Dubai Food Festival plans first restaurant week

Plans for the third annual Dubai Food Festival have been released.

Next year, the 17 day event will begin on February 25, running until March 12 2016. 

The project showcases hotel and standalone F&B outlets from across the emirate in a series of activities and events. The theme for 2016, we are told, will be ‘A Taste Celebration’.

Successful aspects of the festival that will be introduced again in 2016 include the Beach Canteen pop-up in Jumeirah (pictured above). 

In 2016, there will also be a focus on ‘Hidden Gems’. This experience involves a tour of Dubai’s undiscovered dining spots.

The most high profile addition to the festival is the launch of Dubai Restaurant Week. While Jumeirah has been operating their own restaurant week for several years, this will be the first time the emirate has had a citywide project of this nature that is open to all F&B brands.

“Restaurant Week is a global phenomenon that is celebrated in the best cities across the world,” said Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) Laila Mohammed Suhail.

“As the region’s leading food festival, we cannot wait to introduce the concept to Dubai in 2016.”

Dubai Restaurant Week will launch on the first day of the festival (February 25 2016) and run for ten consecutive days. For the ten days, 30 restaurants in Dubai will offer three-course set menus at a set price of $51 (AED189) per person.

Restaurants that are already confirmed for the week include: Alta Badia, Ashiana by Vineet, Atelier M, Boca, Bread Street Kitchen, Café Belge, Fogueira, Fumé, Garden, Hoi An, Junoon, JW’s Steakhouse, Kiku, Mint Leaf of London, Okku, Pai Thai, Positano, Qbara, Rang Mahal, Rivington Grill, Sea Fu, Seven Sands, Social By Heinz Beck, The Croft, The Hide, The Ivy, Thiptara, Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo, Yuan and Zheng He's.