Dubai Restaurant Week
- Dubai Restaurant Week will run May 1–17, offering a wide range of tasting menus across the city. - The festival will include more than 125 restaurants, including Michelin‑listed venues and at least one one‑star spot. - Big-name chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa and Gordon Ramsay will appear, using Michelin-listed spots as event anchors, per Food Business Gulf. (foodbusinessgulf.com)
Dubai Restaurant Week will run from May 1 to May 17, turning a citywide dining promotion into a 17-day push to fill tables across Dubai. (visitdubai.com) This year’s edition includes more than 125 restaurants across more than 25 cuisines, from fine dining rooms to premium-casual and homegrown concepts. Lunch menus are set at AED 125 per person, and dinner menus at AED 250. (zawya.com) Organizers say the lineup includes more than 30 Michelin Guide-listed restaurants, including one Michelin-starred venue. The chef roster named in event materials includes Nobu Matsuhisa, Gordon Ramsay, Akira Back, Izu Ani, Alvin Leung, Kelvin Cheung and Hadrien Villedieu. (zawya.com) The event is part of Dubai’s effort to market its restaurant scene as both global and bookable at fixed prices. Official listings frame it as a way to sample “award-winning fine dining” and local favorites without standard menu pricing. (visitdubai.com, gulfnews.com) That pitch lands as Dubai keeps building its credentials as a dining destination through Michelin, Gault&Millau and MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants. Event organizers say participating venues include restaurants recognized by all three guides and rankings. (zawya.com, visitdubai.com) The booking system is changing, too. For 2026, reservations are being handled exclusively through Careem DineOut, a new integration that organizers say is meant to move diners from browsing to booking in one app flow. (zawya.com) Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment chief executive Ahmad Al Khaja said the event launched with 30 restaurants and now tops 125. His office is using that growth to argue that dining has become one of the city’s main tourism and lifestyle draws. (zawya.com) The menu mix runs from Japanese, Italian and Indian cooking to Latin American and Middle Eastern restaurants, with local names such as Gerbou also highlighted in promotional material. For diners, the immediate decision is simpler: book a lunch or dinner slot before the 17-day window closes on May 17. (gulfnews.com, visitdubai.com)
