Orfali Bros, the home-grown Dubai restaurant run by Syrian brothers Mohammad, Wassim and Omar Orfali, has been promoted to two Michelin stars in the 2026 edition of the Michelin Guide Dubai. The results were announced on Tuesday night at a ceremony at Atlantis The Royal, where 20 restaurants in the city were confirmed as holding at least one star.
FZN by Bjorn Frantzen and Tresind Studio kept the three stars they first received last year. FZN mixes Scandinavian and Asian influences, while Tresind Studio serves modern Indian cooking. Orfali Bros, whose menu draws on the brothers’ Aleppian, Armenian and Turkish roots, joins Il Ristorante-Niko Romito, Row on 45 and Stay by Yannick Alleno in the two-star group. Michelin described its rise “from a brilliant neighbourhood bistro into a flagship of Middle Eastern gastronomy”. Two newcomers, Birch and Kigo, entered with one star each. Birch is led by chef Arslan Berdiev, whose cooking reflects his travels and Turkmen heritage, and Kigo is a Japanese restaurant offering sushi omakase and kaiseki menus.
The awards follow a difficult stretch for Dubai’s dining trade. Several well-known venues have paused operations amid softer demand and tourism disruption following the Iran war, and four starred restaurants, Al Muntaha, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Ossiano and Smoked Room, kept their stars while temporarily closed. Dubai food writer Samantha Wood, founder of FooDiva, had questioned why at least 10 closed restaurants appeared across the guide’s lists. In a statement to The National, Michelin said it was “fully aware” of the closures and that its inspectors would revisit and re-evaluate each restaurant once it reopens.
Beyond the stars, the guide now lists 122 establishments covering 38 cuisines, up from 119 last year. There are 19 new entries in total: the two new one-star restaurants, four new Bib Gourmands and 13 additions to the Michelin Selected category, which has 80 restaurants. The Bib Gourmand list, which recognises good cooking at good value, has 22 names, with Middle Child, SEA Bistrot, Three Bros and Yubi Dubai joining this year. Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, said the selection now holds nearly twice as many establishments as it did at launch.
Five special awards were also handed out. Ossiano executive chef Remy Marquignon received the Young Chef Award despite his restaurant being closed, Ninad Jani of Avatara won the Sommelier Award, and Kigo’s Akinori Tanigawa and his team took the Service Award. Zahra Erfanian Azmoodeh of Carbone Dubai received the Exceptional Cocktails Award, while Gonzalo Platero and Window were named Opening of the Year. In all, Dubai now has two three-star, four two-star and 14 one-star restaurants.
