Orfali Bros - Dubai
The restaurant just after opening for lunch service
Rating: 15/20
Where: Dubai, UAE
When: Lunch for 1 on 26 May 2025
Cost per Person: Tasting menu 680 AED ($185)
Accolades: 1 Michelin Star, #1 on 50 Best Restaurants in Middle East & North Africa (2025)
Why: Bistro-style takes on Middle Eastern food crossed with other cuisines
If one follows the 50 Best Restaurants list, then no visit to Dubai can be complete without a stop at “Orfali Bros”, a restaurant run by three eponymous brothers. This local culinary institution has repeatedly taken the top spot on the 50 Best Restaurants list for the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, Michelin has awarded one of its stars to the restaurant for the past two years. So I was quite happy to be able to stop by for a quick lunch here.
Actually, “restaurant” might not be the best way to describe Orfali Bros, calling it a “bistro” is probably closer to the truth. Its interior boasts ultra-high ceilings, marble-and-glass-topped tables, uptempo music, an open kitchen and a prominently placed pastry display case. The clientele was mixed during my lunch: from young to old, couples on a date, others in a business meeting, and there was no dress code - anything from T-shirts and shorts to formal suits were on display. Seatings were limited to two hours, as is apparently not unusual in Dubai.
The bistro vibe continued with the presence of an a la carte menu. There also was a 13-course tasting menu for 680 AED (about $185) that included all of the restaurant's biggest hits, but all of these dishes could also be found on the regular menu. So it's not difficult to create a bespoke “tasting menu”, and I let my server choose six different dishes. It's worth noting that many of the dishes could be scaled down to tasting menu sizes, which might be useful for single diners trying a multitude of dishes. I was happily full after my six dishes, so if one were to attempt the full tasting menu, one should definitely come hungry. No alcohol was served, but there were plenty of non-alcoholic drinks, such as kombuchas and other fermented beverages.
The first dish I tried was a tostada topped with a corn custard, some corn kernels and shaved Parmesan. This dish was nice enough: the bottom was crunchy, and the corn had a bit of sweetness, but not too much, leaving the dish still savory overall 15.
An “umami eclair” was filled with porcini mushrooms, Marmite and cocoa nibs and was topped with beef coppa. The most flavorful part of this dish was the thinly sliced beef - very good. The (savory) eclair had some crunch from the cocoa nibs, but for better or worse, its filling didn't really taste much of either mushrooms or Marmite 15.
The next dish was the most Mediterranean so far: roasted eggplant, tahini, walnuts, edible flowers and a powder made from burnt eggplant skins. There was lots going on here: a bit of spice, some creaminess, the eggplant taste, texture from the walnuts, and so on. The combination was not too heavy, and interestingly, the many flavors didn't really combine into one. Usually that might be considered a bad thing, but here it was actually an asset: each bite was slightly different, putting yet another ingredient to the forefront 15.
A wagyu beef dumpling came in the form of a gyoza surrounded by a garlic yogurt sauce, pine nuts and a spicy oil. The dumpling was fine, its shell maybe a bit to thick, and the beef was lightly seasoned. Good, but nothing too special. Arguably, the smooth yogurt sauce with its hint of garlic was better than the dumpling 15.
The following beef kebab also used wagyu. Three meatballs on a stick were topped with a cherry emulsion, pine nuts, and spices such as cinnamon. The meatballs were crunchy on the outside, the cherries added some sweetness, and the spices were perfectly measured: they made the dish more interesting without being distracting, as cinnamon might easily be in a savory dish 15.
My last dish was a late addition to the lunch, which explains its out-of-order placement among the others. A cold bulgur salad was flavored with a chili paste and tomatoes, and served on top of a shiso leaf, meant to be eaten like a taco. The result had a bit of crunch, some spiciness and fruitiness, without being particularly sweet. The flavors all ran together, making it hard to pinpoint any individual one. A reasonably light dish, but less distinctive than what had come before 14.
Overall: A lunch of nice snacks with friendly service and a casual ambiance. The fusion of Middle Eastern and other cuisines was interesting, making this a worthwhile stop when in the area. However, there were no real standout dishes among the ones I tried, so the restaurant's top placement on the 50 Best list was a bit puzzling to me 15.
