Dubai, UAE: It’s official! Two Dubai restaurants have made it to the World’s Most Beautiful Restaurants List 2025 by Prix Versailles – Gerbou and Smoked Room.
Announced each year at UNESCO Headquarters since 2015, the Prix Versailles is an international award that highlights exceptional architecture and design in commercial spaces worldwide.
It honours establishments that blend aesthetic brilliance with cultural impact, innovation, and commitment to intelligent sustainability and ecological efficiency. A multidisciplinary World Jury awards titles across various categories, including Airports, Hotels, and Restaurants.
Announced on June 16, this year’s list celebrates recently opened establishments that exemplify dominant aesthetic and cultural dynamics worldwide.
During the announcement, Jérôme Gouadain, Secretary General of the Prix Versailles, highlighted the function of architecture at these establishments.
“… In this arena, architecture has an eminently paradoxical, almost maternal, role to play, attracting guests into its warm embrace, enveloping them with its shapes and forms, and completely effacing itself to put the focus on the feast. It’s impossible not to recognise the mission that is incumbent upon design here,” he said.
Gerbou: A Homage to Emirati Heritage
Nestled in Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba district, Gerbou (meaning “Welcome to our humble abode” in Arabic) is a restaurant that pays tribute to Emirati architecture and hospitality.
Inspired by local culture, its design is a collaboration between Kristina Zanic Consultants and Tasmeem Tashkeel. The venue seamlessly blends traditional elements with sophisticated modernity.
The space is rich with regional influences: fish-scale lighting, comfortable camel leather sofas, and chairs crafted from ghaf trees, all contributing to a natural yet surprisingly contemporary feel.
This design philosophy mirrors the restaurant’s cuisine, where Chef Ionel Catau pairs ancestral Emirati flavours with innovative techniques. With 70% of its ingredients sourced locally, Gerbou offers a genuine reflection of Emirati heritage, extending from its thoughtfully designed patio to every plate served.
Smoked Room: A Theatrical Journey of Fire and Smoke
For a different, captivating, design experience, Smoked Room by Chef Dani García beckons. Diners are guided by lines of light through a passage, building anticipation before revealing a dining space.
Designed by Astet Studio, the restaurant employs a distinct material palette, featuring black brick offset by elements like metals, mirrors, and brass mesh.
These choices evoke sparks and gleam of fire, setting a stage. The main dining area, aptly named Omakase (meaning “trust” or “leaving everything up to the chef” in Japanese), features a layout. This allows guests a theatrical experience, as they watch dishes being prepared directly over an open flame. A dessert space offers a different ambiance, with a bench, Japanese-inspired walls, and a wood ceiling that mirrors the delicacy of the creations. It’s a sensory journey, enhanced by a smoky staging that adds depth to every moment.
Beyond Dubai: Prix Versailles' Global Selections
