Best Restaurants Open Monday in Dubai 2026

Why a Monday list matters in Dubai

In most of the world the best kitchens close on a Sunday or Monday to rest. Dubai works the other way. The UAE moved its official weekend to Saturday and Sunday in 2022, so Monday is the first working night of the week and the hotels and DIFC towers run a full service. A visitor who lands on a Monday faces the opposite of the European problem: not a thin field, but the whole field, more than a hundred upscale rooms across the city all taking bookings at once.

That makes the job here curation rather than triage. The only caveat is the very top of the guide: a handful of two-star and three-star tasting counters keep a five or six-day week, so a Monday is the one night to check those before you fly in. Everything below was confirmed open Monday against each restaurant's published schedule in June 2026. The order leads with the two-star Italian room and the Japanese icon, then runs to the rooftop view and the value pick. Every name links to its full review with the score. For the wider week, start with the Dubai dining guide.

The Monday list

Il Ristorante - Niko Romito

Italian · Bvlgari Resort, Jumeirah Bay · AED 600–1,000 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 19:00–23:00 (dinner)

Niko Romito brought the template of his three-star Reale in Abruzzo to the Bvlgari Resort on Jumeirah Bay island, and the Dubai room has held two Michelin stars for three years running. The cooking is precise, ingredient-led Italian: the roast chicken, the spaghetti al pomodoro and the Assoluto di cipolle are the dishes that prove the kitchen, with a meal landing about AED 600 to 1,000 a head. It opens Monday for dinner, seven to eleven, on the terrace over the marina. Book a few days out and ask for an outside table for the two-star Monday with the best setting in the city.

Zuma Dubai

Japanese izakaya · DIFC, Dubai · AED 400–700 per head

Monday hours: Monday, lunch 12:00–15:30 & dinner 18:30–00:00

Zuma has anchored DIFC's Gate Village 6 since 2008, the contemporary izakaya that set the template every Dubai grill room has copied since. The miso-marinated black cod and the seabass sashimi off the robata are the orders, with a meal around AED 400 to 700 a head. It opens Monday for both lunch and dinner, noon and again from half past six, and a Monday is the easiest night to land the bar or a counter seat by the robata. It is the safe, loud, reliably excellent Monday in the financial district, the room a Dubai regular books without thinking.

CE LA VI Dubai

Modern Asian · Downtown, Dubai · AED 400–700 per head

Monday hours: Monday, lunch 12:00–15:00 & dinner from 18:00

CE LA VI sits on level 54 of the Address Sky View in Downtown, its restaurant and terrace pointed straight at the Burj Khalifa and the fountain. The kitchen is modern Asian, the dim sum and the black cod the order, with a meal around AED 400 to 700 a head and the SkyBar running late beside it. It opens Monday for lunch and dinner. Book a window or terrace table and time it for the half-eight fountain show below; the Monday crowd is thinner than the weekend, which makes the view easier to secure.

La Petite Maison

French Mediterranean · DIFC, Dubai · AED 450–750 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 12:00–15:30 & 18:00–01:00

La Petite Maison, the Dubai outpost of the Nice-born original, runs a sun-soaked Riviera kitchen out of DIFC's Gate Village 8 with no printed menu, the waiter reciting the day. The burrata with tomato, the prawns and the whole roasted sea bass are the orders, with a meal about AED 450 to 750 a head. It opens Monday for lunch and dinner, noon to half past three and again from six to one. It is the room for a long, social Monday lunch that drifts into the afternoon, the DIFC table the regulars treat as a canteen.

Gaia

Greek · DIFC, Dubai · AED 350–600 per head

Monday hours: Monday, lunch 12:00–16:30 & dinner 18:15–23:00

Gaia is chef Izu Ani's Greek-Mediterranean room in DIFC's Gate Village 4, the most-copied opening in the city since it landed in 2019. The spanakopita, the grilled octopus and the fava are the orders, with a meal around AED 350 to 600 a head. It opens Monday for both lunch and dinner, noon to half past four and again from quarter past six. It is the pick for a relaxed, white-and-blue Monday that still feels like an event, and the Monday booking is far easier than the weekend scrum that fills the room by nine.

Jamavar

Indian · Downtown, Dubai · AED 300–500 per head

Monday hours: Monday, lunch 12:00–14:30 & dinner from 18:00

Jamavar, the Leela group's one-Michelin-star Indian room in Downtown Dubai, is the value pick of this list. The galouti kebab, the Jamavar dal and the biryani are the orders, with a full dinner about AED 300 to 500 a head and a business lunch lower still. It opens Monday for both services, the lunch from noon and dinner from six. It is the Michelin-starred Monday table that costs the least, and the lunch is the sweet spot for a serious meal at a working-week price. Book ahead for the weekday business-lunch menu.

How to book a Monday table in Dubai

Because Dubai keeps a full Monday, the booking job is about choosing well rather than chasing scarcity. Il Ristorante Niko Romito is the two-star table to plan around, so reserve a few days out for a terrace seat at the Bvlgari. Zuma, La Petite Maison and Gaia all sit in DIFC and all run easier on a Monday than a weekend, so a same-week call usually lands a good table at any of the three. CE LA VI's view tables fill even midweek, so book the window or terrace ahead and time it for the fountain show. Jamavar's weekday business lunch is the value play, so book that menu rather than the evening. For a solo Monday, the robata counter at Zuma and the bar at La Petite Maison are the easiest seats and a fine solo-dining move. Entertaining a client? Il Ristorante Niko Romito is the room to impress a client in Dubai; for a group, Gaia seats a crowd for a Dubai team dinner.

Frequently asked questions

Are restaurants open on Monday in Dubai?

Yes, almost all of them. The UAE moved its weekend to Saturday and Sunday in 2022, so Monday is the start of the working week and a normal full dinner service in Dubai. Unlike European cities, where the best kitchens rest at the weekend, Dubai's hotel and DIFC rooms run seven days. The only tables that go dark on a Monday are a couple of the three-star tasting counters that keep a shorter week. See the wider Dubai dining guide for the full picture.

Which Michelin restaurants are open on Monday in Dubai?

Several. Il Ristorante Niko Romito, the two-star Italian room at the Bvlgari Resort, opens Monday for dinner, and Jamavar, the one-star Indian room in Downtown, opens for both lunch and dinner. Zuma and La Petite Maison, both in the Michelin Guide Dubai, also run a full Monday service in DIFC. The two-star and three-star tasting counters are the ones to check, since a few keep a shorter week and close on a Monday.

Is Il Ristorante Niko Romito open on Monday in Dubai?

Yes. Il Ristorante Niko Romito opens Monday for dinner, from seven to eleven, at the Bvlgari Resort on Jumeirah Bay island. The room has held two Michelin stars in the Dubai guide for three years running. Niko Romito's refined Italian cooking, the roast chicken and the spaghetti al pomodoro among the signatures, runs about AED 600 to 1,000 a head. Book a few days ahead for a Monday table on the terrace over the marina.

Where can I get a Monday dinner with a Burj Khalifa view in Dubai?

CE LA VI on level 54 of the Address Sky View in Downtown. Its rooftop restaurant and terrace look straight at the Burj Khalifa and the fountain, open Monday for lunch and dinner with the SkyBar running late. The kitchen is modern Asian, the dim sum and the black cod the order, with a meal around AED 400 to 700 a head. Book a window or terrace table for the half-eight fountain show below.

What is the best-value upscale restaurant open Monday in Dubai?

Jamavar in Downtown Dubai, the Leela group's one-Michelin-star Indian room. It opens Monday for both lunch and dinner, with a business lunch from noon and a dinner of galouti kebab, dal and biryani landing around AED 300 to 500 a head, well under the DIFC and hotel rooms. It is the Michelin-starred Monday table that costs the least, and the lunch is the value sweet spot.

Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule in June 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.