2023 FACT Dining Awards: WINNERS

The seventh annual FACT Dining Awards Dubai ceremony took place on Tuesday, 21 November, live from The Terrace at Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

This year, Dubai’s food and beverage professionals turned out to celebrate the very best of the industry. 69 awards were given out across 35 categories, which covered over 200 hotels, independent restaurants and bars, resulting in over 60,000 online votes cast by the public. More than 400 guests enjoyed a sociable evening of canapés, free-flowing drinks and live entertainment overlooking the Museum of the Future and city skyline.

Speaking after the event, Edward Smith, at FACT Magazine FZ LLC, said: “Now in our seventh 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 Chez Wam at St. Regis Gardens, whilst the ‘Favourite Newcomer – Fine Dining’ went to The Experience by Reif Othman at Dubai Hills Business Park. 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 Jun’s for ‘Best Pan Asian’, Mimi Kakushi at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach for ‘Best Japanese – Fine Dining’, Orfali Bros at Wasl 51 for ‘Best Fusion’, and Ninive at Emirates Towers for ‘Best Middle Eastern & North African.’

Sponsors on the night will included Dibba Bay Oysters, Jumeirah at Emirates Towers, Lyre’s, Spinney’s, Truffle Man Dubai and our trophy partner, Crystal Corp.

Social media was abuzz too, as Dubai’s dining elite shared their photos on 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 Magazine FZ LLC with popular dining awards taking place in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar and Riyadh.