L'Avenue Dubai: Paris Vibes, With the Fountain Out Front
L'Avenue brings the Costes brand of Parisian glamour to the second floor of Fashion Avenue, with windows onto the Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa, and a no-alcohol list that takes itself seriously. The view and the sea bass are the reasons to book. The truffle pizza, not so much.
Zenon: Dinner Inside a Moving Painting
Zenon is one of those rare Dubai restaurants where the room and the food are both worth showing up for. Projection-mapped Greek gods move across the walls, a pearl-lit water wall shifts colour behind your table, and the kitchen, especially the wild seafood and the Hokkaido scallops, holds its own against all of it. I keep going back, and this is my honest take on why.
Savour Dubai: A Botanical Room
Savour opened in Jumeirah with one of the most photogenic dining rooms in the area, a glass-roofed atrium built around a central olive tree, velvet banquettes, and chandeliers that are super Instagrammable. The food was kind of disappointing, but the gin-based mocktails were top-notch.
Observatory Dubai: A View, A Stardust Cocktail & More Reasons To Come
Observatory Lounge sits 52 floors above Dubai Marina with one of the best skyline views in the city — Palm Jumeirah on one side, the Marina lit up below. I've been back more than once, and not just for the view. Here's what's worth ordering, what to drink, and the one small thing I wish they'd fix.
ZEA Dubai: Stunning Décor, but Is the Food Worth It?
ZEA opened in DIFC in January with a beautiful Mediterranean room and a menu that leans into seafood, caviar and pasta. The interiors are some of the most photogenic in the district — but a Friday night dinner left me wishing the plates worked as hard as the design.