MICHELIN MASTERS, MADNESS ON A CANVAS AND DINNERS IN THE SKY LEAD NEW VENUES
▶ The Lana and One Za’abeel dominate Dubai’s restaurant openings this month, but there’s also more from a city regular, writes Panna Munyal
Restaurants at The Lana – Dorchester Collection
High Society Cuisine:
Mediterranean, international
One of two restaurants at the hotel run by celebrity chef Jean Imbert (who’s cooked for the likes of Rihanna and French President Emmanuel Macron), High Society is The Lana’s rooftop pool lounge.
On Imbert’s menu are sharing-style dishes including croque truffle, sea bass carpaccio, tarama and buckwheat wafer, crab brioche with avocado, veal vitello and aubergine miso. Sunday to Wednesday, 5pm11.30pm; Thursday to Saturday, 5pm-12.30am
Riviera by Jean Imbert Cuisine: French, international
French chef Imbert’s main restaurant at the Dubai property is inspired by the vibe of the south of France, with botanical interiors, floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace with a view of Dubai Creek.
The chef’s culinary prowess shines through in the menu, with options such as marinated cucumbers with cream and herbs; confit peppers with garlic; toasted focaccia with green beans; burrata with pistachio; gazpacho with mozzarella; and tuna tartare made tableside. Daily, 7am-10.30am, noon3.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm
The Gallery
Cuisine: International, cafe
The lobby lounge serves an a la carte menu and fanciful afternoon tea (on bespoke chinaware) with pastries by chef Angelo Musa.
The latter also offers scones with Devon clotted cream and chef Musa’s speciality jam, plus finger sandwiches such as smoked salmon with asparagus, honey, lemon cream cheese and caviar; Alaskan king crab with tarragon; Wagyu with caramelised shallots, foie gras and mustard; and coronation chicken with yoghurt, curry and chutney.
On the a la carte menu are dishes such as burratina with marinated salmon, passion fruit, olive, dwarf peach, truffle and grisinni; and crystal bread with sobrasada, fried jammy egg, pickled shallots, capers and miso hollandaise.
Daily, 7am-midnight (1pm-6pm for afternoon tea)
Jara by Martin Berasategui Cuisine: Basque
The chef with the most Michelin stars in all of Spain, Berasategui pays tribute to the
Basque country community through his food.
His first Middle Eastern outpost is named after his granddaughter.
While the menu for Jara has not yet been revealed, some of the chef’s famed dishes include millefeuille with eel, foie gras and green apple; oysters with cucumber, sour fruit, kefir and coconut; black garlic and turnip ceviche; and mullet with fish scales, soya sprouts, semolina and squid.
Opens February 20
Veranda Cuisine:
Levantine, international
Located in a secret gardenstyle set-up, Veranda offers mixologist-curated beverages and light bites. This menu is another that has not yet been revealed, but chef Oliver Jackson will offer sharing-style tapas plus international dishes, all with a Levantine influence.
Opens February 26
Not all the restaurants at The Lana are open yet, but reservations for ones that are can be made at restaurants. lan@dorechestercollection.com or 04 541 7755
Restaurants at One&Only One Za’abeel
Andaliman Cuisine: Indonesian
Named after an indigenous pepper found in Sumatra, Andaliman is led by Indonesian chef Ismawan Dzabir. It comes complete with sambal trolleys parked tableside and “ambassadors” of the spice who prepare the chilli paste based on desired heat levels.
On the main menu are dishes such as Indonesian empanada with a chicken, glass noodle, ear mushroom and vegetable filling; potato cake with tuna tartare, crab salad and pickled pineapple; barbecue coconut prawns and honey calamansi chilli sauce and colo-colo; and coconut-infused yellow rice stuffed with beef rendang, wrapped in charcoal-grilled banana leaves.
Daily, noon-4pm, 6pm-11pm
DuangDy Cuisine: Thai
Offering sustainably sourced Thai cuisine, DuangDy prides itself on its organic produce, commitment to eco-gastronomy and “uncompromising Thai flavours” made by hand from start to finish.
The restaurant is the brainchild of Thai chef Bo Songvisava and her Australian husband Dylan Jones, known for their Michelin-starred restaurant Bo.lan in Bangkok.
On the menu are inventive dishes such as organic duck salad with biodiverse sprouts and spicy soy dressing; spiced caramel-crusted venison with green mango and chilli dressing; and red chicken curry. Daily, noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight
StreetXO Cuisine: Avant-garde
Chef Dabiz Munoz is famed for at least two things – one, his
dishes are likened to “madness on a canvas”. And two, he’s taken top honours at the Best Chefs Awards ceremony three years in a row.
Dishes he’s created in the past include sheep yoghurt with wild strawberries and coffee; cold poached chion chopped stick with roasted caviar, marine plankton and chicken yolk; and iced pizza margherita, made from Spanish goat mozzarella, Thai basil, spicy tomato consomme, matured vinegar and charcoal-roasted dough with shiso lime pesto.
At StreetXO, the UAE version of his famed Spanish restaurant DiverXO, Munoz will bring crowd favourites from Madrid, such as Pekinese dumplings, nigiri croquettes, sandwich club, RamenXO and Vietnam nem. The venue deserves its own shout-out as it is replete with whimsical decor such as a tunnel instead of an entrance, a bar covered in lava lamps and labyrinthine metal pipes holding glasses and bottles, a fabric wall with an onyx frame, LED mirror screens with optical illusions, and the sculptures of a “top hat man” who disappears into a water body at regular intervals. Daily, 6pm-midnight
Tapasake Cuisine: Nikkei
Tapasake is a restaurant and pool club that offers diners a chance to splash about in the 120-metre-long suspended infinity pool on top of The Link. The pool is reserved for those 21 years old and above, while children can have lunch and dinner in the indoor family seating area until 8.30pm, after which this becomes an adults-only venue.
The menu, meanwhile, offers a fusion of Japanese and South American fare, more commonly known as Hikkei, with dishes including mushroom wanton with anticuchera sauce and shiitake chimichurri; charcoal-smoked lobster and heart of palm salad; chicken canchita; and Peruvian curry with udon noodles.
Daily, noon-4pm, 6pm-11pm
Qabu by Paco Morales Cuisine: Spanish
Morales’s Dubai venue borrows many elements from Noor, the Spanish chef’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant from Andalusia.
Noor serves a cuisine packed with history, referencing the eighth to the 15th century when the area was part of Muslim-ruled Al Andalus. Qabu will also reflect historical periods in its menu, mainly from the 10th to the 18th centuries, and Morales previously told The National it will consist of “Occidental cuisine with Andalusian touches”.
On the menu, this translates to dishes such as aubergine beignet with date honey; red prawn infused in apple vinegar, blue fish sauce, turnip and caviar; and stewed vegetables with kazbra emulsion; and beef loin with black recado with chocolate and chicken liver paté.
Daily, 6pm-midnight
While the majority of these venues are at The Link, the world’s longest cantilever between dual skyscrapers 100 metres above street level, StreetXO and Andaliman are part of the main hotel. More information and reservation details for all can be found at www.oneandonlyresorts.com
Maison de la Plage Cuisine: French-Mediterranean
Coming from chef Izu Ani and restaurateur Evgeny Kuzin
– the creative forces behind Gaia, Shanghai Me, Piatti and Scalini – the latest beach club on Palm West Beach offers visitors both a party and familyfriendly vibe.
Diners can choose from a market-style set-up, with a display of the catch of the day at La Poissonnerie, meat cuts at La Rotisserie and seasonal veggies at Le Primeur. Expect Ani’s famed dishes such as lobster linguine, buttered snails and grilled and lamb cutlets. Daily, 10am-2am; Palm West Beach, Dubai