Dubai Food Festival
Dubai Food Festival takes place Expected late Apr - May 2027 (2026 Dubai Restaurant Week ran May 1 - 31) in Dubai, UAE. The dress code is Casual to smart-casual; light breathable clothing, dressier for fine-dining bookings. Free to attend; budget up to 120 EUR per person for hospitality and extras.
A citywide, multi-week celebration of Dubai's global culinary melting pot, anchored by Dubai Restaurant Week's fixed-price menus at 125+ venues and padded out with beach feasts, value dish trails and neighbourhood events. It is less a single festival than a season - polished, sprawling and unusually accessible for a luxury city.
- When
- Expected late Apr - May 2027 (2026 Dubai Restaurant Week ran May 1 - 31)
- Where
- Dubai, UAE
- Dress code
- Casual to smart-casual; light breathable clothing, dressier for fine-dining bookings
- Cost
- Free to attend; budget up to 120 EUR per person for hospitality and extras.
- Weather
- 25 - 36C, hot and dry, warm evenings good for outdoor dining early in the window
- When to book
- Book Restaurant Week tables in the first days of the program - Michelin-listed venues go first; hotels need only 2 - 4 weeks notice in May
- Getting there
- DXB (Dubai), 15 - 25 min to most venues
- Where to stay
- One&Only Royal Mirage, Address Downtown, Rove Downtown
- Official site
- https://www.visitdubai.com/en/whats-on/dubai-food-festival
How to attend
Most of the festival is free to roam; the core move is booking Dubai Restaurant Week set menus directly with participating restaurants (2026 bookings ran via Careem DineOut). Ticketed pop-ups and beach events are listed on Visit Dubai. Everything is open to the public, but popular tables fill within days of the program launch, so book a week or two ahead.
Most of the festival is free to roam with no ticket, and Restaurant Week set menus are booked directly with each restaurant rather than through a festival box office.
Insider tip
The Restaurant Week set menus (around AED 125 lunch, AED 250 dinner in 2026) are the single best-value route into Dubai's toughest tables - book the moment the participating list drops.
Get inside Dubai Food Festival
Booking matters here: book Restaurant Week tables in the first days of the program - Michelin-listed venues go first; hotels need only 2 - 4 weeks notice in May. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.