Dubai’s booming restaurant scene is feeling the heat of high costs and high failure rates

By Gabe Levin

From suspended tables to underwater lounges, some 13,000 food and drink establishments in Dubai pull out all the stops to attract customers in one of the world’s most saturated dining markets.

They cater to all tastes and budgets. Some spots ladle out inexpensive biryani while others offer dishes dusted with edible gold.

These are some of the ways the emirate is competing with its neighbors Saudi Arabia and Qatar for tourist dollars and, so far, it’s beating them handily. Dubai has more restaurants per capita than any major city except Paris.

But the city-state’s booming restaurant scene is testing the limits of its growth-at-all-costs model, raising questions about how long Dubai can keep feeding its own ambitions.

A crowded and competitive market

The competition is cutthroat, so presentation is key.

“Gone are the days when it just tastes good,” said Kym Barter, the general manager of Atlantis The Palm, a resort perched on a manmade