Michelin-starred Dubai You Can Actually Book
The new guide includes starred restaurants that are currently closed. Here’s where you can still pull up a chair.
yapped Editors · Oct 27, 2026 · 2 min read
Quick facts
- How many restaurants?
- 122 restaurants across 38 cuisines in the 2026 guide.
- Shout-out
- Orfali Bros earns its second star, joining Dubai’s four two-star restaurants.
Dubai’s new Michelin guide has plenty of stars. A few are behind closed doors.
The 2026 selection covers 122 restaurants and 38 cuisines, but temporarily closed venues have retained their awards. Michelin says those distinctions stand on previous inspections until the restaurants reopen and can be reassessed. Fair enough for the inspectors. Less useful when you’re organising dinner.
Start With the Promotion
Orfali Bros has moved from one star to two. The brothers’ Wasl 51 restaurant draws on their Aleppian, Armenian and Turkish heritage, with a personality that has survived the climb up the rankings.
It joins Il Ristorante–Niko Romito, STAY by Yannick Alléno and Row on 45 in Dubai’s four-strong two-star group. Four different dinner plans, with Orfali providing this year’s new reason to revisit the list.
“Dubai’s new Michelin guide has plenty of stars. A few are behind closed doors.”
The Big Occasion Tables
FZN by Björn Frantzén and Trèsind Studio retain three stars. These are dinners to build an evening around, with the booking calendar worth checking before you settle on the celebration date.
The new one-star arrivals deserve attention too: Birch, where chef Arslan Berdiev draws on his Turkmen roots and travels, and KIGO, offering sushi omakase and kaiseki. Your shortlist just got longer.
For open-fire cooking, 11 Woodfire offers another route into a starred meal. Its current website lists daily lunch and dinner service, alongside a reservation-only, five-seat Heritage Room experience on Thursdays and Fridays. Small room, separate plan.
Look Beyond the Stars
The 22 Bib Gourmand restaurants make a strong case for keeping another list. The award recognises good-value cooking, with Middle Child, S.E.A Bistrot, Three Bros and YUBI Dubai joining this year.