2021 FACT Dining Awards: WINNERS

The fifth annual FACT Dining Awards Dubai ceremony took place on Tuesday, 23 November, live from Palazzo Versace Dubai. 87 awards were given out across 43 categories, covering more than 400 nominees and 60,000 online votes cast by the public.

This year, Dubai’s food and beverage industry turned out to celebrate the very best of Dubai’s food and beverage industry. 87 awards were given out across 43 categories which covered over 400 hotels, independent restaurants and bars. 250 guests enjoyed a sociable evening of canapés, free-flowing drinks and live entertainment at La Piscine at the glamorous Palazzo Versace Dubai.

Speaking after the event, Edward Smith, at FACT M.E. FZ LLE, said: “Now in our fifth year, the FACT Dining Awards Dubai has become a highlight on the hospitality calendar in Dubai, and an event that we are very honoured to host. It’s our privilege to recognise and award the efforts of all the excellent food and beverage outlets here in the city.

“The dining scene in Dubai is so diverse and dynamic, with so many beloved venues alongside exciting new ventures that are opening up all the time. As members of the media, it is our duty to give credit to the hundreds of venues that are such a big part of daily life here in Dubai,” he added.

“I would like to congratulate all the winners, and to every single nominee – you are the heartbeat of this great city and this is just our way of showing appreciation for your continued hard work. It’s incredible to see the mutual support shared and received between the media and the hospitality industry in Dubai, especially because there are just so many high-quality venues. The competition is tough, which only means that the standard of food gets better and better every year.

“We thank everyone who has helped us to commend the best in the culinary game, and we’ll be back next year with more to celebrate,” he said.

The FACT Dining Awards recognises excellence in the food and beverage industry, with winners awarded based on public votes and critics’ opinions. Each category was given two awards, the BEST and the FAVOURITE. The latter is the result of a popular choice decided through online voting, and the former is the critics’ choice chosen by the FACT editorial team and an independent panel of industry experts.

This year, a staggering 60,000 unique votes were cast online by diners in Dubai. Some standout accolades included ‘Best Newcomer – Fine Dining’, which was awarded to Mimi Kakushi at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, whilst the ‘Favourite Newcomer – Fine Dining’ went to Carna by Dario Cecchini at SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences. The ‘Best Restaurant in Dubai’ for 2021 went to the ever-innovative Trèsind Studio at VOCO Dubai. A slew of independent and homegrown venues also walked away with accolades, namely Indochine for ‘Best Pan Asian’, Alici at Bluewaters Dubai for ‘Best Seafood’, Hōseki at Bvlgari Resort Dubai for ‘Best Japanese – Fine Dining’, and LPM Restaurant & Bar for ‘Best French – Fine Dining.’

The in-person event was preceded by a virtual awards ceremony live-streamed to hundreds of participants on Wednesday, 17 November, during which several winners were announced. However, the ten most-voted categories by the public were held back from the virtual ceremony, ready to be revealed as part of the celebrations at Palazzo Versace Dubai.

Social media was abuzz too as Dubai’s dining elite shared their photos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, with the FACT team taking readers behind the scenes of the event on their InstaStories (@factmagazines).

FACT Dining Awards is part of a wider initiative by FACT M.E. with popular dining awards in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar.