7 New Restaurants Opening in Dubai 2026 to Know Now

Dubai's restaurant calendar rarely slows down, but 2026 is doing something different. The new restaurants opening in Dubai this year aren't just another round of brunch spots and beach clubs. A French brasserie is taking over Mall of the Emirates, a Tokyo cult favourite is landing in Al Quoz, and Cipriani is finally building a beach club at J1. I've checked every address, opening window and price against the operators themselves, so here are the seven new dining spots in Dubai 2026 actually worth clearing a table for.

1. La Maison Ani by Chef Izu

Chef Izu Ani's French Brasserie has already acquired a following at the Fashion Avenue within Dubai Mall since 2022. This outlet has been attracting about 385,000 people per annum. The new outlet will be larger in size compared to the previous one with more access to people coming from Marina, JBR, and Palm areas where they have to travel for this restaurant.

Opening: September 2026
Location: Mall of the Emirates, Al Barsha
Cuisine: French brasserie and all-day pâtisserie
Seats: 142, plus terrace
Good to know: Same menu as the Dubai Mall flagship, so the signature fermented black garlic butter bread carries over

2. Cipriani Lido

Cipriani Lido will be the brand's first beach club in the UAE, built with Fundamental Hospitality (the team behind J1's Sirene) at J1 Beach in Jumeirah. Expect a restaurant, private dining rooms, a Bellini Bar and Lounge, a Socialista inspired Living Room, and Cipriani branded cabanas facing the Gulf. The timing isn't random either. It lands on the tenth anniversary of Cipriani DIFC, which has anchored the brand in Dubai since 2016.

Announced: June 2026. Opening: 2027
Location: J1 Beach, Jumeirah
Cuisine: Venetian Italian, beach club format
Signature: Bellini Bar and Lounge, private beach cabanas
Good to know: First Cipriani Lido anywhere in the UAE

3. Park Chinois

Mayfair's most theatrical Chinese restaurant is coming to Dubai, and it's picked a rooftop. Park Chinois London is known for 1930s Shanghai inspired interiors, deep red lacquer, chandeliers, and a split format between the elevated Salon de Chin dining room and the after hours Club Chinois. The Dubai outpost, developed by Island Hospitality, will sit atop Gran Meliá Port De La Mer with sea views over the new La Mer waterfront. The London menu leans on dim sum, whole duck and premium meat cuts.

Opening: Tied to Gran Meliá Dubai's 2026 debut, exact date not yet confirmed
Location: Gran Meliá Port De La Mer, Jumeirah
Cuisine: Chinese fine dining, Shanghai-inspired
Signature: Rooftop setting, red lacquer interiors, sea views
Good to know: First Middle East location for the Mayfair original

4. Le Café LPM

La Petite Maison is one of Dubai's few genuine dining institutions, and it has spent over a decade being an occasion restaurant. Le Café LPM breaks that pattern on purpose. Set to open at Across H by Huna in Jumeirah, directly opposite NAC, this is LPM's first casual, all day concept anywhere. The idea is a spot you drop into on a whim rather than book weeks ahead for, which is exactly what DIFC's LPM has never quite managed to be.

Opening: Summer 2026
Location: Across H by Huna, Jumeirah
Cuisine: French Mediterranean, all day café
From: The team behind LPM DIFC, two toque rated by Gault&Millau UAE
Good to know: Built for repeat visits, unlike the special occasion booking LPM DIFC usually demands

5. Roka

Roka's second Dubai branch takes the robatayaki format to a rooftop at Six Senses The Palm on Palm Jumeirah's West Crescent, aimed squarely at sunset dinners and late night socialising rather than business lunches.Six Senses The Palm opened reservations from September 1, 2026, with the hotel itself due to debut around that window.

Opening: Expected late 2026, following Six Senses The Palm's September debut
Location: Six Senses The Palm, Palm Jumeirah
Cuisine: Japanese robatayaki
Hours: Dinner only, from 6pm
Good to know: Roka Business Bay runs AED 185 and up per person; expect the Palm menu to sit in a similar bracket

6. Hikiniku To Come

Hikiniku To Come has built a cult following across Asia around a single dish: Wagyu Hamburg steak, freshly ground each morning, grilled over custom-built equipment, and served with rice cooked in a traditional hagama pot. Of all the new dining spots in Dubai 2026 has lined up, this is the one built around a single dish rather than another sprawling luxury dining room.

Opening: September 2026
Location: CMPLX, Al Quoz
Cuisine: Japanese, single-dish format. Wagyu Hamburg steak and rice
From: FYTE Hospitality, the team behind Kokoro Handroll Bar
Good to know: Halal-certified Wagyu, a first for the concept globally

7. Noren

Noren opened at the end of August 2026 inside the Pullman Dubai in JLT's Cluster T, and it's the first independent project from Ilir Caushi and Pawel Kazanowski. The menu runs through raw dishes, sushi, and Japanese grill, built around dishes like chutoro with jalapeño dressing and red miso-glazed bone marrow, with cocktails and a wide sake list served from a central island bar.

Status: Open now, since late August 2026
Location: Pullman Dubai, Cluster T, Jumeirah Lakes Towers
Cuisine: Japanese raw dishes, sushi and grill
Hours: Daily, 6 pm to 11:30 pm
Good to know: First independent restaurant from Zuma's former managing director, so expect that level of polish without a Zuma size queue

If I had to pick one restaurant from this year's new restaurants in Dubai lineup, it's Noren. Everything else on this list is still a projected date on a press release, and slipped timelines are the norm among new restaurants opening in Dubai, Hikiniku To Come has already moved once.

For the ones still to come, put Hikiniku To Come on your September radar for something you can't get anywhere else in the city, and treat Le Café LPM as the practical add to your regular rotation once summer 2026 lands. Among all the new restaurants in Dubai landing this year, those three carry the least risk of disappointing.