2026 MENA's 50 Best Restaurants: The Complete Ranking

Khufus sits inside the Giza Pyramid Complex with a direct view of the Great Pyramid and a kitchen producing modern Egyptian cuisine under Chef Mostafa Seif. Ranked #4 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 and rising on La Liste, it is the strongest case for a special-occasion dinner in Egypt; but book months ahead. Booking difficulty is Near Impossible.

Kinoya is Dubai's most-decorated affordable Japanese restaurant; a Michelin Bib Gourmand holder and MENA 50 Best #3 (2024) in The Greens. The izakaya format means ramen, robata, sashimi, a loud, energetic room at a single-dollar price point. Book the counter well in advance; walk-in chances are slim and the room fills fast most nights.

Trèsind Studio is a serious $$$$ Indian splurge on Palm Jumeirah, led by chef Himanshu Saini and backed by major Michelin and global restaurant recognition. Go for a milestone dine-in meal where pacing and presentation matter; skip it for delivery, casual comfort food, or a large group trying to manage budget.

Orfali Bros is Dubai's most credentialled restaurant at the $$$ price point: three consecutive years at the top of the MENA 50 Best list, a Michelin star, a menu built from Syrian culinary tradition and global technique. The food justifies the price; the main obstacle is getting a table. Book well in advance.

Beihouse is Chef Tarek Alameldine's palatial Beirut restaurant, rebuilt after the 2020 port explosion and now serving thoughtfully reimagined Lebanese cuisine. Book for anniversaries, milestone dinners, or any occasion where the room needs to earn its place alongside the food. Booking is currently easy; an advantage worth using before the profile grows.

Ranked #30 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 list, Kuuru is Jeddah's most decorated Nikkei restaurant and the hardest table to secure in the city. The Leylati Group operation delivers consistent quality across food and drinks, with a composed atmosphere that works for special occasions. Book three to four weeks out at minimum; this one does not leave spare capacity.

Sufret Maryam earns its 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand by elevating Levantine home cooking with local Gulf ingredients and modern technique, all at $ pricing that undercuts Dubai's polished Middle Eastern dining rooms by 30–40%. Chef Salam Daqqaq's menu is ingredient-first and seasonally driven, served in a warm, conversation-friendly room in Jumeirah. Book here for culinary ambition over nostalgia.

Jun's is a Michelin-recognised, chef-driven Asian restaurant in Downtown Dubai with a #7 ranking at MENA's 50 Best 2024; strong kitchen credentials at $$$ pricing. Book four to six weeks out minimum; this is one of the harder reservations in the city. The right choice for a late dinner or special occasion where quality matters more than spectacle.

Manāo is Dubai's only Michelin-starred Thai contemporary restaurant, earning its star and Tatler's Best New Restaurant award in the same debut year (2025). A collaboration between chefs Abhiraj Khatwani and Mohamad Orfali, it operates at $$$$ in Jumeirah 1 and is the most credentialled new opening in Dubai's current dining cycle. Book well ahead; demand is high and availability is limited.

Moonrise is the hardest reservation in Dubai and, based on back-to-back Michelin Stars and a top-10 World's 50 Best MENA 2024 ranking, it earns that difficulty. Chef Solemann Haddad runs a 12-seat counter with a 12-course creative tasting menu; precise, intimate, priced at $$$$. Book as far ahead as possible; this is not a last-minute option.

Chef Fayçal Bettioui trained at Per Se in New York and spent a decade in the US and Germany before returning to Casablanca to open Table 3 in June 2024. The concept is precise: French technique, Japanese restraint, Moroccan ingredients. It is the most chef-driven tasting menu proposition in the city right now, still easy enough to book that you should move quickly.

Chef Abdulrahman Alsowailem's homegrown Riyadh restaurant (#16 on World's 50 Best MENA) trades fine-dining formality for focused execution and a lively neighborhood energy. The kitchen delivers consistent craft across a flexible menu, making it a strong choice for special occasions or solo counter dining. Book two weeks ahead; tables fill fast, the late hours (until 3:30 AM) suit post-event celebrations.

Ranked #9 at the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, Em Sherif is Beirut's strongest choice for occasion dining; a formal room with glittering chandeliers, live Arabic music, traditional Lebanese home cooking. Booking is near impossible, so reserve weeks ahead. Best for celebrations and business dinners where the setting needs to carry as much weight as the food.

11 Woodfire holds a Michelin star and a World's 50 Best MENA top-30 ranking, yet prices at $$$; one tier below most of Dubai's comparably credentialled restaurants. The open-fire kitchen in a Jumeirah villa produces precise, smoke-driven cooking across meat, seafood, vegetables. Book at least two to three weeks out; this is not a walk-in option.

Kokoro brings a Houston-born, chef-driven rethink of sushi to Dubai's Al Serkal Avenue arts district, arriving in 2024 from the team behind FiyaIYA and Pinza. Booking is easy, the setting is more neighbourhood than hotel-lobby, the playful yet technically grounded food makes it a compelling late-night option in Al Quoz.

Ranked #29 on World's 50 Best MENA 2024, Marmellata Bakery is a no-reservations pizza destination in Abu Dhabi's Souk Al Mina waterfront market. Customers queue hours before opening; arrive early or expect a wait. With a distinctly Abu Dhabi identity, it is the city's most credentialed casual dining bet for food-focused visitors.

Dubai's most decorated casual Japanese restaurant holds double Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition and a #14 MENA ranking while charging a fraction of what comparable venues ask. Chef Shun Shiroma's contemporary Japanese kitchen at Jumeirah Fishing Harbour is unlicensed and deliberately low-key. Book weeks ahead; this is one of the hardest tables in the city.

Chef Basmah Marouf's Mediterranean-Italian restaurant opened in late 2023 and has quickly become one of Kuwait City's more considered dining options. The kitchen brings executive-level credentials to an approachable yet refined format, with ingredient quality at the centre of the proposition. Easy to book, worth planning for a special occasion or a serious food-focused dinner.

The strongest case for Moroccan fine dining in Marrakesh. Chef Karim Ben Baba holds a MENA 50 Best ranking (No. 22, 2024), Les Grandes Tables du Monde status, a 97-point La Liste score; credentials that place this kitchen well ahead of any direct local competitor. Book 4 to 6 weeks out, dress formally, set a serious budget. This is the correct choice for a high-stakes dinner in Morocco.

Ranked #47 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 list, Reif Kushiyaki Cairo is the first franchise of the Dubai-born Japanese kushiyaki concept and the most credentialed skewered-grill venue in the city. Book well in advance; this is near-impossible to walk into. Located in New Cairo, it rewards returning visitors who come with a drinks strategy.

Le Petit Cornichon brings bistro-format cooking grounded in seasonal, local Moroccan ingredients to Rue Moulay Ali in Marrakech. It's the right call for food-focused travellers who want something more considered than riad spectacle without the palace price tag. Booking is easy, counter seating makes it a strong solo or pairs option.

FZN by Björn Frantzén is Dubai's hardest reservation and arguably its strongest case for $$$$ fine dining: three Michelin stars, a 97-point La Liste score, a nine-course tasting menu led by chef Torsten Vildgaard inside Atlantis, The Palm. Book as far ahead as the system allows; walk-ins are not realistic at this level.

The most credentialed Japanese restaurant in Dubai, TakaHisa at Banyan Tree Bluewaters holds a Michelin Plate, a World's 50 Best MENA 2024 ranking of #41, an OAD Asia position assessed against restaurants in Japan. At the $$$$ tier, it is the right call for a serious occasion dinner; but book two months ahead during peak season.

Sesamo at Royal Mansour Marrakesh is the city's most decorated Italian restaurant, ranked #32 at World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 and recognised by both La Liste and Les Grandes Tables du Monde. Chef Riccardo Barni's kitchen blends local Moroccan ingredients with Italian technique in a palace setting. Book four to six weeks ahead minimum; this is one of Marrakesh's hardest reservations.

Ranked #24 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, Kazoku is Cairo's strongest case for contemporary Japanese dining and the city's most credentialed restaurant in the category. The experience is inseparable from the room: a compound setting in Second New Cairo with a considered arrival sequence built for occasions. Book weeks in advance; this one is genuinely difficult to secure.

Ranked #8 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, Shams El Balad is Amman's hardest table to book and one of its most considered dining experiences. A family-run cultural space serving creative, seasonal Levantine food in an intimate setting on Mu'Ath Bin Jabal Street. Book weeks out; this one fills fast and for good reason.

La Petite Maison in DIFC holds a Michelin Plate, a #23 ranking on the World's 50 Best MENA 2024 list, one of Dubai's deepest French-focused wine lists; 470 selections with a 2,000-bottle cellar. At $$$ per head it earns its price, but tables are near impossible to get without booking two to three weeks out minimum.

Alee brings Chef Ali Ghzawi's personal take on Jordanian home cooking to a well-positioned address at First Circle, Jabal Amman. The menu draws directly from domestic recipes rather than restaurant convention, making it a stronger choice than most Levantine options in the city for diners who want something rooted and specific. Book it for a second or third night in Amman; it rewards a return visit.

Three Bros is the more accessible side project of the Orfali brothers, whose main restaurant has won Best Restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa three years running. The menu spans Japan, Spain, Syria, France with genuine intent behind each shift. Booking is easy by Dubai standards, making it one of the stronger options for spontaneous or solo dining in this creative tier.

Ranked #18 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, Dara Dining by Sara Aqel is Amman's most credentialed table; a restored villa with a garden, a Mediterranean menu with strong Levantine character, a wine shop focused on regional producers. Booking is difficult and advance planning is essential, but for a special occasion dinner in Amman, nothing else in the city competes on the same terms.

+61 brings Sydney-style, sourcing-led casual dining to Marrakesh's Gueliz neighbourhood and ranked #35 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 list., it is one of the city's most consistent high-end options. Book well ahead; walk-ins are not a realistic strategy here.

Zooba Zamalek is Cairo's most credentialled Egyptian street food address, ranked #21 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 list. The food travels well for delivery, but first-timers should eat in to understand the menu. Book ahead; walk-ins during peak hours are difficult, the venue's international profile has pushed demand up significantly.

Gaia is one of the hardest reservations in Dubai for good reason: seven years in, the DIFC eighth-floor Mediterranean room still delivers consistent quality in a space that feels relaxed rather than theatrical. Plan three weeks ahead for weekends.

Zuma in Dubai's DIFC is a high-energy, sharing-format contemporary Japanese restaurant with a Michelin Plate, a MENA 50 Best ranking of #19, a booking difficulty that demands three to four weeks' lead time for weekend dinners. Best suited to groups of three or more who want robata grill, sashimi, a room that runs late; not for intimate or solo dining.

Ranked #37 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, Mimi Kakushi at the Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach is Dubai's strongest case for contemporary Japanese dining with a serious cocktail program. The 1920s Osaka-inspired room delivers both atmosphere and substance, but book two to three weeks ahead; weekend tables go fast.

Row on 45 is Dubai's most credentialed tasting menu restaurant: Michelin two stars (2024–2025), World's 50 Best MENA #17, a Star Wine List-ranked program with serious non-alcoholic pairing options. The 17-course, three-room format across 22 covers justifies the $$$$ price if structured fine dining and wine depth are your priorities. Book weeks ahead minimum.

Ranked #27 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 list, Sachi Cairo is one of Heliopolis's hardest tables to secure and one of its most rewarding for repeat visitors. Built around family-dinner-style comfort food in a room designed for groups, it rewards those who return; first-timers should book far ahead and come with a crowd.

NIRI is Abu Dhabi's most credentialed homegrown Japanese Contemporary restaurant; a Michelin Plate holder (2024 and 2025) and MENA 50 Best ranked venue at a $$ price point that undercuts most of its award-level peers on cost. Founded in 2021 on the Saadiyat Island waterfront, it delivers precise, restrained cooking in a clean room. Book far ahead: demand makes near-impossible availability the norm.

Buco is a gastro bar on Beirut's Gouraud Street focused on premium burgers and cocktails, opened in December 2023 by Noma alumnus Tarek Alameddine. Booking is easy, the format is casual, the ingredient-led approach rewards repeat visits. Choose it over Em Sherif or Albergo Rooftop when you want quality without formality.

Chez Wam on Palm Jumeirah is the right pick for group celebrations and social dinners where atmosphere matters as much as the food. The contemporary menu is built for conviviality, backed by a disco playlist and a house-party concept inside the St Regis Gardens. Easy to book, relaxed in tone, better suited to lively occasions than quiet, intimate meals.

Boca is one of DIFC's most consistent restaurants; Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025, ranked #12 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024, operating with credible Spanish-inspired Mediterranean cooking since 2014. At $$$, it rewards repeat visits more than a single booking. Reservations are Near Impossible, so plan ahead.

One of the UAE's most-discussed modern Asian concepts, 3 Fils opened its Abu Dhabi outpost inside The Edition hotel at Al Bateen marina in 2025. The community-style sharing format and waterfront setting make it the clearest choice for a celebration dinner or date night in the capital. Booking is currently easy as a newly opened venue.

A chef-driven hotel restaurant in Business Bay built from five years of supper club hosting, Girl & the Goose offers something Dubai's branded dining scene doesn't often deliver: a personal, word-of-mouth reputation behind the room. Chef Gabriela Chamorro's global training and travel background makes this the stronger pick for food enthusiasts over a standard hotel dining room, particularly for group or private dining.

The Michelin-starred flagship of Alain Ducasse's Middle East presence, IDAM sits on the fifth floor of Doha's Museum of Islamic Art with Corniche Bay views and a contemporary French tasting menu format. With La Liste recognition and, this is Doha's most credentialled fine dining booking. Sunday lunch, with the shorter menu and natural light through the MIA, is the format to target.

Myazu is Riyadh's highest-ranked restaurant on the World's 50 Best MENA 2024 list (#49) and the flagship of Scottish chef Ian Pengelley. Built around pan-Asian technique with contemporary presentation, it is the city's strongest option for a special occasion dinner. Book four to six weeks ahead minimum; getting a table is genuinely difficult.

Le Golfe has been the reference point for serious dining in La Marsa since 1955, its #44 ranking on the World's 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2024 list confirms it still earns that position. For a special occasion dinner with a Mediterranean sea view and 70 years of institutional weight behind it, this is the clearest answer in the region. Book well ahead; getting in is not easy.

LPM Abu Dhabi is the city's most credentialed French-Mediterranean restaurant; a Michelin Plate recipient, World's 50 Best MENA #38, the #1-ranked wine list in Abu Dhabi by Star Wine List. Eight years into its run at The Galleria on Al Maryah Island, it remains the go-to for a convivial sharing-format meal with serious wine depth. Book well in advance: demand consistently outpaces availability.

Lyra brings refined Greek and Mediterranean cooking to Manama under the Amriya Group, with chef Ilias Tasioulas leading a kitchen built on balanced flavours and produce-led technique. Booking is easy relative to the city's harder-to-secure tables, making it a reliable choice for a deliberate Mediterranean dinner. For wine-focused diners, ask specifically about the Greek and Southern European producers on the list.

Farmers opened in September 2024 in a renovated Art Deco gallery in Guéliz and has quickly become one of Marrakesh's most talked-about fine dining addresses. Chef Driss Alaoui's locavore kitchen tracks seasonal Moroccan produce with a structured, course-driven format that sets it apart from the city's riad-format dining. Currently easy to book; that window won't stay open long.

Matbakhi, open since spring 2024 inside Kuwait City's The Avenues mall, is a credible destination for contemporary Palestinian and Levantine cooking; charcoal grills, mezze, meat-filled pastries anchored by ingredient quality. It books easily, suits solo diners and groups alike, sits at the premium end of mall dining without the formality of a white-tablecloth restaurant.