Over the past five years, brothers Mohamad, Wassim and Omar Orfali have built Orfali Bros around a clear aim: to move away from convention and develop a version of modern Middle Eastern cuisine that draws on their own background and a wider set of global influences.
They were not the first to revisit regional cooking through a contemporary lens, but they have managed to hold together critical recognition, a returning customer base and a menu that keeps developing without losing its footing.
The latest version of the restaurant, referred to as Orfali Bros 2.0, has cut a significant portion of the previous menu and replaced it with a tighter, more considered format. The result is a 13-course tasting menu that reflects where the kitchen currently stands: confident, globally minded and rooted in a distinctly Levantine character.
The cooking is their own. Part Levantine, part international, entirely personal. The umami éclair, now finished with porcini emulsion, marmite, fermented quince glaze, cacao nibs and beef prosciutto, is one of the stronger dishes on the menu. Charred scallops with smoked eggplant, brown butter, katsuo dashi and walnut demonstrate the kitchen’s technical range. Returning dishes such as the corn bomb and a reworked eggplant bayıldı retain their connection to the original menu while clearly benefiting from further development.
Newer additions carry their own character. The onion cream caramel caviar with umami custard and the so-called liar Swiss chard yalanji stuffed with sushi rice are both playful and technically precise, the kind of dishes that prompt conversation at the table.
The 13-course menu is priced at Dhs850. Waste management and ingredient efficiency are handled through the in-house Orfali Bros Lab, and sustainability is built into how the kitchen operates rather than treated as an afterthought.
The dining room is compact and full of energy. It is the kind of space where the kitchen’s intentions feel close at hand, and most of the guests around you are clearly aware they are eating somewhere that takes its work seriously.
Orfali Bros is worth visiting if you have not been since the relaunch. It represents some of the more interesting cooking currently happening in Dubai.
This review was conducted anonymously, with the meal paid for independently.
