Must-Try Restaurants in UAE 2026 — The What Matters Food & Drink Guide
The What Matters guide to must-try restaurants, cafés and food brands across the UAE in 2026 — new openings, hidden gems, founder journeys, and the brands that define UAE dining right now.
Must-Try Restaurants in UAE 2026 — The What Matters Guide | Food & Drink What Matters.ae News Things to Do Food & Drink Lifestyle Travel Events Home › Food & Drink › Must-Try Restaurants UAE 2026 Food & Drink Updated July 2026 Must-Try Restaurants in UAE 2026 — The What Matters Guide The UAE's food scene never stops. New restaurants open every week, homegrown brands launch seasonal collections, and the founders behind the country's most loved food and drink concepts keep building something new. This is our complete guide to the restaurants, cafés, and food brands worth your time right now — plus how What Matters covers the UAE food scene year-round. By What Matters Food & Drink Team · 27 July 2026 · Updated weekly · 10 min read Quick Answer The must-try restaurants in the UAE in 2026 include Barrafina Dubai (Spanish tapas, first international location), Savryn (Egyptian-African fine dining by Top Chef Arabia 2025 winner), Sakhalin (premium seafood at J1 Beach), La Terrazza at Bvlgari Resort (Italian summer experience), AVLU (Greek-Turkish on Palm Jumeirah), Café Isan (Dubai's best Thai), Eleven Green Abu Dhabi (homegrown UAE burgers), BLU Pizzeria (Neapolitan with a Middle Eastern twist), PappaRoti (summer drinks 2026), and Rumailah Farm (seasonal coconut collection). WhatMatters.ae covers UAE food and drink daily at whatmatters.ae/food-drink. The UAE Food Scene in 2026: Why There Has Never Been a Better Time to Eat Here The UAE has always been an extraordinary place to eat. The combination of over 200 nationalities in one country, a culture of ambition and hospitality, a government that actively invests in the food and beverage sector, and a population that eats out more frequently than almost any other in the world has created one of the most dynamic restaurant ecosystems on the planet. In 2026, that ecosystem is at a new peak. International names are arriving — from London's cult tapas bar Barrafina making its first international debut in Dubai to Japanese concepts and Mediterranean beach clubs transforming the city's dining geography week by week. At the same time, a generation of homegrown UAE food entrepreneurs is building brands that are deeply local, deeply personal, and deeply connected to the community that lives here. The result is a food scene that is simultaneously globally connected and distinctly its own. This is the guide to what is worth eating in the UAE right now — across new openings, established institutions, homegrown heroes, and the seasonal launches and limited-edition menus that make following the UAE food scene so genuinely rewarding. What Matters Food & Drink Explore our full UAE Food & Drink coverage New openings, reviews, seasonal menus, Founder Journey series, and daily food news — updated every day Visit Our Picks → 10 Must-Try Restaurants and Food Brands in the UAE Right Now 1 Barrafina Dubai Spanish Tapas · Dubai · First International Location New 2026 London's most celebrated tapas bar has arrived in Dubai — and it is everything the years of anticipation promised. Barrafina made its name in London as a counter-dining institution where you watched the chefs work and ate some of the finest Spanish small plates in the world. The Dubai outpost brings the same format, the same philosophy, and the same meticulous attention to ingredient quality that earned the original its legendary status. Expect the signature croquetas, grilled prawns, and tortilla that made Barrafina a London dining institution — now available without a transatlantic flight. Spanish Tapas Counter dining Dubai International debut 📍 Location Podium Level, Gate Village 01, Al Mustaqbal Street, DIFC, Dubai 🌐 Website barrafina.com What Matters says: The most talked-about restaurant opening in Dubai in 2026. Counter dining with a genuinely world-class pedigree. Book as far in advance as the reservation system allows — reservations open for the main dining room; counter is walk-in only. 2 Savryn Egyptian-African Fine Dining · Dubai Chef's Table From washing dishes in Cairo at fifteen to winning Top Chef Arabia 2025, Chef Shehab Medhat's journey has been anything but conventional. At Savryn, he channels every step of that journey into a dining experience that blends his Egyptian roots with the spice, fire, and soul of the African continent. The result is a menu unlike anything currently available in the UAE — Fufu Crab Croquettes with coconut-vanilla sauce, Ostrich Sambousek with mint yoghurt, and slow-braised Wagyu short ribs glazed in African curry. For the full story, the ten-course tasting menu is the only way to truly understand what Chef Shehab is building. Egyptian African Fine dining Tasting menu Top Chef Arabia 📍 Location Wasl Vita Mall, Jumeirah 1, Dubai — 28 seats, intimate dining room 📱 Instagram @savryn.diningroom What Matters says: A genuine Founder Journey waiting to be told — Chef Shehab's story from Cairo to Dubai is exactly the kind of narrative our readers connect with. Follow WhatMatters.ae for our full feature. 3 Sakhalin Premium Seafood · J1 Beach, Jumeirah 1 · Dubai Beachfront Seafood dining with sweeping water views at J1 Beach — Sakhalin is the kind of restaurant Dubai does better than almost anywhere in the world. A light-filled, neutral-toned dining room opens onto a refined beachside terrace where the interiors, the service, and the food all operate at a level of polish that makes the premium pricing feel not just justifiable but appropriate. The seafood is executed with the kind of technical precision that comes from a kitchen operating at the top of its ability — subtle showmanship over spectacle, and exactly the right approach for this setting. Seafood Fine dining Beachfront J1 Beach Licensed 📍 Location J1 Beach, 71A Street, Jumeirah 1, Dubai 🌐 Website sakhalin.rest/dubai What Matters says: The beachfront terrace at sunset is one of Dubai's finest dining moments. Best visited Wednesday to Saturday for the full atmosphere. Reserve the terrace specifically when bo