The Best Sushi in Dubai

Rubber ducks cover every available surface at this Serkal Avenue sushi bar, which sets the tone nicely: serious craft, zero solemnity. The long counter puts the open kitchen front and center, and the hand rolls, made to order with yellowtail, scallop, or wagyu, are the reason to pull up a stool. It landed at number 15 on MENA's 50 Best Restaurants list, which the ducks seem unbothered by.

1. The 50 #15 · MENA's 50 Best Restaurants
2. Eater The 27 Best Restaurants in Dubai

Eighteen counter seats on the fourth floor of the Bulgari Hotel, overlooking the Dubai skyline, is about as understated a flex as you'll find in this city. Hōseki is an omakase sushi counter run by a sixth-generation sushi master whose knife work the team tailors to each guest using fish imported from Japan. It holds a Michelin star, and service arrives in traditional kimonos, which somehow doesn't feel like a costume.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Star
2. The 50 The 50 Discovery

The name promises Shanghai, but the menu wanders the whole continent, from Cantonese dumplings to a dedicated sushi and sashimi section. This is a pan-Asian restaurant done with Art Deco bones and a prohibition-era sense of theater, moody enough that the rosy lighting flatters everyone at the table. The banana tree terrace and zodiac cocktails keep things flirtatious. A place where the second date is equally plausible as the tenth anniversary.

1. The 50 The 50 Discovery