RFK Rankings · Dubai
Best Rooftop Restaurants in Dubai 2026
Open-air & top-floor terraces · Dubai · 5 rooftops ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 3, 2026 · Updated June 3, 2026
The miso black cod lands fifty-four floors up at CE LA VI with the Burj Khalifa lit gold through the glass behind it, and that single image explains both the appeal and the trap of a Dubai rooftop. The city sells altitude better than almost anywhere, which means most of its high terraces coast on the view and let the kitchen drift. The five below do not. Each earns its place on the cooking first, then the terrace, the skyline and the bar, the order in which a serious evening actually unfolds. From a Michelin-starred omakase on a Satwa rooftop to a Portuguese terrace with an infinity pool, these are the Dubai rooftops worth booking for dinner, not just for the photograph.
1.Moonrise
Solemann Haddad's 12-seat rooftop omakase, A5 wagyu khoory kabab and a Michelin star; reserve weeks ahead for the hottest table in town.
Moonrise sits on the rooftop of Eden House in Al Satwa, a twelve-seat omakase where Solemann Haddad, the youngest chef to lead a Michelin-starred restaurant in Dubai, threads Japanese technique through Emirati and Levantine produce. The khoory kabab, built on Jordanian-reared A5 wagyu with celeriac and a shiso bouquet, is the dish people travel for, alongside hamachi under Syrian sumac. Moonrise holds one Michelin star and was named No. 10 on the Middle East and North Africa's 50 Best in 2025, which dubbed it the hottest reservation in the city. Two nightly seatings, a tiny counter, a rooftop you would not find by accident. Book through the Moonrise site the moment seats open and take whichever of the two seatings you can get.
Book on the Moonrise site; either nightly seating is worth taking.
2.Tasca by José Avillez
José Avillez's one-star Portuguese rooftop, arroz de marisco by an infinity pool; try it once for the Gulf breeze.
Tasca is Portuguese chef José Avillez's first restaurant outside Lisbon, where his Belcanto holds two Michelin stars, set on the sixth-floor rooftop of the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Jumeirah 1. The terrace wraps an infinity pool with the Gulf on one side and the skyline on the other, and the kitchen sends out genuine Portuguese cooking: the arroz de marisco, a soupy seafood rice, is the order, with warm pastéis de nata to finish. Tasca holds one Michelin star in the Dubai guide and pours the deepest list of Portuguese wine in the city. It is the most relaxed serious rooftop on this list, sea breeze and all. Book through the Mandarin Oriental site and ask for an outdoor table on the pool terrace at sunset.
Book on the Mandarin Oriental site; request a pool-terrace table at sunset.
3.CE LA VI
Howard Ko's modern-Asian rooftop on the 54th floor, miso black cod under the Burj Khalifa; book it for a skyline dinner.
CE LA VI occupies the fifty-fourth floor of Address Sky View in Downtown Dubai, 220 metres up with the Burj Khalifa filling the glass. Chef Howard Ko, who trained in Michelin-starred kitchens, runs a modern Asian menu where the miso-glazed black cod, around 250 to 350 dirhams, and the wagyu skewers are the dishes to anchor a table. The Michelin Guide Dubai recognises it, and the rooftop pairs the cooking with a serious cocktail list and a terrace that turns to a DJ set later in the night. Come for dinner before the volume climbs. Book through the CE LA VI site or OpenTable and ask for a window or terrace table facing the Burj Khalifa, ideally for the seating just before sunset.
Book on the CE LA VI site or OpenTable; request a Burj Khalifa-facing table.
4.Akira Back
Akira Back's neon terrace atop W Dubai The Palm, AB tuna pizza the order; go for a buzzy night over the Palm.
Akira Back runs from the fifth-floor terrace of W Dubai The Palm on the West Crescent of Palm Jumeirah, a neon-lit rooftop looking over the island's pools and the Marina skyline beyond. The former professional snowboarder turned chef cooks modern Japanese laced with Korean and American ideas, and the AB tuna pizza, thin-crisp with a tangle of tuna on top, is the signature, with the spiced-wagyu AB tacos close behind. The restaurant has been a Michelin Guide Dubai listing every year since 2022. It is the loudest, most LA-cool rooftop on this list, built for a group and a long night. Book through the W Dubai site or OpenTable and request the terrace rather than the indoor dining room when the weather allows.
Book on the W Dubai site or OpenTable; request the outdoor terrace.
5.Fi'lia
Sara Aqel's female-led Italian on the 70th floor of SLS; pencil in the cacio e pepe for a value view dinner.
Fi'lia sits on the seventieth floor of SLS Dubai in Business Bay, the city's first fully female-led kitchen, run by Jordanian-born chef Sara Aqel, who trained under Massimo Bottura. The menu is built from recipes passed down three generations of women, split into Nonna, Mamma and Fi'lia courses, and the cacio e pepe, made with two cheeses and both black and pink pepper at 85 dirhams, is the dish to order, with the house Fi'liamisu to finish. Fi'lia carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its value, rare at this altitude. The panoramic Downtown view comes without the fine-dining bill. Book through the SLS Dubai site and ask for a window table for the sunset over the skyline.
Book on the SLS Dubai site; request a window table at sunset.
Avoid for a rooftop dinner
Great view, the kitchen is not the point
Soho Garden DXB is a rooftop built around the DJ booth, not the pass. The food turns into an afterthought the moment the night gets going, so book it for the party and eat a proper dinner somewhere else first.
Treehouse at the Taj has one of the best Burj Khalifa views in the city, but it is a drinks-and-small-plates lounge rather than a restaurant. Go for a sundowner, and skip it if you want a real dinner with the skyline.
How to book a Dubai rooftop
Timing the sunset is the whole game. Book the seating that lands thirty to forty-five minutes before sundown so you watch the city switch from day to lights over your first course, and say explicitly that you want an outdoor or window table, since rooftops sell indoor seats by default. Moonrise is the exception and the hardest table: its twelve omakase seats go through the restaurant's own site weeks out, so set a reminder and take either nightly seating.
CE LA VI, Akira Back and Tasca all book through their hotels or OpenTable and hold prime weekend slots back, so reserve a week or two ahead for a Thursday or Friday and earlier in the week for a calmer room. Several of these rooftops, CE LA VI and Akira Back included, raise the energy and the volume as the night runs on, so the early seating is the one to take if dinner is the point. For Fi'lia, weeknights are quietest and the window tables on the Downtown side go first.
Frequently asked
What is the best rooftop restaurant in Dubai?
Moonrise is our top rooftop for the cooking, a twelve-seat omakase on the roof of Eden House in Al Satwa where chef Solemann Haddad holds a Michelin star and ranked No. 10 on the Middle East and North Africa's 50 Best in 2025. If you want the classic Burj Khalifa-and-cocktails rooftop instead, CE LA VI on the fifty-fourth floor of Address Sky View is the pick. The two answer different questions: Moonrise for a serious dinner, CE LA VI for the skyline and the scene.
Which Dubai rooftop has the best Burj Khalifa view?
CE LA VI has the most head-on Burj Khalifa view of any rooftop restaurant, 220 metres up on the fifty-fourth floor of Address Sky View in Downtown Dubai. The tower fills the glass and the terrace looks straight at the fountains below. For height over a wider skyline rather than the tower itself, Fi'lia on the seventieth floor of SLS in Business Bay pulls back for a broader Downtown panorama. Ask for a window or terrace table on the Burj Khalifa side when you book either one.
How much is dinner at a Dubai rooftop restaurant?
Plan on roughly 350 to 700 dirhams a head before drinks at the a-la-carte rooftops, more at the tasting-menu rooms. Mains at CE LA VI and Akira Back run from about 180 to 500 dirhams depending on the protein, Fi'lia is the value play with pasta around 85 dirhams, and Tasca sits in the mid-to-upper range. Moonrise, a Michelin-starred omakase, is the splurge and is priced as a set menu. Cocktails add 60 to 90 dirhams each across the board.
Which Dubai rooftop restaurants have a Michelin star?
Two on this list hold a Michelin star: Moonrise, the rooftop omakase in Al Satwa, and Tasca by José Avillez, the Portuguese terrace at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira. CE LA VI and Akira Back are recognised in the Michelin Guide Dubai without a star, and Fi'lia carries a Bib Gourmand for value. If a star is the priority, book Moonrise for the cooking or Tasca for a more relaxed rooftop with a serious kitchen behind it.
What should I wear to a Dubai rooftop restaurant?
Smart-casual is the safe default at every rooftop on this list, and most lean dressy in the evening. Akira Back and CE LA VI skew fashionable and turn clubby late, so guests dress up; Tasca and Fi'lia are smart but more relaxed. Avoid shorts, flip-flops and sportswear, which several rooftops turn away at the door. Rooftops can get breezy after dark even in summer, so a light layer is worth bringing for an outdoor table.
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