The Best Restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa Is Orafali Bros. in Dubai

Dubai is once again the dominant dining city in the Middle East and North Africa، according to World’s 50 Best، an organization that ranks restaurants، bars and hotels in regions and around the world.

For the second year in a row، Orfali Bros. Bistro in Dubai has topped the list put out for the region by 50 Best. In fact، Dubai swept four of the top five spots. In all، it has 18 entries on this year’s list، up from 15 in 2023; and the UAE has 20 in total. 

Orfali Bros. is run by three Syrian-born brothers Mohamad، Wassim and Omar Orfali. The menu features what Mohamad has called “modern Dubai cooking” with inspired، internationally influenced dishes like yum yam، a mixed herb salad with buckwheat and tamarind dressing and wagyu beef kebabs with chilis، sour cherry، and cinnamon، which is named “Come with me to Aleppo.”

The second place 

In second place on this year’s list is  Trèsind Studio، which likewise held the same spot last year. The ambitious restaurant، which also has 2 Michelin stars، features an immersive tasting menu for 895 UAE dirhams ($244). In third is the seafood-focused Ossiano and No. 4 is Moonrise، a rooftop restaurant. Rounding out the top 5 is Khufu’s in Cairo، which moved up a handful of spots from No. 12 last year.

Egypt tied for second place for number of restaurants on the list with six total; Israel also had six places. 

The awards were announced on Tuesday. The in-person ceremony that had been slated to be held in Abu Dhabi was cancelled in December as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The organization cited “the current circumstances and challenges faced in the Middle East.”

More international attention 

Dubai is getting more international attention for its restaurant scene. Orfali Bros. is seeing increased international attention، breaking into last year’s worldwide 50 Best Restaurant list، at No. 47، up more then 40 spots from No. 87 in 2022. Trèsind Studio did even better on that ranking، hitting No. 11; previously it was No. 57.

This is the third year that the 50 Best organization has published the top 50 restaurants for the region. The list is organized by William Reed، a media company based in the UK. In that short time the list has evolved from including outposts of international chains like Zuma. In 2022، the Japanese chain which has more than a dozen global outposts was No. 2 on the MENA list; this year it’s No. 13. 

Here are the 2024 best restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa

1. Orfali Bros Bistro، Dubai
2. Trèsind Studio، Dubai
3. Ossiano، Dubai
4. Moonrise، Dubai
5. Khufu’s، Cairo
6. 3 Fils، Dubai
7. Fakhreldin، Amman، Jordan
8. Em Sherif، Beirut، Lebanon
9. Fusions by Tala، Manama، Bahrain
10. OCD Restaurant، Tel Aviv، Israel
11. Kinoya، Dubai
12. Kazoku، Cairo
13. Zuma، Dubai
14. 11 Woodfire، Dubai
15. Sachi Giza، Giza، Egypt
16. Baron، Beirut، Lebanon
17. Boca، Dubai
18. Shams El Balad، Amman، Jordan
19. Mimi Kakaushi، Dubai
20. George & John، Tel Aviv، Israel
21. Jun’s، Dubai 
22. Marble، Riyadh، Saudi Arabia
23. LPM Dubai، Dubai
24. Zooba (Zamalek)، Cairo، Egypt
25. Nomi، Monash، Israel
26. Animar، Tel Aviv، Israel
27. La Grande Table Marocaine، Marrakech، Morocco
28. Bait Maryam، Dubai 
29. Sufra، Amman
30. Reif Kushiyaki، Dubai
31. Tawlet Mar Mikhael، Beirut، Lebanon
32. 21 Grams، Dubai
33. Sachi، Cairo، Egypt
34. Milgo & Milbar، Tel Aviv، Israel
35. Gaia، Dubai 
36. Alee، Amman
37. Lowe، Dubai
38. Izakaya، Cairo
39. LPM Abu Dhabi، Abu Dhabi
40. Lunch Room، Riyadh
41. Row on 45، Dubai
42. +61، Marrakech
43. Opa، Tel Aviv
44. 13C Bar in the Back، Amman
45. Sesamo، Marrakech
46. Alba by Enrico Crippa، Doha
47. Cult Bistro، Tunis 
48. Talea by Antonio Guida، Abu Dhabi
49. Cut by Wolfgang Puck، Manama، Bahrain
50. Kuuru، Jeddah