Manāo Dubai: Inside the Michelin Starred Thai Restaurant Named Restaurant of the Year

Five months. That is all it took for Manāo to earn a Michelin Star.

For most restaurants, Michelin recognition comes after years of refining menus, building consistency, and developing a loyal following. Manāo achieved it within months of opening its doors at Wasl Vita Mall in Jumeirah. Since then, it has added another series of accolades, including What's On Dubai's Restaurant of the Year 2026 and a place among the top ten restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa.

Despite those achievements, Manāo remains one of Dubai's most intimate restaurants. With fewer than 50 seats, a tasting menu built around Thai flavours, and an open kitchen where every course is prepared with meticulous attention, it creates the experience of dining in a chef's home.

If you've been curious about the restaurant that has reshaped Dubai's fine dining conversation, here's everything you need to know before booking.

Why Manāo has become one of Dubai's most awarded restaurants

Very few restaurants experience a first year quite like Manāo.

The restaurant opened in late 2024 and, within five months, received a Michelin Star during the 2025 Michelin Guide Dubai ceremony. That alone made headlines across the UAE dining scene.

Recognition continued throughout the following year.

Chef Abhiraj Khatwani received the Michelin Young Chef Award, acknowledging both his technical ability and the restaurant's remarkable start.

In 2026, Manāo was ranked ninth on MENA's 50 Best Restaurants list, placing it among the region's most respected dining destinations. Shortly afterwards, it was named Restaurant of the Year at the What's On Dubai Awards, recognising the impact it had made on the city's restaurant landscape.

Today, Manāo holds a distinction no other restaurant in Dubai currently shares. It remains the city's only Michelin starred restaurant dedicated entirely to contemporary Thai cuisine.

The Michelin Guide described Manāo as the chef's tribute to the cuisine closest to his heart.

What does Manāo mean?

The restaurant's name comes from the Thai word for lime.

Lime sits at the heart of Thai cooking. It balances sweetness, softens heat, adds freshness and brings together the contrasting flavours that define many classic Thai dishes.

That same balance runs throughout Manāo's menu.

Every course is built around a careful balance of acidity, sweetness, salt, heat and texture, with a focus on restraint in spice and presentation style.

Meet the two people behind Manāo

The success of Manāo comes from two very different but highly complementary perspectives.

Chef Abhiraj Khatwani leads the kitchen.

Born in India and raised in Dubai, Chef Abhiraj studied culinary arts in the United Kingdom before travelling to Thailand to work in professional kitchens. During this period, he immersed himself in day-to-day Thai cooking, learning techniques, flavours and traditions directly from working chefs.

Those experiences became the foundation of Manāo. Chef Abhiraj combines Thai techniques with his own perspective as a chef who grew up in Dubai.

Alongside him is co-founder Mohamad Orfali.

Widely recognised through Orfali Bros, the restaurant that has topped MENA's 50 Best Restaurants list for three consecutive years, Orfali brings extensive experience in hospitality, restaurant operations and guest experience.

While Chef Abhiraj shapes the food, Orfali provides the structure around it, ensuring every part of the dining experience supports the cooking.

What makes Manāo different from other Thai restaurants?

Dubai has plenty of excellent Thai restaurants. Amidst this, Manāo approaches the cuisine differently.

The restaurant focuses almost entirely on tasting menus that guide you through a carefully planned progression of flavours. Every curry paste is made in house. Stocks and broths are prepared from scratch.

Fermentation plays a major role throughout the menu, adding depth without overwhelming the dishes.

Perhaps the most thoughtful detail is how the kitchen approaches spice.

The team discusses your individual spice tolerance and adjusts each course accordingly. It's a small detail, but one that demonstrates how seriously the restaurant takes hospitality.

The goal is to make sure every dish tastes exactly as it should for the person eating it.

Another element that sets Manāo apart is the restaurant's five-drink non-alcoholic pairing.

Manāo has developed a complete pairing programme created in-house to accompany the tasting menu.

Combined with warm service and an energetic atmosphere, it helped create the complete experience that ultimately earned the restaurant its Michelin Star.

What to expect from the full tasting menu

The original Manāo experience is built around an 11 to 12 course tasting menu that takes you through a carefully paced progression of Thai flavours.

The menu unfolds gradually. Each course introduces a different technique, ingredient or regional influence before leading into the next.

The experience begins with small bites designed to awaken your palate.

One of the opening dishes is a savoury khanom krok, a crisp Thai rice pancake that delivers an immediate burst of flavour despite its delicate appearance.

It is followed by sticky rice roti served with smoked short ribs, combining familiar comfort with distinctly Thai seasoning.

The meal then moves into larger sharing-style courses.

Highlights include fried chicken seasoned with prickly ash, an Isan-style kohlrabi salad that balances freshness with gentle heat, and a banana leaf wrapped sour beef curry that showcases the kitchen's careful use of fermentation and acidity.

Rice naturally plays an important role.

Manāo presents rice as an essential part of the meal, reflecting its place within Thai cuisine. Depending on the course, you'll encounter roasted, steamed, grilled or sticky rice prepared to complement the dishes around it.

Throughout the meal, the restaurant's five-course non-alcoholic pairing accompanies each stage of the menu, with drinks created specifically to match the changing flavours.

The new eight course menu at Manāo

One of the biggest updates at Manāo is the introduction of a shorter tasting menu.

Priced at Dhs350 per person, the new eight course menu offers a more accessible way to experience the restaurant while preserving the structure and identity of the original menu.

This new menu has been designed as a complete experience in its own right.

The curation opens with bold, flavour-driven snacks that immediately establish the restaurant's style.

Dishes such as the charred cabbage miang and lobster khanom krok combine sweetness, acidity and spice in balanced proportions, while the curry puff and sour tomato broth introduce deeper savoury flavours as the meal progresses.

For many diners, this shorter format will be the ideal introduction to Manāo. It offers enough courses to showcase the kitchen's creativity without requiring the longer commitment of the full tasting menu.

At Dhs350, it is also one of the most accessible Michelin starred tasting menus currently available in Dubai.

The non alcoholic pairing deserves your attention

Many restaurants offer non-alcoholic drinks as an alternative. At Manāo, the pairing programme has been designed as an integral part of the meal.

Each of the five drinks is developed in house to complement specific stages of the tasting menu.

The beverages introduce different textures, acidity levels and aromatics that support the food without overpowering it. Even if you would normally choose wine, the pairing is worth considering because it reflects the same level of thought and craftsmanship found throughout the kitchen.

How to get to Manāo

By Metro: No direct station at Wasl Vita Mall. Take the Red Line to Business Bay or Financial Centre, then continue by taxi (around 10–15 minutes)

By Car:

• Approx. 15 minutes from Downtown Dubai
• Approx. 20 minutes from Dubai Marina
• Approx. 10 minutes from DIFC
• Valet parking is available during dinner service

By Taxi / Ride-hailing (Uber, Careem): Simply set your destination to Manāo, Wasl Vita Mall, Jumeirah 1 — most drivers are familiar with the location

By Foot: Only practical if you're already in Jumeirah 1 or nearby residential areas; otherwise not recommended

Quick information

Restaurant: Manāo
Location: Wasl Vita Mall, Jumeirah 1, Dubai
Cuisine: Contemporary Thai
Full tasting menu: 11 to 12 courses
Short tasting menu: Eight courses for Dhs350 per person
Non-alcoholic pairing: Five house-made drinks
Dinner for two: Approximately AED600 to AED900
Valet parking: Available
Reservations: Highly recommended
Phone: +971 4 272 2389

If you want to experience one of Dubai's most celebrated restaurants without committing to a longer tasting menu, the new eight course menu offers exceptional value.

And if you want to understand why Manāo earned a Michelin Star just five months after opening, there is no better way than sitting down and letting the kitchen tell its story one course at a time.