Gerbou

One of the most exciting restaurants to land in Dubai this year isn’t tucked inside a shimmering skyscraper. Gerbou, opened in February 2025 in the peaceful Nad Al Sheba neighborhood, is housed in a restored 1980s community center that’s also home to the studios of Tashkeel, an organization dedicated to UAE-made art and design run by Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. A collaboration between Tashkeel and restaurant group Atelier House Hospitality, Gerbou presents a marriage of homegrown design and contemporized Emirati food, a cuisine that is finally getting its due after being long overlooked. The UAE’s burgeoning farm-to-table movement helped chef Ionel Catau and Emirati pastry chef Sahar Al Awadhi source around 75% of the ingredients on Gerbou’s menu from within the Emirates. Prawns, grilled and seasoned with za’atar salsa verde, come from Fujairah. Machboos, a comforting biryani-style dish, is topped with locally grown vegetables and served with housemade pickles and punchy Indian spices in a nod to the long culinary and cultural connection between the UAE and India. As alluring as the food is, the furniture and decor are equally significant celebrations of Emirati culture. Bathrooms feature opaque lighting fixtures designed by architect Reema Al Mheiri from fish scales, a waste product of the local seafood industry. The chunk of wood that forms the reception desk is carved from a protected ghaf tree that blew down near the majlis, or traditional gathering area, of Sheikha Lateefa’s dad, the former Ruler of Dubai. “My father welcomed people from around the world there, so it’s a very symbolic piece,” she says. “There’s a strong community feeling here, and we’re a part of that.”