UAE
MICHELIN Guide Dubai 2024 Underpins Emirate’s Status As Culinary Hotspot
MICHELIN revealed the third edition of its annual MICHELIN Guide Dubai during a prestigious ceremony at the recently opened One&Only One Za’abeel. Among the highlights was Row on 45 becoming the fourth restaurant in Dubai to receive two MICHELIN Stars.
This year’s prestigious MICHELIN Guide Dubai includes a total of 106 restaurants, representing a 53.6% jump since the Guide’s inception in 2022 when it listed 69 restaurants. Decided upon by MICHELIN’s famously anonymous inspectors, the increase in restaurants in this year’s edition, also up on the 90 included in 2023, is testament to Dubai’s expanding and increasingly diverse gastronomy scene.
The 2024 edition recognises four two MICHELIN Stars restaurants, and 15 one MICHELIN Star restaurants, four of which are newly awarded. Dubai is now also home to 18 Bib Gourmand restaurants and three with a MICHELIN Green Star.
Some 35 different types of cuisine are represented across the 106 restaurants, with the selection underpinning Dubai’s burgeoning culinary scene, as well as its commitment to delivering exceptional dining experiences across the city.
Dubai is renowned for being a culinary capital and plays host to a diverse selection of more than 13,000 restaurants and eateries across the city, from street food, to hidden gems and fine dining, catering to almost 200 nationalities living in the city. The latest Dubai Gastronomy Industry Report ranks Dubai second in terms of restaurant density across the globe, in addition to being named one of the top 10 cities for food lovers.
The emirate’s development as a globally-recognised gastronomy hub is evidenced through an eclectic range of awards, accolades, and initiatives, including being named No.1 global destination for a third successive year at the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2024, and hosting the annual Dubai Food Festival, which celebrated its 11th edition this year.
As one of the oldest and most prestigious food guides globally, the MICHELIN Guide has been rating restaurants anonymously since its inception in the 1900s through a three-star system, as well as Bib Gourmand which recognises reasonably priced quality cuisine. MICHELIN Green Star awards were introduced in 2020 and recognise restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices.
The growth of the emirate’s gastronomic landscape continues to be on an upwards trajectory and is reflective of the success achieved within the tourism sector – in 2023 alone, Dubai welcomed a record 17.15 million international overnight visitors, a 19.4% year-on-year increase. This year, between January and May, a total of 8.12 million visitors stayed in Dubai, up 10% on the same period in 2023.
