The Review
Novikov arrived in London in 2011 and established the Russian restaurateur Arkady Novikov as the most important post-Soviet name in European dining — a Mayfair triple-concept of Asian, Italian, and the Lounge that defined a decade of oligarch-era power dining. The Dubai outpost at Sheraton Grand Hotel Trade Centre is a like-for-like transplant: two distinct restaurants under one roof (Asian and Italian), connected by a shared bar and a lounge space, with an executive-chef bridge — Shane Macneill, Glaswegian-trained, London-seasoned — running the kitchen across both rooms. It is not a fusion restaurant; it is two restaurants, each with its own menu, its own wine list, and its own service team, joined by one door.
The Asian room is the more design-heavy of the two — a dark, bronze-lit space with a long communal table running through the centre, a sushi counter along one wall, and a display of live seafood along another. The cuisine runs across China, Japan, and Southeast Asia — dim sum, sushi, Peking duck, Thai curries, and the signature crispy duck salad that appeared in London in 2011 and has not moved since. The Italian room opposite is lighter — marble, cream, gold — and the menu is pitched at the confident end of Italian regional cooking: fresh pastas, whole grilled fish, wood-fired proteins, and a Barolo-heavy wine list that the sommelier is particularly proud of.
Executive Chef Shane Macneill has brought a distinctly Scottish discipline to the execution — his rounds of the two kitchens across a single service are legendary among the staff. The crispy duck salad remains the most-ordered dish in the Asian room; the Black Cod with yuzu miso is the dish that most regulars request on a second visit. In the Italian room, the lobster linguine and the wagyu carpaccio are the signature openers, and the whole grilled seabass with Amalfi lemon is the benchmark main. Both rooms serve to 11.30pm, with the Lounge continuing until 2am on weekends.
Dinner averages AED 500–900 per person with wine, sliding higher in the Italian room with Barolo or lower in the Asian room with Japanese sake. The client base is split three ways — the Downtown business set on a weeknight lunch or early dinner, the hotel-guest international traveller staying at Sheraton Grand, and the Dubai-resident regulars who treat Novikov as a default for a business dinner that needs to land with weight but not drama. The restaurant is one of the quieter power tables in Dubai: a reserved corner in either room is where deals get done.
Best for Close a Deal
Novikov is the quiet business address in a city that tends toward loud. The Asian room's booths along the windowed wall are the most requested table for a two-person business lunch — low lighting, acoustic privacy, a menu that is familiar enough to avoid the awkward "what is this?" moment with a visiting counterparty. The Italian room is the preferred venue for a four-to-six-person contract dinner — round tables, pacing control, and a wine list that permits the host to demonstrate competence without flash. The private dining rooms seat eight to twenty and are booked continuously on Tuesday–Thursday for board-level hosting. Service is formally trained and reads the room expertly — when a conversation needs space, the waiter steps back; when a course is due, it arrives. That level of calibration is the single most underrated feature of a business dining room, and Novikov is among the best in the city.
Signature Dishes
In the Asian room, the crispy duck salad is the opener that every table orders — shredded confit duck with pine nuts, pomelo, and a sweet chili dressing, the original London dish reproduced to the letter. The Black Cod with yuzu miso is the benchmark for a dish now everywhere in Dubai; Novikov's is still the most carefully marinated. The Peking duck, carved tableside, is the occasion dish. In the Italian room, the lobster linguine is the flagbearer pasta — half-tail, reduced seafood stock, finished hot. The wagyu carpaccio with rocket and parmesan is the crowd-pleaser starter. The whole grilled seabass with Amalfi lemon is the Italian room's fish signature. Both rooms serve an outstanding tiramisu; the Asian-room dessert standout is the mango pudding.
What to Know Before You Go
The restaurant occupies the ground floor of Sheraton Grand Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road, a five-minute taxi from DIFC and an eight-minute drive from Downtown Dubai. Valet parking at the Sheraton Grand entrance is free for restaurant guests. Dress code is smart casual in both rooms; most male guests at dinner wear a jacket. Reservations are essential; Tuesday–Thursday require four to five days notice, weekends a week. When booking, specify Asian or Italian — the two rooms have distinct menus and are separately reserved. Private dining rooms seat eight to twenty and are available in both concepts. The Lounge is open without reservation and serves a bar menu until 2am Friday–Saturday.
Also in Dubai, see Hakkasan Dubai for Michelin-starred Cantonese at Atlantis, La Petite Maison for French-Mediterranean at DIFC, and Zuma Dubai for the other power-lunch fixture. For all Close a Deal occasions globally, see our dedicated guide. Continue to our Dubai index or Dubai editorial.