The Review
Alici means 'anchovy' in Italian, and that small detail is the whole story. Omar Saideh and his team designed Bluewaters Island's most quietly sophisticated restaurant around one conceit: that southern Italian seafood, done properly, does not need truffles or caviar to be luxurious. Two floors of sea-blue and linen-white, terrazzo floors, a whitewashed pizza oven, a raw bar the length of the room, and terraces on both levels that look straight across to Ain Dubai and the JBR skyline. It feels, from the moment you walk in, like the Amalfi Coast reassembled in the Gulf.
The menu is uncompromisingly Italian and primarily seafood. Start at the raw bar: oysters from Brittany, hand-dived scallops, carpaccio of red prawn from Mazara del Vallo. The crudo di pesce — raw fish sliced paper-thin and dressed with olive oil, lemon and Maldon — is executed with a precision that rivals any sushi counter in the city. Pastas are house-made daily: spaghetti alle vongole with Manila clams, paccheri with lobster and cherry tomato, squid-ink tagliolini with local shrimp. The Neapolitan-style pizza from the wood oven is a dark horse — one of the three best margheritas in Dubai.
Mains hold their own against the rest of Dubai's fish specialists: whole grilled branzino in sea salt, the pezzogna in acqua pazza (a perfumed Neapolitan broth), and the linguine with sea urchin that has become the menu's quiet signature. The wine list is almost entirely Italian and runs deep into Campania, Sicily and Puglia; the Spritz programme is genuinely excellent. Cocktails are light, coastal and built for the terrace.
Average dinner spend runs AED 350–500 per person with wine — value-forward by Dubai waterfront standards. The restaurant has held a Gault & Millau UAE toque for three consecutive years and was What's On Dubai's Favourite Seafood in 2022. Reservations tighten for terrace seating on Thursday–Saturday evenings, and the weekend brunch (Saturday–Sunday 1:00–4:00pm) is one of the city's best-kept seafood secrets.
Best for First Date
Alici is quietly one of Dubai's most underrated first-date rooms. The upstairs terrace faces Ain Dubai — which at night becomes a slow, luminous ring against the dark Gulf. The raw bar is theatrical enough to be a talking point without being performative; the pastas are generous and shareable; and the pricing sits in the comfortable territory between expensive-enough-to-matter and not-so-extravagant-it-feels-over-tried. Ask for a two-top on the upper terrace between sunset and 9pm. Service is warm, Neapolitan-accented, and paces the meal gracefully.
Signature Dishes
The crudo di pesce tasting — six slices of the day's catch, plated raw with olive oil and lemon — is the menu's opening statement. Red prawn carpaccio from Mazara del Vallo is the raw-bar standout. Linguine al riccio di mare (sea urchin) is the pasta signature — briny, buttery, almost savoury like ocean liquor. The whole branzino baked in sea salt is cracked open at table. Neapolitan pizza margherita from the wood oven is one of the three best in Dubai. End with the limoncello semifreddo, a three-spoon affair that pairs perfectly with an espresso.
What to Know Before You Go
Bluewaters Island Block 15A, next to the base of Ain Dubai — twenty minutes from Downtown, ten from Dubai Marina. Complimentary 3-hour ticketless or valet parking; use the Orange or Turquoise zones, or the valet at the Banyan Tree/Delano exit signage. Smart casual dress code; the upstairs terrace reads resort-elegant. Reservations via SevenRooms or phone (+971 4 275 2577). Weekend brunch runs Saturday–Sunday 1:00–4:00pm and is one of Dubai's best-value seafood brunches. The kitchen closes on Monday–Friday between 4:00 and 5:00pm before dinner service.
Also in Dubai, see Cipriani Dubai for the Venetian classic, Il Ristorante Niko Romito for Michelin Italian at Bulgari, and Roberto's DIFC for another Italian standard-bearer. All First Date tables are here, and read our Dubai dining editorial.