RFK Rankings · Dubai
Best Tasting Menus Under $200 in Dubai 2026
Tasting menus under $200 · Dubai · 5 menus ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 3, 2026 · Updated June 3, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
A Michelin star in Dubai does not have to cost a four-figure dirham bill. The city's reputation runs on AED 2,000 tasting menus inside hotel towers, but its best-value cooking is quietly some of the best cooking, full stop: a one-star bistro charging AED 350 for its greatest hits, a Thai room doing eight courses for the price of a steak. Everything here lands under 200 US dollars a head before drinks, normalised at roughly AED 3.67 to the dollar. These five are the tasting menus in Dubai that prove value and ambition are not opposites, ranked.
1.Orfali Bros
A Michelin star and the Corn Bomb for AED 350 from the three Orfali brothers; book it for the best-value seat in Dubai.
Orfali Bros is the one-star bistro run by Syrian brothers Mohamad, Wassim and Omar Orfali on Wasl 51 in the Al Wasl district, and it is, by most measures, the best-value fine dining in the Gulf. The OG tasting menu, seven courses of the kitchen's greatest hits, runs AED 350, around 95 US dollars, with a 13-course version at AED 680, about 185 dollars. The signatures read like a list of internet-famous plates that happen to be excellent: the Corn Bomb, the Umami Éclair, the ORF Labaniyeh with braised lamb neck and bone marrow. The cooking is Levantine in soul and global in technique, run by a chef who plates with obvious joy. Book it for the best-value seat in Dubai, and take the OG menu first.
Book at orfalibros.com.
2.MANĀO
Abhiraj Khatwani's Thai-rooted star, eight courses for AED 350 in Al Wasl; reserve it for a low-key blowout.
MANĀO is a one-star Thai-inspired room in Al Wasl, and in 2026 it added an eight-course tasting menu at AED 350, around 95 US dollars, that trims its original twelve-course format into a tighter, more affordable experience without losing the progression it is known for. Chef Abhiraj Khatwani learned his cooking in northeastern Thailand before opening in Dubai, and the menu reads as a personal take on Thai flavour built with serious technique. It is one of the hardest tables in the city to book at peak, so the new shorter menu is the most accessible way in. Reserve it for a low-key blowout, take the eight-course menu, and tell the kitchen how much heat you can take.
Book through manao.ae.
3.Carnival by Trèsind
Modern Indian theatre in DIFC, ten courses for AED 375; go for a first tasting-menu night.
Carnival by Trèsind is the DIFC dining room from the group behind three-star Trèsind Studio, and it delivers the same modern-Indian theatrics at a fraction of the price. The seven-course tasting menu starts at AED 299, with a ten-course version at AED 375, around 102 US dollars, both available for vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners. The kitchen plays with the form of Indian classics, reframing street food and regional dishes as plated courses with table-side flourishes and dry-ice drama. It is the most fun on this list and the most forgiving introduction to a long tasting menu, which makes it a strong first date or first tasting-menu night. Go for the ten-course menu, sit where you can see the table-side finishes, and pace the drinks.
Book at carnivalbytresind.com.
4.Teible
A five-course ocean menu sourced 95 percent from the UAE for AED 480; try it for dinner with a conscience.
Teible is chef Carlos Frunze's sustainability-driven room at the 25hours Hotel One Central in the Trade Centre district, and its hook is real: for its current season, 95 percent of the ingredients on the five-course oceanic tasting menu come from within the UAE. The menu runs AED 480, around 131 US dollars, and the cooking turns local, often overlooked produce and Gulf seafood into a quietly serious meal, with house-made bread and fermentation running through it. It is the antidote to Dubai's flown-in luxury, proof that a tasting menu can be built almost entirely from the region. Try it for dinner with a conscience, take the full five courses, and ask the kitchen what is local that week.
Book through teible.com.
5.Jun's
Kelvin Cheung's Bombay-meets-everywhere tasting for AED 560, or the AED 225 Short Story; pencil it in midweek.
Jun's is chef Kelvin Cheung's Downtown Dubai room, a personal mix of his Indian heritage, Chinese roots and North American training, named for his son. The 13-course tasting menu runs AED 560, around 153 US dollars, with a vegetarian version at AED 490, and a six-course Short Story menu at AED 225 for a lighter, cheaper way in. The cooking is generous and cross-cultural, the kind of food that reads like an autobiography on a plate, and Cheung is one of the city's most-followed chefs. It is the relaxed end of the tasting-menu spectrum, big-flavoured and unfussy. Pencil it in midweek, take the Short Story if you want value, or the full 13 courses if you want the whole story.
Book at junsdubai.com.
Avoid if your cap is $200
Worth it, but not on this budget
Trèsind Studio. The world's first three-Michelin-star Indian restaurant is one of the great meals in the Gulf, but its tasting menu runs well past this budget. Save it for the splurge night; eat its more affordable sibling Carnival by Trèsind when the cap is 200 dollars.
Trèsind. The original Trèsind is excellent modern Indian, but its tasting menu sits around AED 1,095, roughly 298 dollars, which puts it over the line for this list. Go for the a la carte if you want the kitchen on a budget, or keep to the five menus above for a full tasting under 200.
How to book value tasting menus in Dubai
The value rooms book up precisely because they are value. Orfali Bros and MANĀO are two of the hardest reservations in the city despite their gentle prices, so book both as far ahead as their systems allow and treat a weekday seat as a win. Carnival by Trèsind, Teible and Jun's are easier to get into at short notice, especially midweek, which makes them the reliable fallback when the starred bistros are full.
Watch the extras: these prices are for food, and drinks, pairings and service can add a third again to the bill. To keep a tasting menu genuinely under 200 dollars, skip the pairing and order by the glass. For the higher end of the city's dining, see the best hotel restaurants in Dubai.
Frequently asked
What is the best-value tasting menu in Dubai?
Orfali Bros is our top pick. The one-Michelin-star bistro on Wasl 51 charges AED 350, around 95 US dollars, for its seven-course OG tasting menu of greatest hits including the Corn Bomb and the Umami Éclair. For the same price, MANĀO's eight-course Thai menu is a close second, and Carnival by Trèsind's ten courses at AED 375 are the most fun. All three deliver a starred or near-starred experience for well under 200 dollars.
Can you eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Dubai under $200?
Yes, easily. Orfali Bros (AED 350) and MANĀO (AED 350) both hold one Michelin star and price their tasting menus around 95 US dollars. That is a fraction of the AED 2,000 charged by three-star FZN by Björn Frantzén. The catch is drinks: these prices are food-only, so skip the wine pairing and order by the glass to keep the evening under 200 dollars a head.
How much is a tasting menu in Dubai?
It spans an enormous range. The value end starts around AED 225 for Jun's Short Story menu and AED 299 for Carnival by Trèsind, with one-star rooms like Orfali Bros and MANĀO at AED 350. Mid-tier tasting menus run AED 480 to AED 700. The top hotel rooms climb to AED 1,000 to AED 2,000 and beyond. Everything on this list stays under 200 US dollars, roughly AED 735, for food.
Which Dubai tasting menu is best for a first timer?
Carnival by Trèsind in DIFC is the most forgiving introduction. Its ten-course modern-Indian menu at AED 375 leans on table-side theatre and familiar flavours, which makes a long tasting menu feel like fun rather than a test. Jun's, with its big-flavoured Asian-American cooking and a AED 225 short menu, is a close second. Both are easier to book than the starred bistros and easier to relax into.
Is Orfali Bros worth it?
Yes, and it is arguably the best-value fine dining in the Gulf. Orfali Bros holds one Michelin star and charges AED 350, around 95 US dollars, for a seven-course tasting menu of dishes like the Corn Bomb and the ORF Labaniyeh with braised lamb neck. The cooking is Levantine in soul and global in technique. The only difficulty is booking, since it is one of the most in-demand tables in Dubai. Reserve as far ahead as you can.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Dubai dining guide, see the best hotel restaurants in Dubai, compare the world's best tasting menus under $200, or open the full RFK rankings index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.