The Review
La Mar is Gastón Acurio's global flagship concept and arguably the single most influential Peruvian restaurant brand on the planet. Born in Lima in 2005, expanded through Miami, San Francisco, Paris, São Paulo, Madrid and Doha, it landed in Dubai in January 2023 as one of the signature openings of Atlantis The Royal — the Kerzner group's second, more ambitious hotel on Palm Jumeirah. The room sits on the south promenade of the resort with a long terrace that runs the length of the Gulf, sunbeds turning into dinner tables as the sun drops behind the Dubai Marina skyline. The location does half the work.
The cooking does the rest. Executive chef Diego Oka — a Nikkei Peruvian who ran La Mar Miami for over a decade before opening Dubai — leads the kitchen with Acurio's blessing and regular flying visits. The menu is the full Acurio playbook. Seven ceviches including the classic with Nazca limes, rocoto and sweet potato; a row of tiraditos built around bluefin tuna and Hamachi; a dedicated anticuchos section fired over Peruvian binchotan with beef heart still on the menu for those who know to order it; causa rellena towers that look like edible sculpture; and a lomo saltado that remains the reference for the dish in the Middle East. The Nikkei influence is strong — Peruvian-Japanese is Acurio's particular obsession — and the Chupe de Camarones shrimp stew is the one hot dish everyone at the table eventually spoons from.
The drinks list is a Pisco lover's library. Four Pisco Sour variations at the bar, a Chilcano trolley that staff roll to the table, and one of the best cold-climate Chilean and Argentine wine pages in the city. Service is polished without being performative — Atlantis The Royal has hired deep, and the team here trained for six weeks in Miami and Lima before the doors opened. A full dinner with ceviche, tiradito, one anticucho, a main and dessert lands around AED 600–900 per person without drinks, AED 900–1,400 with. That's not cheap, but for cooking at this level, and a terrace at this location, it's the right number.
La Mar is what you book when you want to impress without falling into the usual Atlantis theatrics — Ossiano is the underwater spectacle, Nobu the familiar power play, and Jaleo by José Andrés across the courtyard the obvious Spanish sibling. La Mar wins on cuisine — cooking you genuinely can't get elsewhere in Dubai at this level — and on setting. Book the sunset slot. Ask for a front-row terrace deuce. Order the tasting menu the first time and the à la carte thereafter.
Best for First Date or Impress Clients
The 6:30pm seating on the terrace is La Mar's party trick. The Arabian Gulf catches the last of the sun, the bar starts turning out Pisco Sours, and the kitchen paces a ceviche-first tasting menu across two-and-a-half hours without ever feeling rushed. For a first date, the cooking is a conversation-starter on its own — nobody eats quietly through a ceviche tasting. For client dinners, the room reads well-travelled without shouting money: Acurio is a culinary household name in the Americas, and clients who know food will clock the quality immediately. Private dining is available in a 12-seat semi-private alcove overlooking the water.
Signature Dishes
The tasting menu (AED 495, five courses) is the smart entry. À la carte, order at minimum: the Cebiche La Mar with leche de tigre, the Tiradito Nikkei with bluefin and yellow aji, one anticucho (the beef heart for the curious, the salmon for the sceptical), the Causa Acevichada with king crab, and the Chupe de Camarones to share. Finish with the Suspiro Limeño — dulce de leche folded with port-infused meringue — and a Pisco Sour at the bar on the way out. Diego Oka rotates a ceviche-of-the-month tied to Peruvian seasonality; it's always worth asking.
What to Know Before You Go
La Mar sits on the south promenade of Atlantis The Royal. Valet parking through the main hotel entrance, then a 4-minute walk through the resort to the restaurant; the staff will collect you from the lobby if you call ahead. Open daily for dinner 6pm–1am and for weekend Ceviche Brunch on Saturdays (12:30pm–4pm, from AED 595 with drinks). Dress code is smart casual — the terrace is relaxed, but shorts are discouraged for dinner. Bookings via Atlantis The Royal or call +971 4 426 2626. Weekend sunset slots open 45 days out — book early.
For more Atlantis The Royal options, see Ossiano (underwater), Ariana's Persian Kitchen (Persian) and Jaleo by José Andrés (Spanish tapas). For more Peruvian, Coya Dubai remains the louder, more scene-heavy alternative. See our Impress Clients and First Date guides, or explore the full Dubai directory.