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What To Know
- Michael Chow launched the first one in London in 1968, building a reputation tied to art circles, celebrity guests, and a dining room style that blended cultural references before it became standard practice.
- The room stays minimal with brown tile, smooth wood, and low lighting, giving the evening shift a quiet heat that regulars look for when they want a casual dinner with a bit of theater.
- The Dubai branch sits in Gate District Precinct Building 02 and carries signatures like hand-pulled noodles and Beijing duck, framed by lighting and art that behave like characters in the room.
The newest wave of Dubai restaurants carries the energy of a city that treats dining like part of its pop culture calendar. These launches sit in districts Americans recognize instantly from travel clips and influencer posts such as Palm Jumeirah, DIFC, and One Central, which keeps them circulating on feeds long after opening week. Each venue arrives with a defined mood, a verified team behind it, and coverage from regional writers who track every detail from menu rollouts to design choices. For travelers who treat restaurants as part of the storyline, this batch reads like a curated map of what Dubai is paying attention to right now.
Apollo Dubai
Apollo lands on Palm Views West with the kind of easy confidence the TABLE4TWO group built through cult favorites like Rascals Deli and Za Za Slice. The spot frames itself as an all-day bistro by the water, the type of setting that regulars use for slow lunches and late-night plates in equal measure. Food writers have already called out hits such asceviche classico, prawn sesame toast, clam linguine, chicken pot pie, duck confit arroz nikkei, and a dry-aged wagyu burger that keeps showing up in early reviews. The interior pulls from a retro-cool palette with velvet, deep burgundy tones, and marina-facing windows, giving the space a built-in aesthetic that plays well on camera. Apollo reads like one of those openings where the reservation is the evening plan.
CHAR x Around The Block
CHAR x Around The Block opened in Nad Al Sheba Mall with a split-identity concept that caught food media attention quickly. Mornings run under the Around The Block banner, a name Dubai coffee followers already know from its specialty scene. After 2pm, the grills fire up and CHAR takes the wheel with flame-driven plates framed by an exposed grill that basically turns cooking into part of the entertainment. Local outlets point to chicken shawarma, chicken tikka, tenderloin, and sea bass as the dishes that define its smoky lane. The room stays minimal with brown tile, smooth wood, and low lighting, giving the evening shift a quiet heat that regulars look for when they want a casual dinner with a bit of theater.
DIME
DIME sits in Satwa with a tiny menu and a loud identity, which is exactly why people keep talking about it. The
TABLE4TWO group built it as a homegrown burger diner with a strict focus: two core burgers made from scratch,
nothing frozen, everything tuned for consistency. Think classic cheeseburger, upgraded sauce version, nuggets, waffle fries, and milkshakes that lock in the old-school diner vibe without forcing nostalgia. Reviews track the interior almost as much as the food, noting polished metal, warm wood, booth seating, and custom fixtures sourced in New York. It’s the kind of place you visit because the brief is clear and the execution matches it beat for beat.
Mr Chow Dubai
Mr Chow joins DIFC with the history of a brand that shaped how global audiences think about Chinese fine dining. Michael Chow launched the first one in London in 1968, building a reputation tied to art circles, celebrity guests, and a dining room style that blended cultural references before it became standard practice. The Dubai branch sits in Gate District Precinct Building 02 and carries signatures like hand-pulled noodles and Beijing duck, framed by lighting and art that behave like characters in the room. Vogue Arabia and DIFC both position the opening as another chapter in a legacy that always treated dining as a full visual experience. For travelers who study restaurant culture as much as cuisine, this address reads as a status marker.
Nara Thai Cuisine Dubai
Nara arrives in One Central with a Bangkok legacy dating back to 2003 when two female founders built the brand
around aristocratic Thai family recipes. The Dubai branch keeps the exterior clean and controlled while the interior opens into a brighter room built for long meals and group dining. Local writers point out dishes such as crispy fried sea bass, grilled river prawns, whole crab stir-fry, Ayutthaya boat noodles, Tom Yam Goong, and Nara Ice Cream as the anchors. The open kitchen window adds a quiet performance angle, and the location inside the city’s business and events hub makes it a natural stop for people moving between conferences, hotels, and show nights. It’s one of the few new Thai entries where the story carries as much weight as the menu.
Conclusion
Dubai’s latest openings show how the city mixes homegrown names, global legacies, mall-side grill concepts, Palmfront bistros, and Thai institutions into one tight restaurant circuit. Each venue has confirmed details, a clear team, and menu coverage from the region’s most active food outlets. Anyone planning a Dubai trip around eating well can treat this list as a starter blueprint for what’s current and culturally loud across the city.
Sources
https://whatson.ae/2025/06/inside-apollo-palm-jumeirahs-newest-modern-bistro-concept/
https://curlytales.com/say-hello-to-apollo-a-new-all-day-bistro-opening-its-doors-at-palm-jumeirah-dubai/
https://www.voguearabia.com/article/mr-chow-dubai-launch
https://platinumlist.net/guide/from-bangkok-to-dubai-nara-thai-cuisine-now-open-at-one-central
