Nobu Dubai

Is Nobu Dubai worth booking in 2025?

Yes — with conditions. Nobu Dubai, on the 22nd floor of Atlantis, The Palm, is a credentialed, high-volume Japanese-Peruvian restaurant with a Michelin Plate (2025), a World's Leading Wine Lists 3-Star Accreditation, a consistent showing in the Opinionated About Dining Asia rankings (up from #242 in 2024 to #276 across the category in 2025). The view over the Palm is genuinely striking. The format is accessible, the wine program is serious, the kitchen under Chef Damien Duviau delivers the Nobu classics with enough precision to justify the visit. The main caveat: this is a global brand at a major resort hotel. If you want the most technically rigorous Japanese food in Dubai, look at Hōseki or TakaHisa instead. If you want a polished, occasion-ready meal with name recognition and a view, Nobu Dubai delivers.

The Weekend Brunch and Lunch Format

The most underrated way to experience Nobu Dubai is through its Friday and Saturday lunch service (12:30–3 pm), which also runs on Sundays. Brunch and lunch at a Nobu property are meaningfully different from dinner: the pace is slower, the format tends to be more approachable for groups, the 22nd-floor setting in daylight gives you the full Palm Jumeirah panorama that a dinner booking partially obscures in low light. For first-timers to the brand or to the Atlantis property, the weekend lunch is the more forgiving entry point — the kitchen handles the same menu, you get the same wine list (3-Star accredited by the World's Leading Wine Lists), and the bill is typically more manageable than a full dinner. If you are planning a celebration or hosting out-of-town guests who want a Dubai landmark experience, the Friday lunch slot is the booking to target. Book at least three to four weeks out; this is a busy Palm property with strong occupancy from both hotel guests and outside diners.

The Setting and Experience

At 22 floors up inside Atlantis, The Palm, a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star property, Nobu Dubai offers one of the more visually impressive dining rooms in the city. The room is designed to reinforce the brand: clean lines, warm materials, a sense of theatre. The wine program is a genuine strength. The 3-Star World's Leading Wine Lists accreditation puts Nobu Dubai in a small group of Dubai restaurants with serious cellar depth, relevant if you are planning a dinner where the wine matters as much as the food. For context on how that compares locally, the same accreditation is not universally held by Dubai's Japanese competitors.

Who Should Book

Nobu Dubai works well for three types of diners. First, visitors staying at Atlantis or nearby on the Palm who want a landmark meal without leaving the resort. Second, groups planning a special occasion, the format, the brand recognition, the setting handle that brief well. Third, food and wine enthusiasts who prioritise a serious list alongside Japanese-Peruvian cooking; the 3-Star wine accreditation is earned and worth using. It is a less obvious choice for solo diners or couples seeking an intimate, chef-driven experience, Kinoya or Konjiki Hototogisu are better fits for that profile. It is also a less compelling choice if budget is tight; dinner at a Forbes Four-Star Palm resort is priced accordingly.

How It Sits in the Broader Japanese Dining Context

Nobu as a group occupies a specific tier in global Japanese-Peruvian cooking: widely accessible, technically competent, brand-heavy. If you are calibrating expectations against the leading Japanese dining in Asia, properties like Azabu Kadowaki, Kagurazaka Ishikawa, or Gion Matayoshi in Kyoto, Nobu Dubai operates in a different register entirely. That is not a criticism; the format is different. Within the Dubai Japanese category, Sexy Fish competes on a similar brand-plus-spectacle axis if you want an alternative. For something more grounded in Japanese technique, Hōseki is the more serious option. You can explore the full range in our full Dubai restaurants guide, and find accommodation context in our full Dubai hotels guide.

If you are planning a broader UAE trip, Erth in Abu Dhabi offers a useful contrast as a different kind of headline restaurant in the region. For bars and after-dinner options, see our full Dubai bars guide.

Quick reference: Nobu Dubai, 22nd floor, Atlantis The Palm. Dinner nightly from 6 pm; weekend lunch Friday–Sunday 12:30–3 pm. Michelin Plate 2025. World's Leading Wine Lists 3-Star. Book 3–4 weeks ahead minimum.