Manao *

Dubai, UAE

January 2nd, 2026

Miang - Charred cabbage with sour relish and cashew nuts

MANĀO has done what only Dubai can make feel both extraordinary and oddly inevitable, earning its first Michelin star just five months after opening. Only in Dubai do you find yourself navigating a strip mall on the way to a Michelin-starred meal, and only here does it somehow make perfect sense.

Located in Wasl Vita Mall (and admittedly a bit tricky for us non-locals to find… for now), MANĀO is led by Abhiraj Khatwani, who was also named Young Chef of the Year in the 2025 Dubai Michelin Guide alongside Mohamad Orfali, and the accolades feel fully earned as this is bold, confident cooking with a clear point of view.

We’re longtime fans of Orfali Bros, so despite some renovation-related confusion this trip (we’ll be back soon), it was a genuine pleasure to be greeted by Chef Mohamad Orfali himself upon arrival. There’s something special about watching chefs champion one another and build a culinary ecosystem rooted in generosity and shared success and we’re cheering loudly from the sidelines.

Before we even sat down, local chefs we spoke with had already set expectations: the food is pure flavor bombs, and they weren’t wrong. MANĀO delivers dish after dish that is unapologetically bold, layered, and deeply satisfying. That said, our table was… divided in a fantastically fun way.

Carmine and Emma aligned quickly on their top rankings, while Kira kept circling back to the very first bite because truly, there is nothing better than cashews paired with Thai flavors. This friendly disagreement is exactly why Jabri Fine Dining exists: food sparks conversation, debate, and memory. No two palates are the same, and that’s the beauty of it.

A quiet but powerful moment for us was noticing the portrait of Anthony Bourdain on the wall. For us, as Americans, Bourdain represents food as a gateway to understanding the world culture, history, and humanity served on a plate. Seeing his image here felt perfectly placed.

MANĀO is proof that Michelin-level dining doesn’t have to be formal or predictable. It can live in a mall, explode with flavor, spark debate at the table, and still feel deeply meaningful. We’ll absolutely be back and next time, we’ll find it faster.