2023 A Big Year for Restaurants in Dubai

In recent years, Dubai has grown into one of the world's most sought-after culinary destinations. The gastronomy scene has progressed in line with the city's expansion and development, which has led to accolades such as the award for World’s Best Culinary Destination and Middle East’s Best Culinary Destination at the World Culinary Awards 2022. The recognition for Dubai’s gourmet experiences and Michelin-starred chefs continued at last year’s edition of the Middle East and North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2022, where the emirate won several accolades as well.

More than 140 new restaurants opened their doors across Dubai in 2022.. This year, with the grand opening of Atlantis The Royal in January and Cristiano Ronaldo launching his own restaurant Tatel and Totó in Q3 2023, food connoisseurs are in for a big treat.

We have compiled a list of the most tempting restaurants opening in Dubai this year, all of which are sure to enhance your flavour perception.

Nobu By The Beach

Nobu was recently awarded World’s Best Restaurant Brand 2022, at the World Culinary Awards 2022. The highly anticipated Nobu By The Beach at Atlantis The Royal will be the brand’s first poolside destination bringing a one-of-a-kind five-star beach club experience to Dubai. Featuring a lagoon pool, stunning Palm views, and a signature Nobu restaurant with an outdoor bar, the venue will be a haven of indulgence and relaxation, packed with private cabanas, signature cocktails, live music, and signature dishes.

The menu promises to deliver on all your Nobu expectations, with Japanese-Peruvian signature dishes such as miso-marinated black cod, rock shrimp tempura, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno, and king crab tempura. With bespoke service, culinary delights and oceanfront location, your time spent at Nobu By The Beach is about gratifying all your senses under the sun – or stars, if you choose so.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, simply known as “Nobu” is the highly acclaimed mastermind behind the Nobu brand, which currently runs 50 restaurants around the world. The chef opened the first Nobu venue in 1993, in Tribeca, New York, in partnership with actor Robert De Niro.

Nobu By The Beach at Atlantis The Royal will open on the 10th of February, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Nobu Atlantis The Palm

This year looks to be quite big and transformative for Nobu.

Atlantis The Palm, sister property to the new Atlantis The Royal, has recently announced the arrival of the world’s biggest Nobu to the venue’s former Royal Bridge Suite on the 22nd floor. The shift marks Nobu’s 15th anniversary in Dubai, and the superb venue on the 22nd floor has been completely transformed to welcome a brand-new Nobu Dubai along with a reinvented menu, lounge and bar, and a lavish terrace boasting most incredible views over Arabian Gulf.

The first thing diners will notice upon arrival at the new Nobu Atlantis The Palm are the breathtaking views spreading over the island and Dubai Marina skyline. Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa are also visible on a clear, sunny day. With a new venue comes a new menu, introducing a variety of new signature dishes from land and sea. Featured on the menu is the seared bluefin tuna topped with imperial caviar, called chu toro kinome, presented in an Asian peppermint leaf with miso sauce.

Nobu’s new restaurant opened in Atlantis The Palm in mid-January.

Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner by Heston

As of February 2023, Dubai food lovers can look forward to the new opening of Heston Blumenthal’s first restaurant at the new Atlantis The Royal on Palm Jumeirah, aptly named Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

British experimental chef Heston Blumenthal brings a new spark of gastronomic creativity to Dubai with a historic redemption of 1300’s British mediaeval cuisine, offering diners a unique, cutting-edge insight into quintessential British food, with a new ground-breaking approach to dining experiences. Blumenthal’s take on fine dining is all about reviving flavours and recipes from the British culinary heritage and reimagining them from a modern perspective so that guests experience a most authentic taste of what Britain’s mediaeval kitchens used to serve back in the day.

City Social Dubai and Seven Tales by Jason Atherton

The famed Michelin-starred British chef Jason Atherton is set to open not one, but three new restaurants in Dubai, spread across three floors at the top of the luxury hotel Grosvenor House. Atherton confirmed the arrival of City Social Dubai, along with Japanese-inspired Seven Tales restaurant, and a third, yet unnamed fine dining venue under the same roof. City Social Dubai will cater to 140 seats with an innovative and contemporary cuisine offering, typical of Atherton’s high-end signature cookery style. The dinner menu includes aged beef tartare, king crab, quail, Patagonian squid with lemon and chilli as well as a choice of finest caviar and classic garnishes.

Seven Tides will focus on a more refined tasting menu based on a Japanese culture theme and a selection of expertly curated cocktails.

Both restaurants will share the same opening date, on the 3rd of February at Grosvenor House a Luxury Collection Hotel, in Dubai Marina.

La Mar by Gastón Acurio

One of the world's leading Peruvian restaurants, La Mar by Gastón Acurio, announced its opening last week at Atlantis The Royal, with its latest culinary addition gracing the mezzanine lobby level of the new resort. The restaurant will be celebrity chef Gaston Acurio's first one in Dubai, serving up a feast of Latin American experimental new dishes as well as classic ones, relying heavily on Peruvian seafood. La Mar’s signature dishes include cebiche, freshly grilled anticuchos, and pisco-led cocktails.

Fouquet’s Dubai

Downtown Dubai will soon see a new addition to its popular restaurant scene, with the opening of Parisian brasserie Fouquet at Burj Plaza in early 2023. The French brasserie has been the preferred place for Parisian food lovers since 1889 when it first opened in Paris.

Fouquet’s Downtown menu is brought to life by chef Pierre Gagnaire, who wishes to recreate the epitome of the fine French brasserie dining concept in Dubai, with signature dishes curated with the local culture and international clientele in mind.