The Best Places for Brunch in Dubai

Friday brunch is favourite pastime in Dubai (the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday, not Saturday and Sunday). Involving a four-hour all-you-can-eat marathon and hundreds of acclaimed restaurants across the city, here are the best breakfast buffets to start your weekend.

Latitude

Located at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Latitude is a firm family favourite with a special focus on keeping tiny diners entertained with a separate kids’ play area and buffet.

Parents will be equally impressed by the Japanese, Malaysian and Thai taste sensations available, as well as the relaxed atmosphere and extended timber terrace.

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Bubbalicious

Three restaurants at The Westin join forces to dish up almost every food imaginable at Bubbalicious.

Featuring a sizeable sushi station, cheese section, oyster bar, live Asian cooking stations, British grub, mammoth dessert options and live entertainment, Bubbalicious is arguably one of Dubai’s most popular brunches.

It’s little wonder why this brunch-time spectacle has earned so many awards and accolades, including the BBC Good Food Awards and Time Out Restaurants Awards.

The Observatory

Located on the 52nd floor of the Dubai Mariott Harbour hotel, city views don’t get much better than from The Observatory restaurant, with magnificent 360-degree views across Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah.

Directing the attention from the windows to your plate, there’s an impressive à la carte menu to order from, as well as buffet options and a great seafood station.

Al Qasr

The ‘Big Friday Brunch’ held weekly at Dubai’s Al Qasr hotel in Madinat Jumeirah is so sizeable it’s spread across two restaurants.

As one of the biggest brunches you will find in town, it involves 48 hours of preparation, 130 chefs, 533 kilograms of meat and seafood, 35 live cooking stations and over 280 dishes from an incredible array of cuisines from around the world.

Don’t leave without a visit to the Malibu station, where you can order a freshly-opened coconut, with coconut rum added to really kickstart your day.

Pierchic

Few brunches can compare to the stunning over-water experience at Pierchic at Madinat Jumeirah.

There’s an exquisite buffet selection encompassing foie gras to ice cream, but we suggest lashing out for their set menu and champagne packages, showcasing the best seafood in town with tiger prawns, sashimi, sea bass and lobster, paired with sparkling wine and Arabian Gulf views.

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Zheng He

Zheng He offers Dubai’s first Beijing Duck brunch, with only three items on the menu that do not feature duck.

The theatrical tableside duck carving from the restaurant’s own barbecue duck master makes this one of the city’s most unique (and tasty!) brunches.

Expect pancakes, dim sum and contemporary Chinese fare, as well as experimental sharing cocktails to indulge in too.

Traiteur

Friday Brunch at Traiteur at the Park Hyatt promises an elevated show kitchen where you can watch the team of classically-trained French chefs work their magic.

There’s also live cooking stations and a decadent menu of French cuisine from oysters to pork charcuterie, as well as a ‘Temple of Cheese’ where you can sample an array of international cheese and port.

The lightly-caramelised scallops are a must.

Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

While at Novotel Nha Trang, chef Kieu Thi My Hanh and her team showcase Vietnam’s knack for balancing freshness, texture and fragrant herbs. Pho remains a favourite, while seafood salad with pomelo and mango brings those flavours together in one bright dish.

It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.

Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.

4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.

5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.

The definitive list of Dubai’s best brunches