Look up the word brunch in Wikipedia and you’ll find only one city with a separate entry: Dubai.
The extravagant, Instagram-worthy experiences there include ending the day with a nighttime trip to the top of the Burj Khalifa or to a fully floodlit golf course. But for residents and tourists alike, the weekend kicks off with brunch.
With thousands of restaurants serving virtually every cuisine (and beverage) from around the world, brunch in the City of Gold is its own kind of spectacle, an extensive, multi-hour affair that combines every meal you’ve ever had. Stylish attendees, lavish spreads with free-flowing bubbly and resident DJs spinning party tunes are just the beginning in a city where Friday brunch is an institution. (The workweek in Dubai begins on Sunday.) These decadent feasts make brunches in New York and London seem like quick appetizers.
In addition to classic breakfast fare, mimosas and music, quirky brunch concepts are rolled out to attract foodies every winter, when the temperature finally dips into the manageable mid-70s. Tribeca Kitchen & Bar’s Big Apple Brunch specializes in healthy, all-organic food. The Westin’s Bubbalicious Brunch has a petting zoo, a magician and acrobats. And at Al Badia Golf Club, you can grab a wicker basket full of goodies and relax on the green during the aptly named Picnic Brunch.
Brunch is the one time that Dubai’s strict drinking laws seem relaxed enough for you to almost forget them. But make sure that you don’t. Hotels are one of the very few places in the city that have alcohol licenses, and it is illegal, even during brunch, to be drunk or to have a drink beyond the confines of the licensed hotel’s bars, restaurants and clubs. Other tips: Make reservations early, and expect to pay at least $30 per person without alcohol, or up to a whopping $789.60 per person for the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle brunch at Pierchic, with premium bubbly. The most popular brunches usually fall between $100 (without alcohol) and $200 (with unlimited alcohol).
Where to start? We chose four brunch spots, curated with help from Samantha Wood of FooDiva, that highlight what Dubai has to offer for the meal everyone loves to hate. And if you’re still not brunched out after four hours, there’s always the post-brunch brunch, the after-brunch party and the midnight brunch.
— The High Brunch at Nobu
You may have been to Nobu in New York, London or Las Vegas, but in Dubai you’ll get to devour all your favorite dishes, as well as a few new ones, for a (sort of) reasonable price. And you’ll take in the atmosphere that you’ve come to expect: Here, the dark red and brown color scheme and Japanese and Arabian-inspired décor make the space feel both understated and glamorous. Electronica mixed by the house DJ plays softly as young couples and families chat over small plates. And here, too, brunch is all about the good life: fancy drinks and quality dishes.
While most brunches in this city focus on displaying copious amounts of food, Nobu stays true to its reputation by pairing its multicourse sharing menu with live cooking stations featuring sushi and sashimi, salads, tartare, foie gras, rock shrimp tempura and more.
“I don’t want food to stand out for 20 minutes,” Hervé Courtot, the corporate head chef, said. “It gets a lot less fresh and it’s not the Nobu experience.” About 50 percent of the breakfast menu is specific to the Dubai location, with dishes like salmon and ikura pancake with yuzu cream and matcha French toast. Top-notch cocktails are also offered, so sit back and enjoy a few lychee martinis or Japanese gimlets, made with yuzu, lychee and Thai lime. If the weather’s nice, request a table outside in the Zen garden with a view of the Dubai skyline.
Location: Atlantis, the Palm.
Hours: Noon to 4 p.m.
Price: 385 dirhams, or about $108 at 3.55 dirhams to the dollar, includes unlimited nonalcoholic beverages; 585 dirhams, or $164, includes unlimited alcoholic beverages from the brunch menu; only children aged 10 and up are allowed.
Cuisine: Japanese.
Best for: Couples, older families and special occasions.
Expect to hear: Daft Punk, Madonna, Skrillex.
Dress code: Relaxed yet stylish.
Signature menu item: Black cod yuzu miso.
Item not to miss: Green tea fondant with passion fruit.
— The Al Qasr Brunch at Arboretum and Al Hambra, inside the Jumeirah Al Qasr hotel
When you need a map to navigate what’s offered at a brunch, you know it’s going to be elaborate. “Al Qasr” translates as “the palace,” and it’s pretty clear why it’s in the name of this hotel — one of two inside the Madinat Jumeirah resort — the moment you pull up to the entrance.
The traditional Islamic architecture, golden horse sculptures and intricate mosaic floor patterns are fit for a sheik. Be sure to look up at the opulent chandeliers as you descend the marble staircase to the ground floor, where brunch is spread across two restaurants.
From the stage at Arboretum, a two-part band belts out “Blurred Lines” while well-dressed onlookers sip glasses of Champagne. Take a quick glance around and you’ll find large buffets, impressive ice sculptures and live cooking stations with themes like Streets of Bangkok, Surf & Turf, Yucatán Peninsula, Valrhona Chocolate and more. The choices here can inundate the indecisive, so create a strategy for sampling as much as possible while avoiding crowded areas. Cocktail stations featuring Jack Daniel’s whiskey, rum-filled coconuts, cognac and mojitos are also in abundance. For a different (and quieter) experience, wander over to Al Hambra for traditional Spanish cuisine. The restaurant is one of the few in Dubai with a pork license, so you can eat authentic dishes like chorizo frito.
During winter months, the Al Qasr Brunch can draw up to 750 people on a single Friday. Without the sweltering heat, tables can be set up on the large outdoor terrace, which overlooks the resort’s luscious gardens and beautiful man-made lagoon. This season, Dirk Haltenhof, the executive chef, brought the outdoors in by offering mini food trucks that serve delicious street food like Sri Lankan-style savory doughnuts and homemade ice cream.
“It used to be in Dubai that you would have a lot of everything, but not really find the identity for it,” Haltenhof said. “But we want everyone to say, ‘Oh, my God, there was this little thing. I had corn and there was butter and rosemary and chili and I had it three times.'”
If you haven’t been rendered immobile just yet, ask the roaming caricaturist for a quick portrait before riding an abra boat over to Bahri Bar (located in Mina A’Salam, the other hotel on Madinat Jumeirah’s property) for their after-brunch party from 4 to 8 p.m.
Location: Jumeirah Al Qasr
Hours: 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Price: 495 dirhams ($139) includes nonalcoholic beverages; 595 dirhams ($167) includes bubbly, cocktails, grape beverages, juices and soft drinks; 795 dirhams for the Moet Champagne brunch; children from 4 to 12 years old, 250 dirhams ($70); under 4 dine free.
Cuisine: International and traditional Spanish.
Best for: Families, groups and couples.
Expect to hear: Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Janelle Monáe.
Dress code: Chic.
Signature menu item: Arabian kofta burger.
Item not to miss: Grilled lamb chops.
— Friday Brunch at Zaman Awal Restaurant
A trip to Dubai Creek and Al Boom Tourist Village is a must for anyone longing to catch a glimpse of old Dubai and the traditional lifestyles of the fishermen who docked there. The 33-year-old, 15-acre village was completely redone in 2015 to give locals and tourists a place to sample Emirati cuisine and culture.
“The village reminds me of my childhood; my family used to take us there because it was one of the oldest tourist attractions in the area,” Sheikha Hessa Al Khalifa, a local food writer and photographer, said. “Now with the revamp and the traditional Emirati restaurant, it has renewed families’ interest in coming there.”
Zaman Awal, an ode to the good old days, combines traditional eats with eclectic, historical décor. Everything from the windows to the serving tables to the light fixtures was sourced locally, or is an antique. Across the dining room, silk-screened images on tall glass panels depict Dubai’s history from a small village in the desert to the home of the world’s tallest building. Inspect a few of these while walking to your table.
When looking over the menu, be sure to select a traditional bread, like chebab (similar to an American pancake) or khameer dipped in cheese and honey. Also consider the balaleet (a sweet and savory noodle dish), harees (a wheaty, meaty mixture), chickpeas and dates. Forget about getting alcohol here (it isn’t offered anyway), and indulge in local herbal beverages.
If you’d prefer the breathtaking view of dhow boats floating by, then ask for a creekside table with pillow-topped seating. Before leaving, check out the village’s crown jewel: the impressive 80-year-old Aref boat with a coffee shop on its upper deck.
Location: Al Boom Tourist Village.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Price: A la carte items, about 30 dirhams ($8.50) each.
Cuisine: Local (Emirati), Gulf and fusion.
Best for: Couples, groups and tourists looking for an authentic Dubai experience.
Expect to hear: Traditional Arabic music.
Dress code: Casual.
Signature menu item: Chebab.
Item not to miss: Luqaimat (a puffy sweet fried dumpling).
— Friday Brunch at Saffron
Saffron’s brunch buffet has more than 220 dishes to choose from; stations feature dim sum, burgers, fresh seafood, pizza and steak. However, this 21-and-up brunch is really all about inventive day drinking and a posterior-shaking soundtrack.
You can hear the music before you even open the door to the restaurant. Don’t be surprised to enter and hear Nelly’s infamous line “It’s getting hot in here” blasting through the speakers while you wait for cashiers to grant admittance into the dining room.
Inside, the party continues. Jagermeister station? Check. Wine zone? Check. Shots of sake served in pipettes? Check. Baby pineapples filled with mai tai? Check. Add Top 40, classic funk, R&B and hip-hop tunes, and this brunch is simply a raucous good time. The crowd is young, diverse and trendy. You’ll enjoy people-watching here mostly because of the spontaneous dance sessions that break out between random brunchers. By 3 p.m., most diners are even attempting to dance on the tables. Since Saffron also doesn’t want the party to stop, its brunch includes access to the after-brunch party, Daydream, at N’Dulge Nightclub with a happy hour deal on selected beverages.
Location: Atlantis, the Palm.
Hours: 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Price: 535 dirhams ($150) includes select alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Prices will vary for themed brunches.
Cuisine: International with a Southeast Asian influence.
Best for: Large groups and expats and tourists looking for a day party (though if it’s just you and a friend, you’ll definitely leave with a few new pals).
Expect to hear: Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Chaka Khan.
Dress code: Club attire: Glitter, bodycons and Axe body spray.
Signature menu item: Peking duck and dim sum.
Item not to miss: Giant watermelon cocktails.
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