2022 FACT Dining Awards: WINNERS

The sixth annual FACT Dining Awards Dubai ceremony took place on Wednesday, 16 November, live from TABŪ at The St. Regis Downtown 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 professionals turned out to celebrate the very best of the industry. 81 awards were given out across 42 categories, which covered over 400 hotels, independent restaurants and bars. More than 400 guests enjoyed a sociable evening of canapés, free-flowing drinks and live entertainment overlooking the city.

Speaking after the event, Edward Smith, at FACT M.E. FZ LLE, said: “Now in our sixth year, the FACT Dining Awards Dubai has become a highlight on the hospitality calendar 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 venues that have become such a big part of daily life here in Dubai,” he added.

“I would like to congratulate all of the winners – 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 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 L’Amo Bistro del Mare at Dubai Harbour Yacht Club, whilst the ‘Favourite Newcomer – Fine Dining’ went to Lucia’s – Address Sky View. The ‘Best Restaurant in Dubai’ for 2022 went to the ever-innovative Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm. 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’, Mimi Kakushi at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach for ‘Best Japanese – Fine Dining’, Moonrise at Eden House for ‘Best Fusion’, and Orfali Bros at Wasl 51 for ‘Best Middle Eastern & North African.

For the first time in the history of the FACT Awards, a series of special awards were given out to people rather than places. The two individuals recognised for their continued services to the industry were Mohammed Zahid as ‘Food and Beverage PR of the Year’ and Reif Othman as ‘Chef of the Year.’ These two accolades were not part of the public vote and were awarded at the discretion of the editorial team.

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.