The "Mena's 50 Best Restaurants list 2023" awards ceremony was held at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers. The master of ceremonies was Egyptian and Australian entrepreneur Shereen Mitwalli. The event was attended by a host of international culinary personalities including Italian chef Massimo Bottura of the three Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana, Asia's 50 Best Pastry Chef 2022 Maira Yeo, Peruvian chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, ramen chef Neha Mishra of Kinoya Dubai, cookbook author Anissa Helou and renowned Jordanian chef Ali Ghzawi.
Dubai-based "Orfali Bros" took first place, followed by "Tresind Studio" (also based in Dubai). In third place was "Tala Fusions" located in Manama.
The list of the top 20 restaurants:
- Orfali Bros Bistro, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Tresind Studio, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Fusions by Tala, Manama, Bahrain (also named best restaurant in Bahrain)
- Ossiano, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 3 Sons, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- George & John, Tel Aviv, Israel (also named best restaurant in Israel)
- Kinoya, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Fakhreldin, Amman, Jordan (also named Best Restaurant in Jordan)
- Zooba, Cairo, Egypt (also named Best Restaurant in Egypt)
- Moonrise, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Reif Kushiyaki, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Kazoku, Cairo, Egypt
- Zuma, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- OCD, Tel Aviv, Israel (also won the Sustainable Restaurant Award)
- Lowe, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Baron, Beirut, Lebanon (also named Best Restaurant in Lebanon)
- Gaia, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Myazu, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (also named Best Restaurant in Saudi Arabia)
- Tawlet Mar Mikhael, Beirut, Lebanon
- Em Sherif, Beirut, Lebanon (also won the Art of Hospitality award).
Last month, Palestinian-Jordanian chef Salam Dakkak, who runs Bait Maryam in Dubai, was named Mena's Best Female Chef 2023.
Photo: A dish from Orfali Bros Bistro. Copyrights: The National Abu Dhabi.