A sea of scarlet scarves can only mean one thing in our industry🧣The restaurants of the chefs and restaurateurs sporting this rather vibrant accessory, a badge of honour, have made the cut for 50 Best, specifically the Middle East & Africa edition that unfolded this week at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the destination sponsor. The organisers dish the scarves out before the awards ceremony kicks in, so, whilst mingling at the pre-reveal reception, we can all see straight away which restaurants have scooped coveted spots on this ever-contentious listing. What we have to wait for is the numbered ranking.

Voilà…the top five:

1️⃣ @khufusrestaurant in Egypt’s Giza overlooking the Pyramids, is crowned the Best Restaurant in MENA having jumped from number four last year and the One To Watch in the most recent @theworlds50best The first time a restaurant in Egypt has scooped the number one spot.

Followed by three Dubai restaurants:

2️⃣ @kinoya.ae as runner-up in second place (rising from number three last year), also landing the Best Restaurant in the UAE accolade.

3️⃣ @tresindstudio scores the third spot, down from number two.

4️⃣ @orfalibros in fourth place, dropping from the top spot.

5️⃣ @beihousebeirut in fifth position, together with awards for Highest New Entry and Best Restaurant in Lebanon.

I’ve penned a deep-dive analysis and opinion piece on the top 50 ranking, with a record 25 restaurants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi making the cut. Plus a year-on-year comparison chart for the UAE contingent, and the restaurants that have dropped off the list revealed. You know what to do 😜…link in bio 🔗

Mabrouk to all the ranked restaurants and their teams 👏🏼

Do you have a restaurant haunt that you feel should have made the list? Please do share 🙏🏼

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From Mexico to France 🇲🇽🇫🇷 My incognito reviews of two new restaurants here in Dubai - modern Mexican @cocina_tres - and French @maisonmerdubai With three headings covering my musings and photos:

🔪 What’s the deal?
🔪 The wow factor
🔪 Room for improvement

Link in bio for a read 🔗 This post landed in inboxes this morning. Feel free to subscribe, if not already 🙏🏼

Any other new openings you would like reviewed? 😋

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Where does Rowan Mansour Kamel @onceuponapot - co-founder & chief brand officer for Rosy Hospitality dine out? She’s the brains (along with @ziadkamel 😜) behind @cqbrasserie including the Barsha Heights newbie pictured in this carousel, @girl.and.the.goose and @butter.dxb

In this #WhereRestaurateursEat column, super woman Ro as she’s affectionally nicknamed, shares her favourite restaurants encompassing:

🔪 Three in the UAE
🔪 One in her home country
🔪 One located elsewhere internationally

Click link in bio for her top picks 🔗 This post landed in inboxes this morning. Feel free to subscribe, if not already.

Nominations for female restaurateur-entrepreneurs are always much appreciated 🙏🏼

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The f-word, fun, has always been an essential fix for me when dining out - from my upscale restaurant tour concept #DineAroundDubai in 2014, with a strapline of ‘fun is the new fine dining’ - to my new dining experiences. For my reviews. And for when I dine out socially.

But we all expect different things when dining out; something restaurants have to juggle to retain our custom. Restaurant awards and lists also differ widely in their judging criteria. Unlike Michelin that only rates food, I crave more than good fare from high-end restaurants.

Good food and good service should be a given at all restaurants. But it’s the atmosphere that differentiates, turning dining out into a positively memorable, magical experience. Atmosphere can come from one or many things. The buzz of a busy restaurant. The lighting just right for cosy dining. Round tables that encourage conversation. A playlist that makes you smile. Live entertainment that feeds into the food and service flow. All these things contribute to energy, to intimacy, to novelty - and can upgrade a meal to an experience worthy of my limited time. I know restaurants have ticked the atmosphere box when I’ve had a bloody good time, and can’t wait to return. Life’s too short for stifling, serious dining. A la Cyndi Lauper, I just wanna have fun.

And that’s exactly why I have always rated @gaggan_anand in Bangkok as my favourite dining experience in the world. From my first dinner at his flagship in July 2019 for Mr S’ birthday just before it shut shop. To dinner at his then new-ish 14-seater in June 2023 on a press trip. And more recently, last month, over an industry trip. Even at his pop-ups over the years in Dubai at Royal Mirage and Chez Wam. It’s always bloody good fun.

So why do I crave more than good food? And how does Gaggan tick the fun box? Link in profile for a read, plus where else to dine in Bangkok. On this trip, we were also hosted by @cheftonn @chef.pam @mathias_suhring and @thomas_suhring I’ve included a Google maps link📍adding some of my own tried and tasted recommendations and tips from other foodies, giving you 38 spots in total.

So what do YOU look for when dining out? 🙏🏼 ...

Kraken is @chefgregoireberger’s new seafood restaurant, having left Atlantis’ Michelin-starred Ossiano. Once and for all, I hope (he has previously departed and returned).

His new baby is a homegrown concept housed in a villa conversion, a stone’s throw from Khadak on Al Wasl Road.

Impressively, according to the menu, 70 per cent of ingredients are locally sourced, with the seafood, sustainably line-caught, partly down to the restaurant’s own fishing boat. Gregoire and his head chef @chefrobinhoefer - also formerly Ossiano, use the Japanese ikejime technique of humanely killing and preserving fish that is meant to elevate quality, texture and flavour.

I managed to sneak in and out, dining completely incognito for the whole experience, which, as you know, gives me pure pleasure. Gregoire was out catering for an event, and the front-of-house team didn’t bat an eyelid. Happy days. But was it a happy experience?

Link in bio 🔗 to have a read of this month’s review.

Would love to know where you’d like me to review next? 🙏🏼😋

@krakendubai

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Flicking through official photos after my events lets me relive the dining experience through a photographer’s eye. Even though he’s briefed with a strict shot list!

Here are some favourites from my debut #OneNightOneDinner last week. A celebration of homegrown concepts and chefs who have made Dubai their home and are making their mark in our flourishing independent restaurant scene.

Chef @gabriela.chamorro505 of @girl.and.the.goose transported us on a culinary journey through Central America, a core component of Latin American culture with a staggering 15 off-menu dishes that guests raved about 😋

Vintage Champagne and fine wines by @mmidubai @moetchandon with presentation by Master Sommelier @stephen_towler_ms_dubai 🥂🍷 As always @monvisowater kept us hydrated 💦

Food and wine aside, it’s the people that differentiate a dining experience. One of the most efficient and talented restaurant teams I have ever worked with - Gabriela, Tatiana, Rowan @onceuponapot @ziadkamel @heimo.grasser I am looking at you. And the most gracious guests a girl could ask for, of which three even chose this dinner to celebrate their birthdays 🙏🏼 Thank you to longstanding partners @stefano_iorini @sophiechampagnebubble Monique Mass and @leigh_mmi for your ongoing support.

So, where next? Name your favourite homegrown restaurants please, preferably relatively new. Keep in mind these dinners take three to four months to organise. Like weddings but ticketed 😜

You can sign up for dining experience alerts at the link in bio.

📷 @_brandon__fernandez_

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My first attempt at dabbling with AI to create an image 😋 I had so much fun playing around with this hero pic. All in aid of my new #OneNightOneDinner on the 20th November. Please note, only humans have developed this dining experience 😜 And only humans can book via the link in bio 🔗

🪿 Join me on a culinary journey through Central America, a core component of Latin American culture at the new @girl.and.the.goose by chef @gabriela.chamorro505 in Anantara Downtown.

🪿 Vintage Champagne to kick us off, specifically Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016 followed by Rosé Impérial – paired with canapés.

🪿 A seated dinner ensues by Nicaraguan chef Gabriela Chamorro, who turned her sell-out supper clubs into a bricks-and-mortar restaurant reimagining Central American cuisine, a first for Dubai. Expect a flurry of off-menu dishes exclusively developed for this evening and served sharing style across starters, main courses and desserts, with Gabriela explaining the dishes.

🪿 All courses are paired with fine wines from France and South America, finishing with Moët & Chandon Nectar Impérial for dessert by @mmidubai - and presented by @stephen_towler_ms_dubai MMI Wine Academy Manager. He holds a WSET Level 4 Diploma, as well as the prestigious title of Master Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers – one of only 300 people worldwide and the first person in the Middle East to achieve this distinction.

🪿 A complimentary nightcap cocktail to wrap up the evening.

🪿As always @monvisowater keeps us hydrated.

Who will you take? Tag your foodie friends. Gracias 🙏🏻

#UAERestaurantsUnite #FooDiva #DubaiRestaurants #DubaiFoodies ...

Thanks to your poll feedback on that other much-adored platform, here’s what I have plated for you this month:

🔪 @middlechildmiddlechild by Lynn Hazim aka @_nosoupforyou at @alserkalavenue reviewed as the lead story. Is it worth the queue?

🔪 I don’t run reviews of new branches, however I’ve included a peek of my dinner at the third @lanalusadxb outpost. Licensed at So Uptown Hotel in JLT.

🔪 A new Sunday roast at @bullandbear.difc - Waldorf-Astoria DIFC.

🔗 Have a read via the link in bio.

Any new restaurants on your radar that you would like reviewed? Please feel free to share 😋🙏🏼

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