The Maine Man

Meet Joey Ghazal, the man behind one of Dubai’s favourite restaurant brands

The Maine Oyster Bar &

Grill, The Maine Street

Eatery and now The Maine Land Brasserie – have you been surprised by the brand’s success?

Yeah you know, we’re delighted of course. We’re proud to be one of the very few homegrown brands that has grown to multiple units. We have thought very carefully about the areas we would open in to create an even spread around town, thinking about how we can give each location its own twist. You’ve been in the industry for over 20 years. What inspired you to launch The Maine in Dubai in the first place?

My father moved here in

1975. I grew up here. I went to Dubai College. I went to primary school here. My family has been part of the Dubai fabric since before there was really anything going on. When I returned to Dubai in 2013, I spent a lot of time looking around and seeing what was missing. I was excited by pockets of homegrown concepts emerging but I realised that there wasn’t anything going on in terms of licensed casual dining. The market was primarily driven by developers, you know, big money guys who import big brands from abroad. I felt like the city was missing a brasserie company – somewhere where no matter which location you go to, you know what you’re going to get: a value-based experience that’s authentic, activated with great events, with great quality food and friendly service.

How have you made each location differ?

The Streetery has more of a neighbourhood feel with a kids’ play area. The Maine Oyster

Bar has a coastal, more nautical feel, and the Land Brasserie is focused on inland Maine – a bit warmer but slightly moodier. I think people will be surprised by how we’ve continued the narrative of the brand.

Tell us more about the new restaurant.

Well, people have been asking for a Maine Downtown for a very long time. We thought about the DIFC, and Sheikh

Zayed Road, but honestly the Opus is so iconic. There’s a natural beauty to the space, the triple-height ceiling, and the cathedral-esque windows are so unique that I knew it was where we needed to be. We are still maintaining the casual brasserie feel, but there are a few special elements including a large charcoal grill that’s part of our exhibition kitchen. When you say brasserie, what do you mean?

For us, a brasserie crosses all generational lines. It doesn’t matter what the occasion is, whether it’s a business meeting or a date, a family gathering or party, we welcome them all. We love it when people come to celebrate their birthdays. We are one of the few venues where we really love groups. Many restaurants don’t have the facilities or logistics to handle that.

What’s on the menu?

We have a larger focus on game and meat. We’ve introduced dry-aged beef that we don’t do in the other outlets. You’ll find different varieties of steaks and chops and we want guests to customise them to the way they want.

What would you suggest ordering?

We have an amazing Irish Angus sirloin. I love it cut about an inch and a half, marinated in Montreal steak spice (that only we import) and when it’s cooked on charcoal it makes all the difference. You’ll see.

Any plans to expand internationally?

Yes! We are opening a Maine in London, which we hope will open at the end of the year. We’re very excited about that, too. We really believe that our brand has legs. It’s the restaurant that’s at the forefront of people’s minds when they don’t necessarily know what they want. People say “Let’s just go to The Maine, they’ll take care of us.” That’s a great feeling.

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