Speak to anyone in London about going out for dinner right now and one restaurant will inevitably come up: Carbone.
But, while we’ve all been debating the weight of a New York classic opening on the other side of the pond, the team behind one of Manhattan’s most successful restaurants has not-so-quietly been setting up shop in the UAE, too.
Ahead of its official launch in the suitably flashy Atlantis the Royal on October 6, Carbone Dubai hosted a mammoth opening weekend party, sprinkled with VIP attendees. Festivities kicked off with an intimate dinner on the Friday, followed by an afterparty at a Carbone beach bar pop up, complete with a performance from Rick Ross.
The weekend rounded off with a pool party at Cloud 22, Atlantis the Royal’s rooftop bar, bedecked in Dolce & Gabbana’s Carretto Siciliano print for the occasion. At some point in the middle of partying, Naomi Campbell squeezed in a surprise DJ set. Carbone has never shied away from its A-List appeal, and it’s clear that the Dubai iteration will be following in the same vein as its older siblings.
As is the Carbone way, the menu hasn’t veered too far off its original course. Signatures including the spicy vodka rigatoni, Caesar salad and veal parmesan all make an appearance. The brand’s usual martini focus has been pushed aside in favor of a small but concise menu of classics; wine takes the center stage with 450 labels, including some Dubai exclusives.
Long-time collaborator Ken Fulk was brought on to create the interiors (presumably at the same time as he was working on the London outpost) in partnership with Bishop Design. While Carbone typically follows a tried-and-tested design recipe, the Dubai restaurant has naturally leaned into the city’s tendency toward to extravagance.
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A jellyfish tank – one of the largest in the world – stretches across an entire wall of the restaurant, and Carbone’s signature chandeliers suspend from the metal-tiled ceiling. Cozy booths are decked in leather and velvet, a large private dining room seats 40, and outside, the terrace area overlooks the Skyblaze Fountain Show.
Dubai has long been establishing itself as a new culinary capital, with its own version of the Michelin guide launched back in 2022. Although Carbone’s founders very recently told Elite Traveler that stars are not in their orbit, Carbone’s reputation will undoubtedly have it down as a contender for one of the city’s most sought-after reservations.