese-inspired cocktails with a vinyl record programme and warm, considered design. Named Tatler's Bar of the Year for the Middle East in 2025 and holding a Legacy Award from the same list, it ranks #243 in the Top 500 Bars globally. The bar occupies a distinct niche in Dubai's cocktail scene, where concept-led programming increasingly separates the serious operators from the decorative ones.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
At the Four Seasons Dubai Jumeirah Beach, Mimi Kakushi draws its references from 1920s Osaka, pairing an era of Japanese cultural flourishing with a contemporary kitchen that applies global technique to quality-sourced ingredients. Ranked 37th at the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, it sits at the sharper end of Dubai's Japanese dining tier, where atmosphere and culinary craft are expected to operate at the same level.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ranked among the leading 500 Bars globally (#251 in 2025) and recognised by Star Wine List in 2026, Amelia operates from the Address Sky View in Downtown Dubai, positioning it within the city's most recognised hotel bar tier. The program's dual recognition across cocktails and wine signals a list built for range rather than a single-category focus.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ranked #199 in the Top 500 Bars (2025), Salmon Guru Dubai occupies a surrealist corner of Business Bay's Opus building, where technical cocktail craft meets theatrical design. The Madrid original built a reputation on precise, playful drinking formats, and the Dubai outpost operates in that same register. Reservations are advisable for weekend visits to this architecturally dramatic bar.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ranked #233 on the Top 500 Bars list in 2025, Blind Tiger operates from the Jumeirah Al Naseem precinct on Dubai's coastline, placing it inside a competitive tier of regionally recognised cocktail programs. The bar sits at a point in Dubai's drinking scene where international award recognition meets a location built for atmosphere rather than volume.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
JARA by Martín Berasategui brings the structural precision of the San Sebastián school to Business Bay, earning a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 and 75 points in La Liste's 2026 rankings. The wine program spans 4,200 bottles across 600 selections with particular depth in Champagne, Bordeaux, and the Iberian Peninsula. Dinner only, priced at the summit tier of Dubai's fine-dining range.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Maison Dali occupies a deliberately surrealist register inside ME Dubai at The Opus by Omniyat, where art-led cocktails, late-night dining, and a music programme converge under Vitor Hugo Lourenço's direction. A 2026 Star Wine List award signals the depth behind the playful surface. This is Business Bay after dark, operating by its own set of rules.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Occupying Level 51 of the St. Regis on The Palm Jumeirah, SUSHISAMBA Dubai merges Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian culinary traditions at height, with sweeping views across the Arabian Gulf. Recognised by Star Wine List as a White Star venue in 2025, it sits within Dubai's high-altitude dining tier alongside a handful of restaurants that treat the view as context rather than the main event.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Roka Dubai brings modern Japanese robatayaki to the Opus by Omniyat tower in Business Bay, pairing open-fire cooking technique with a wine program that has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition from 2024 through 2025.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
A Michelin Plate seafood address on Jumeirah Street, Sea Fu holds consecutive Michelin Plate recognition for 2024 and 2025, placing it among a small group of Dubai seafood restaurants that earn formal critical notice without operating at the summit price tier. The $$$ pricing.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
On the 52nd floor of ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai's financial district, 1920 Speakeasy reconstructs the Prohibition-era cocktail bar in full: Art Deco interiors, live swing music, and a drinks program built around the aesthetics and craft traditions of the 1920s. It sits at the intersection of DIFC's premium bar scene and a growing Dubai appetite for immersive, era-specific nightlife formats.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Adaline brings an Italian supper club format to DIFC's Gate Village, combining live music, a cocktail programme and dining in a space that reads more Old World glamour than modern Dubai gloss. Named Tatler Asia's Best New Bar in the Middle East for 2025, it sits at the more atmospheric end of the DIFC bar circuit, where the drink in your hand is as considered as the room around you.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Bar des Prés brings a Franco-Asian sensibility to DIFC's 51st floor, earning recognition in the Tatler Best Bars Middle East 2025 list for Best Design. The space merges Parisian café culture with Asian-inflected craft cocktails and fine dining against a DIFC skyline backdrop. For the financial district's after-work crowd, it functions as a serious bar program wrapped in deliberate design.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Barasti Bar sits on the beachfront at Le Meridien Mina Syahi in Dubai Marina, operating as one of the largest open-air bars in the region. A 2010 World's 50 Best Bars entry at number 36, it draws a crowd that spans resident expats and tourists across multiple outdoor terraces.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Birch Restaurant sits within The Ritz-Carlton's Limestone House in DIFC, operating at the intersection of a serious wine programme and considered food pairing. A 2026 Star Wine List award signals where the kitchen's priorities lie: the glass and the plate are treated as equal partners. For Dubai's wine-forward dining segment, it occupies a specific and relatively uncrowded position.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Boudoir at Dubai Marine Beach Resort earned a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2009, ranking 38th globally at a time when the city's nightlife was still defining its international register. Set along Jumeirah Street, it occupies a distinct tier in Dubai's bar scene, a venue where atmosphere and occasion converge with a credentialed history behind the bar.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Buddha Bar Dubai has occupied a singular position in the Dubai Marina drinking scene since its opening at Grosvenor House, drawing on the global Buddha Bar brand's signature mix of Asian-inflected design, theatrical scale, and an internationally recognised bar program.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Located on the mezzanine floor of The Dubai EDITION in Downtown Dubai, Ergo landed at No. 69 on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2023, placing it among a small group of Dubai bars with verifiable international standing. Its Downtown address puts it within reach of the Fountain Street corridor, where the city's more considered drinking culture has been taking shape.
Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Lexington Grill & Bar sits in the Al Jazeera Al Hamra district of Ras al Khaimah, earning Star Wine List recognition in 2026, a credential that places its drinks programme among the more seriously considered in the UAE's northern emirate. For a city still defining its bar identity, that distinction matters.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Neo Bar Dubai elevates the rooftop cocktail experience with panoramic city views, Mediterranean-inspired mixology, and sophisticated shisha service. This luxury destination seamlessly blends premium craft cocktails with Dubai's cosmopolitan energy, creating a memorable venue for experienced guests seeking polished nightlife experiences.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Roberto's sits in DIFC's Gate Village, one of Dubai's most concentrated stretches of serious dining, and holds a Star Wine List award for 2026, a signal that the cellar earns independent scrutiny. The Italian-leaning address draws the financial district crowd for long-table occasions where the wine list does as much work as the kitchen. Book ahead; Gate Village tables fill on weeknights.
United Arab Emirates
Selected entries from the current guide for United Arab Emirates.
No venues found.
