YABA by Chef Shaheen Dubai: Jumeirah's Modern Iraqi Restaurant and Theatrical Café

Dubai has no shortage of restaurants built around a strong visual identity, but YABA by Chef Shaheen takes the idea further by bringing the same creativity to both its food and drinks.

Located at Vita Mall on Al Wasl Road in Jumeirah 1, YABA combines modern Iraqi cuisine with an architectural interior inspired by ancient Mesopotamia. More recently, its café and beverage offering has added another reason to visit, with drinks featuring smoke, edible bubbles, elaborate garnishes and unusual flavour combinations.

The concept comes from Chef Shaheen Khalil, who reached the finals of MasterChef UK in 2020 before moving to Dubai and opening YABA in 2022.

If you want to explore Iraqi cuisine in a modern format, creative and yet different from a traditional Iraqi restaurant, here's what you need to know.

What is YABA by Chef Shaheen?

YABA is a modern Iraqi restaurant created around the idea of taking Iraqi culinary traditions in a new direction.

This distinction is important because YABA itself makes it clear that you should not expect traditional Iraqi food in the conventional sense. The restaurant has previously used the warning, "This restaurant doesn't serve traditional Iraqi food," as a way of setting expectations.

Here, Iraqi flavours, ingredients and culinary references are combined with contemporary presentation and techniques.

That means a familiar dish may arrive in a completely different format, while traditional ingredients can appear in unexpected combinations.

The restaurant's approach is also closely connected to its design. Ancient Iraqi civilisation and Mesopotamian history are reflected through references to cuneiform script, creating a link between the food and the cultural history behind it.

So if you are looking for a classic Iraqi meal exactly as it might be served at home, YABA is not positioned as that kind of restaurant.

If you are interested in seeing what Iraqi cuisine can look like when interpreted through a modern culinary lens, that is precisely where YABA fits.

Who is Chef Shaheen Khalil?

Chef Shaheen Khalil became widely known after reaching the finals of MasterChef UK in 2020.

At the time, he was an architecture student and content creator. His background in architecture later became an important part of his approach to food and restaurant design, particularly in the way YABA combines structure, presentation and visual storytelling.

Following his appearance on MasterChef, Shaheen's online cooking content grew significantly, helping him build a large following before he moved to Dubai.

YABA opened in 2022, following more than a decade of work towards his goal of introducing a modern interpretation of Iraqi cuisine to a wider international audience.

Inside YABA: Ancient Iraq with Modern Dubai

The restaurant's interior is one of the first things you notice. YABA’s design is part of the concept, informed by Shaheen’s architectural background.

YABA draws inspiration from ancient Mesopotamian civilization, particularly the visual language of cuneiform script. The design creates a connection between Iraq's history and the contemporary setting of Dubai.

Historical references are incorporated into a contemporary space, allowing the restaurant to communicate its Iraqi identity before you even start eating.

The result is a setting that works for both a full meal and a more casual coffee or drinks visit.

YABA's new theatrical coffee and drinks menu

Food remains central to YABA, but the newer beverage programme gives you another reason to visit.

The drinks are prepared with techniques that are closer to a modern pastry or fine dining kitchen than a conventional café counter. Smoke, flavoured bubbles, unusual toppings and elaborate garnishes are used to turn individual drinks into visual experiences.

The menu includes several distinctive options.

• Orangeeno

The Orangeeno combines coffee with orange and is finished with a thick layer of vanilla cream.

Priced at AED 40.95, it takes the familiar coffee format and adds citrus and cream to create something closer to a dessert-style drink.

• Sakura

Priced at AED 36.75, Sakura combines yuzu with freeze-dried raspberries and is finished with edible strawberry bubbles.

The combination gives the drink a strong fruit-forward profile while the bubbles add the theatrical element that has become part of YABA's newer café identity.

• Snow Time Matcha

The Snow Time Matcha is designed for presentation as much as flavour.

Priced at AED 38.95, it arrives surrounded by dry ice smoke and is finished with crispy coconut flakes. The result is particularly suited to anyone looking for a drink that doubles as a visual experience.

• Misteca

Misteca offers a richer pistachio-led option and is priced at AED 39.50.

It is a good choice if you prefer nutty, creamy flavours alongside the sharper citrus and fruit combinations found elsewhere on the menu.

• Blueberry Bomb

The Blueberry Bomb is arguably the most theatrical drink on the current selection.

Priced at AED 42, the blue matcha drink is served beneath a large sphere of blue cotton candy that extends well beyond the glass. It is designed to be assembled and experienced at the table as a finished beverage.

If you are looking for the most visually striking order on the drinks menu, this is the obvious choice.

The coffee menu is available until midnight

YABA's café format means you do not have to wait until dinner to experience the concept.

The official menu lists coffee service from 8:00 AM until midnight, while the breakfast menu runs from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

That makes YABA a more flexible destination than a restaurant designed purely around lunch and dinner. You can visit in the morning for coffee and breakfast, return for lunch, or make the theatrical drinks part of an evening meal.

The newer drinks also give returning diners a reason to come back even if they have already experienced the main food menu.

What to eat at YABA

The food menu is where the restaurant's modern Iraqi identity becomes most apparent.

YABA's menu includes Iraqi dishes and ingredients interpreted through contemporary techniques. The highlight dishes currently include Quzi, Oxtail Tashreeb, Yaki Mix, YABA Burger, Stuffed Chicken and Barda Plaw.

Several other dishes have also received repeated attention from diners and reviewers.

• Truffle Black Kuba

Black Kuba is one of the dishes most closely associated with YABA.

The truffle version adds another layer to the Iraqi dumpling-style preparation, creating a dish that combines familiar regional roots with a more luxurious ingredient profile.

If you are visiting for the first time and want to understand the restaurant's approach to modern Iraqi cooking, this is one of the dishes worth considering.

• Quzi

Quzi is one of Iraq's best-known rice and meat preparations, traditionally associated with slow-cooked meat served with rice and accompanying garnishes.

At YABA, the dish is presented through the restaurant's contemporary approach. It is a useful choice if you want something more substantial and recognisably rooted in Iraqi cuisine.

• Masgouf

Masgouf is particularly significant in Iraqi cuisine.

The dish traditionally uses carp and is associated with Iraqi cooking around the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

YABA serves Iraqi Masgouf and has received positive feedback from diners for the dish. Visitors praised the Masgouf with Mosul-style Dolma prepared by Chef Shaheen.

If you want to try one of the dishes most strongly connected to Iraqi culinary heritage, Masgouf is a natural place to start.

• Dolma

YABA's version has been repeatedly mentioned by diners, with reviews praising both its flavour and preparation.

Reviews recommended the dish alongside the Wagyu beef sandwich.

• Gus Taco and Wagyu Gus

For something further removed from traditional Iraqi presentation, the Gus Taco and Wagyu Gus demonstrate the restaurant's more experimental side.

These dishes take elements associated with Iraqi flavours and reinterpret them through formats that feel more familiar to a contemporary international diner.

That contrast is central to YABA's identity.

Complimentary Chips Karrada and freshly baked Pita

One small detail that is easy to miss is that YABA offers complimentary items with your meal.

The first portion of Chips Karrada comes complimentary. These homemade crisps are served with mayonnaise flavoured with amba, the tangy mango pickle condiment widely used across South Asian and Middle Eastern food contexts.

The restaurant also serves freshly baked pita bread, warm and topped with sesame seeds.

These are simple additions, but they give you something to start with while exploring the main menu.

Build a full evening around your visit to YABA

YABA is located inside Vita Mall on Al Wasl Road in Jumeirah 1.

The area is well connected to Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and Sheikh Zayed Road, making it relatively straightforward to reach by car or taxi.

Vita Mall also houses other dining options, allowing you to turn a YABA meal into part of a longer evening around Al Wasl.

How to get there

By car: Al Wasl Road provides direct access from Jumeirah and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Parking is available at Vita Mall.

By taxi or ride-hailing: Search for YABA by Chef Shaheen or Vita Mall on Al Wasl Road. Uber and Careem provide direct access.

By Metro: Business Bay or Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall on the Red Line can be followed by a taxi ride to Al Wasl Road.

Quick information

Restaurant: YABA by Chef Shaheen
Concept: Modern Iraqi cuisine
Location: Vita Mall, Al Wasl Road, Jumeirah 1, Dubai
Breakfast: 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Lunch and dinner: 12:00 PM to midnight
Coffee: 8:00 AM to midnight
Approximate cost for two: AED 300 to AED 400
Chef: Shaheen Khalil
Website: yabarest.com
Phone: +971 58 583 0332

YABA is most interesting when you approach it for what it is.

The restaurant takes Iraqi cuisine, Mesopotamian history and Chef Shaheen's architectural background and combines them with contemporary cooking and presentation. The newer drinks menu extends that same philosophy into the café, with smoke, bubbles, cotton candy and carefully constructed garnishes.

YABA is trying to show you what Iraqi cuisine can become when it is reinterpreted through a modern Dubai restaurant.

And that is what makes it worth exploring.