Riyadh & Dubai
Chipotle Enters Saudi Arabia as Riyadh’s Global Dining Map Expands
The fast-casual brand opened its first restaurant in the kingdom in August, with Alshaya Group, at Sidra next to Granada Mall.
From Berenjak to Cipriani Dolci: The International Names Choosing Riyadh
London’s Persian grill heads for Via Riyadh, and Cipriani Dolci brings a taste of Venice to the Diplomatic Quarter.
Riyadh’s New Dining Addresses: Nine Openings to Know
From Persian and Anatolian cooking to smash burgers and contemporary brasseries.
Beyond Restaurant Openings: Saudi Arabia Invests in Culinary Skills
A year-long Culinary Arts Commission programme, and a national selection on the road to the Bocuse d’Or final in Lyon.
Yannick Alléno’s Two New Dubai Concepts Put One&Only The Palm in Focus
Coastal-Italian Casea 101 opens on 19 October, with the L’Abysse omakase counter expected alongside it.
Gymkhana Lands in DIFC, and Hikiniku To Come Heads for Al Quoz
London’s Michelin-starred Indian opened at Gate Village in September. A halal wagyu hamburg counter is next.
A New Generation of Emirati Dining Is Taking Shape in Dubai
Athar at Chef’s Society in City Centre Mirdif, and Abra, coming to Etihad Museum.
The Palm and Jumeirah: Where Dubai’s Autumn Openings Are Landing
From One&Only The Palm to the beachfront strip, the season’s biggest new restaurants cluster by the water.
The Middle Eats Awards
Our annual awards for the region’s best restaurants.
[Launch date & categories — to be announced]Hot Right Now
DESSERT · DUBAIHow Dubai Chocolate Became More Than a Viral Dessert
What began as a chocolate-and-kunafa bar has become a category of its own — cookies, croissants and cheesecakes built around kunafa textures. Proof that regional ingredients can travel without losing their identity.
Read the story →
TREND · FLAVOURSweet Meets Heat: Why Swicy Flavours Are Finding an Audience
Mango with chilli, kunafa with jalapeño: sweet-and-spicy “swicy” and fruit-with-heat “fricy” pairings give familiar ingredients a new sensory rhythm — approachable and surprising at once.
Read the story →The Business of Food
F&B Economy
Ten Countries, Ten Culinary Traditions
Arab food is not a single cuisine. It is a collection of regional traditions shaped by geography, trade, family rituals and local ingredients.
Egypt
HagougaSlow heat, rich ghee and clay casseroles: Hagouga keeps the cooking of Egypt’s countryside alive in Cairo.
Saudi Arabia
Najd VillageRice, meat, grains and bread, served the communal way in floor-seated majlis rooms — the generous table of central Saudi Arabia.
UAE
Al KhaymaWhere desert meets coast: rice, dried lime, saffron, cardamom and dates in the courtyard of Old Dubai, now with a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Palestine
Abu ShukriChickpeas cooked slowly with tahini, olive oil and lemon on Al-Wad Street — the craft of doing a few things well.
Jordan
HashemDowntown Amman’s table since 1952, open around the clock, where the attraction is familiar food rather than elaborate presentation.
Yemen
Al ShaibaniSpiced zurbian rice and layered mulawah bread, and across the city’s tables saltah served bubbling hot beneath a fenugreek froth.
Lebanon
Tawlet, Mar MikhaelSince 2009, cooks from villages across Lebanon have brought their household dishes to one table — recipes as living knowledge.
Syria
NaranjNamed for the bitter-orange trees of Damascene courtyards, in Al-Qaymariya: layered mezze, hummus and stuffed vine leaves.
Morocco
Dar YacoutA diffa — the traditional feast in courses — inside a palace-style riad, where architecture, hospitality and food are inseparable.
Iraq
Riverside grills, Abu Nuwas StFish opened flat and roasted upright beside the embers at the riverside restaurants of the Tigris — smoke, river air and patience.
Recipes & Trends
Emirati Machboos: The Rice Dish That Carries a Culinary Heritage
Fragrant rice, warming spices and the depth of loomi, the dried lime of Gulf kitchens.
Saudi Kabsa: One Dish, Many Regional Expressions
Najdi and Hijazi kabsa, compared by spice, protein and rice.
Luqaimat and Date Syrup: A Gulf Dessert with Staying Power
Crisp outside, soft within — from the traditional table to café culture.
Photo: Pshahma, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kunafa Reinvented: From Cheesecake to Croissants
Why crisp kunafa strands translate so well into new dessert formats.
Across the Region
Abu Dhabi: Erth, Hakkasan and Talea, each holding one Michelin star.
Jeddah: Kuuru, No. 6 on MENA’s 50 Best 2026 and the best restaurant in Saudi Arabia, and Kaia’s new season at Shangri-La Jeddah.
Doha: Idam by Alain Ducasse at the Museum of Islamic Art, Best Restaurant in Qatar at MENA’s 50 Best 2026.
Kuwait: Cantina, a Tuscan-style bistro, No. 18 at MENA’s 50 Best 2026 and the best in Kuwait.
Oman: The Al Baleed Culinary Festival in Salalah, back for its fifth edition through November.
Beirut: Tawlet and the home cooking of Lebanon’s villages.
