The inaugural MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022 revealed a diverse selection of restaurants, where chefs were recognised for expressing flavours of their respective culinary cultures with originality, finesse and creativity.
It’s no wonder then that the 10 iconic dishes presented here – as shared by some of Dubai’s most celebrated chefs – span cuisines from across the globe. From modern Indian creations to heart-warming Levant classics, these iconic plates have achieved a distinguished reputation and shaped our modern dining scene. All are worth trying, and together contribute to what makes Dubai one of the most exciting dining destinations in the world.
1. Caviar bun, Orfali Bros Bistro
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Reif Othman, REIF Japanese Kushiyaki
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Step inside any fine dining restaurant in Dubai and the unmistakable whiff of salty brine caviar will dance around your nostrils. Dubai’s love affair with this pungent – and very pricey – food is served in varying formats; over wagyu, toast and jacket potatoes. But at Orfali Bros Bistro, it’s a one-bite delight where rare Kaluga caviar rests on a sour cream base of smetana atop a small round bun. “It’s a disservice to call it a bun,” explains chef-owner Reif Othman of Bib Gourmand restaurant REIF Japanese Kushiyaki. “It’s more of a delicate profiterole. Together with the caviar, it presents a really balanced umami profile. One bun is perfect.”
2. ‘Pinky Blinders’ cacio e pepe, Torno Subito
One MICHELIN star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Himanshu Saini, Tresind Studio
One MICHELIN star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Pink sauce pastas must be one of the worst nightmares for Italian chefs. But instead of grumbling at guests in the name of Grandma, Massimo Bottura and Bernardo Paladini turned tomato and heavy cream into beetroot, cherries and Parmesan. Behold, ‘Pinky Blinders’, a cacio e pepe in disguise. “After trying this dish I had many sleepless nights,” says Himanshu Saini, head chef of one-MICHELIN-starred Tresind Studio. “Chef Bernardo had been asked by many hotel guests for pasta in a pink sauce, so he came up with his own special take. 'Pinky Blinders' is a pink pasta in all its glory. I give full marks to them for creating such a brave dish. Conceptually it’s an incredible idea and something I wish I could have thought of,” he adds.
3. Yuzu shio ramen, Kinoya
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Sara Aqel (previously of Fi'Lia)
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
One of Kinoya’s claims to fame is its refreshing yuzu shio ramen, an umami-laden reduction with pickled yuzu and chilli paste, and sliced chicken marinated in koji and cooked on the robata. “The result is a delicate yet complex broth brightened with hints of citrus fruit,” says Fi’Lia’s former head chef Sara Aqel. “The aroma of citrus and sesame is so inviting. There’s a delicate flavour that’s ever so slightly spicy. It’s real comfort food.”
4. Pickled chilli and buttermilk curry ice cream, Trèsind Studio
One MICHELIN star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Gilles Bosquet, Ninive
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide 2022
and Mimi Kakushi
MICHELIN-selected, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
If there’s a creative force behind Dubai’s trending Indian restaurant scene, it’s Himanshu Saini. His dedication to lift regional Indian cuisine in the eyes of local eaters has been rigorous and noteworthy. At the beloved Trèsind Studio, chef Himanshu adopts a tasting-menu-only concept creating seriously advanced food. A highlight? The pickled mango chilli. An emulsion of mango pickle hides inside a padron pepper covered with tangerine gem flowers. Served alongside a delicate buttermilk curry ice cream, this remix of Indian flavours is a revelation. “Everything Himanshu touches turns to gold,” beams Chef Gilles Bosquet, of Bib Gourmand-awarded Ninive and MICHELIN-selected Mimi Kakushi. “What he cooks is simply fantastic, and all of his dishes are iconic in their own right. Even a pickled chilli – it’s so well balanced, and he’s so modest. He lets the food do all the talking.”
5. Arayes, Bait Maryam
Bib Gourmand and Welcome and Service Award winner
MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Carlos De Garza, Teible
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Bait Maryam is a passionately-run restaurant in Jumeirah Lakes Towers that excels at home-style Levantine dishes cooked with love. But its premier product is its mezze, probably the best in the city, offering a taste of nostalgia for many long-time residents. “I cannot get enough of Salam’s smoky arayes,” says Teible’s head chef Carlos De Garza excitedly. The kofta meat stuffed pitas “remind me of the first time I enjoyed Arabic food with my family so many years ago. It’s like an Arabic quesadilla, only better.”
6. Burnt leek and razor clam, Ossiano
One MICHELIN star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Nick Alvis, Folly
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
At Ossiano – Atlantis, The Palm’s famous aquarium-facing seafood restaurant ¬– celebrated chef Gregoire Berger’s current Metanoia degustation menu is a ten-course tour de force of his childhood memories in Brittany. Plates include Brittany brown crab, langoustine and sea lettuce, and burnt leek with clams. “The burnt leek is outstanding,” says Nick Alvis, chef patron at Folly. “Served in a mould of Gregoire’s hands, the dish beautifully balances clams and a smoky sweet leek layered with yuzu jelly”.
7. Fusilli with braised baby octopus and bone marrow, Marea
MICHELIN Selected, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Akmal Anuar, 11 Woodfire
One MICHELIN Star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
There are plenty of top-notch Italian restaurants in Dubai these days. But Marea, the New York-style Italian restaurant in DIFC, rolls out chef Akmal Anuar’s favourite pasta dish in town – fusilli with braised baby octopus, tomato and bone marrow. “[Marea] serves the best pasta in town, hands down,” says chef Akmal of one MICHELIN-starred 11 Woodfire fame. “Chef Yunus Emre makes perfect handmade pasta and serves it with superior ingredients time and again.”
8. Toro roll, TERO chef’s table at REIF Japanese Kushiyaki
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Solemann Haddad, Moonrise
Young Chef Award winner and MICHELIN selected restaurant, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
“In my opinion, very few chefs understand the Dubai market as much as Reif Othman,” says Solemann Haddad, the award-winning Young Chef behind Moonrise. “Reif is always on top of it. He anticipates exactly what the market wants and how to serve it. One of his most iconic dishes is his toro (fatty tuna belly) hand rolls. If you have the opportunity to experience TERO, Reif’s private chef’s table at REIF Japanese Kushiyaki, you’ll enjoy this dish in various iterations during each visit but they are equally delicious. During a recent seating, I was presented with a toro roll comprising uni and a shallot-soy reduction – it was so balanced, so sharp and just incredibly good.”
9. Scallops with foie gras, 11 Woodfire
One MICHELIN star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: Mohamad Orfali, Orfali Bros Bistro
Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Diners have quickly come to appreciate the rich flavours teased out by fire and the novelty of watching their food licked by flames. Malay Singaporean chef Akmal Anuar, who helms one-MICHELIN-starred restaurant 11 Woodfire, is the latest to add his take on this form of cooking. “This idea of taking ingredients and cooking them over a woodfire is simply one my favourite concepts in Dubai,” says Mohamad Ofarli, head of culinary at Orfali Bros Bistro. “I’m so impressed by the charred scallops skewered with foie gras, corn puree and coffee puree. The harmony between the corn and foie gras and the texture of the scallops is amazing. It’s savoury, smoky, sweet and full of umami. So simple, yet so complex.”
10. Otoro nigiri, 3Fils
MICHELIN Selected, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Chosen by: José Barroso, Tasca by José Avillez
One MICHELIN Star, MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2022
Once upon a time, fuss-free 3Fils was Dubai’s best-kept secret hole-in-the-wall. A wonderfully unique location, inside a small fishing harbour in Jumeirah. Now, with a slew of restaurant awards, the word is out. But the team’s Japanese-inspired cuisine is still some of the best in Dubai. This is fine dining light – “no frills, no bookings, just great food,” says José Barroso, head chef at one-MICHELIN-starred Tasca by José Avillez. “I love simple dishes, where the product is the star, just like 3Fils’ nigiri. They use fish sourced from the famed Japanese fish markets. It’s amazing quality and the flavours are so good.”
