Diwali Dinner in Dubai 2026: 13 Top Restaurants Serving Special Menu

Diwali Dinner in Dubai 2026

In this guide you'll find 13 restaurants with a special Diwali menu this year, from Michelin-starred tasting menus to family buffets and one Diwali brunch. For each one we give the dates, what you eat, the price, whether there is a vegetarian menu and how to book. After the list, you can compare prices, find the best one for your group and see what to check before you pay.

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How did we order them? First come the special tasting menus at Dubai's best Indian restaurants, then the dinners with a view, then buffets and value menus for families. A Diwali menu is a menu made only for the festival: it is not the same as the restaurant's usual food.

1. Jamavar, Dubai Opera District, Downtown

Jamavar is a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant near Dubai Opera, and its Diwali menu runs the longest of any on this list, for two weeks, at lunch and dinner. For Diwali it works again with Good Earth, the Indian design brand. Good Earth dresses the dining room with flowers and layered tables inspired by Chahar Bagh, the old Mughal idea of a garden in four parts.

The food is a tasting menu of small, refined courses. It is our first pick because you get a Michelin kitchen, a real Diwali menu and a choice of days, not just one night.

2. Bombay Borough, Gate Village, DIFC

Bombay Borough is an all-day Indian restaurant and bar on two Art Deco floors in DIFC. Its Diwali menu takes the snacks Indian families make at home and gives them a modern twist. The besan ladoo comes savoury with goat cheese, the chakli is rolled into a crisp "cigar", and the chiwda becomes a small tart.

The mains include saag with burrata, a vegetable biryani, Kashmiri chicken korma and mutton dum biryani. Dessert is where Diwali really shows: plum ghewar, a motichur ladoo soft-serve and a kaju katli bar with dark chocolate. Tell your server about allergies when you book.

3. Gymkhana, DIFC

Gymkhana is the Dubai branch of the London restaurant of the same name, which is famous for its dark wood and leather, like a club from the days of the Raj. It serves its Diwali tasting menu on one night only, Diwali itself. If you want a grown-up dinner out on the big night, this is the one to book first, because a single night fills up quickly.

4. Little Miss India, Fairmont The Palm, Palm Jumeirah

Little Miss India is a colourful Indian restaurant in the Fairmont on Palm Jumeirah. For six evenings around Diwali, it serves a six-course menu built on old family recipes, finishing with traditional mithai (Indian sweets). Not everyone at the table wants six courses? The normal menu stays on, so a mixed group can order both.

5. Varq, Taj Exotica, Palm Jumeirah

Varq is the Indian restaurant at the Taj Exotica on the Palm. It is already serving its Diwali set menu, and it keeps going until 15 November, the latest end date on this list. You also get a welcome drink and festive entertainment, so it feels like a small celebration rather than just a meal. It suits a dinner the week after Diwali, when most other menus have ended.

6. Mausam, The Dubai Mall

Mausam's terrace looks straight at the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain. On Diwali day it serves a set menu from AED 189, all day, so you can pick lunch or dinner. Choose a terrace table in the evening and the fountain shows come with your meal. The Dubai Mall will be very busy on Diwali night, so leave extra time to park.

7. Avatara, Dubai Hills Estate

Avatara is a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves only vegetarian food. It is the most expensive Diwali meal on this list, and the most unusual. Dishes take familiar Indian vegetables and sweets in new directions, such as wasabi greens with ghevar, or butternut with black lime. Book it for a special-occasion meal with a vegetarian family, not for a quick dinner.

8. Ishq by Chef Bhatia, Raffles Wafi

Ishq is a fine-dining Indian restaurant by Chef Vineet Bhatia at Raffles Wafi. On Diwali night it serves two tasting menus, one vegetarian and one non-vegetarian, so a mixed table is easy. It is a big-occasion price, so it suits couples and small groups marking the night properly.

9. Rohini, Mövenpick JLT

Rohini is the Indian restaurant at the Mövenpick in JLT. Its Diwali set menus are the best value among the sit-down meals here, with the full set of classics from chaat to biryani to gulab jamun. Dress up: Rohini picks a best-dressed guest every evening of the six days. Call the hotel to book.

10. Palm Kitchen, Taj Exotica, Palm Jumeirah

Palm Kitchen is the all-day restaurant at the Taj Exotica. On Diwali night it lays on a buffet of festive Indian food, with a lower price for children. A buffet is easier with young children than a tasting menu: everyone eats what they like, when they like.

11. Oasis Terrace and Garden, Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown

This is a Diwali evening in a garden, with a dinner buffet at the centre of it. Children can paint diyas and do rangoli while adults shop a small festive market for clothes, candles and jewellery. The group discounts make it a good pick for a big family or a group of friends.

12. Purani Dilli, Four Points by Sheraton Sheikh Zayed Road

Purani Dilli serves the food of Old Delhi. Its Diwali night buffet is the cheapest special menu we found, at AED 129. Hot jalebis come straight from the live station, and the restaurant is decorated with rangoli for the night. It is a good choice if you want a festive Diwali dinner without a fine-dining bill.

13. Greenhouse Social, Radisson Blu Deira Creek

Prefer to celebrate in the day? This is the one Diwali brunch on our list, the day before Diwali. There will be folk music and diya painting, and children pay half. Deira Creek is close to Al Seef, so you can walk on to the Noor festival in the evening.

Diwali Dinner Prices in Dubai

A special Diwali meal in Dubai costs from AED 129 to AED 960 per person this year. Buffets and set menus sit under AED 300. The tasting menus at the top restaurants cost AED 295 to AED 495, and two fine-dining menus on Diwali night cost much more.

Which Diwali Dinner in Dubai Is Best for You?

There is no single best Diwali dinner. It depends on who is coming, which day you are free and what you want to spend. Here is our pick for each kind of group, with its number in the list above:

Before You Book a Diwali Dinner in Dubai

Four things are worth checking before you pay:

• Is the price net? Many Dubai restaurants show prices before fees. Bombay Borough's AED 295, for example, becomes about AED 330 with the 7% fee and 5% VAT. Ask whether the price you see is the final one.
• Is there a vegetarian or Jain menu? Most places have a vegetarian menu. Jain food (no onion, garlic or root vegetables) is not listed by any of them, so ask when you book.
• Which night? Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November are the busiest. Jamavar, Bombay Borough, Little Miss India, Rohini and Varq also run on other days, which are easier to book.
• What about children? Only the buffets and the brunch list a children's price. Tasting menus are long, and some restaurants serve alcohol, so check before you bring young children.

Would you rather eat at home? Our guide to Diwali catering in Dubai compares eight caterers, and our guide to a Diwali party at home in Dubai covers the rest of the night. If you want music and dancing after dinner, see our Diwali parties in Dubai. For everything else happening this Diwali, read our guide to Diwali in Dubai.