Monica Bonalto arrived in Dubai in 2017 with a background in hospitality journalism and quickly became one of the most trusted voices in the UAE's dining and nightlife space. Over seven years on the ground, she has reviewed more than 400 venues across all seven emirates — from the sun-baked beach clubs of JBR and the rooftop terraces of DIFC, to the understated local gems that rarely make it onto tourist lists. Before joining What's Hot in UAE as Nightlife & Dining Editor, Monica contributed to Time Out Dubai, Abu Dhabi Food Festival coverage, and several regional hospitality publications. She has attended every major restaurant opening in Dubai since 2019 and maintains direct relationships with PRs and venue operators across the city — which means the information you read in her guides is always verified, never recycled from a press release. Her specialities are happy hours (she has personally verified every deal on our lists), Friday brunches, and the Northern Emirates' emerging food scene. She is based in DIFC and eats out five times a week. When she says a place is worth your money, it is. Follow Monica's work on Muck Rack , Substack , Vocal , and Medium .
Sharjah doesn’t do things by halves when it comes to culture, and House of Wisdom is proof. Opened as part of Sharjah’s turn as UNESCO World Book Capital, this striking waterfront library and cultural centre in the Maryam Island area was built to be far more than a place to borrow books, it’s a genuine…
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Ask any Dubai regular for their favourite restaurant they cannot always get into, and there is a good chance 3Fils comes up. This tiny, unassuming spot on the Jumeirah Fishing Harbour has built a genuinely cult following on the strength of its food alone: no elaborate marketing, no bottle-service theatrics, just a short, confident menu…
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Heading to see Christina Aguilera at Etihad Arena? Get the essential details on ticket prices, timings, and what to expect from her Abu Dhabi performance.
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Prepare for an unforgettable night as Marco Carola brings his Music On brand to Pacha Icons at FIVE LUXE JBR this November. Get the event details here.
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Catch Russell Peters at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on 25 October. Get all the details on pricing, timings, and why this comedy legend is a UAE favourite.
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Festival City Mall does not get talked about with the same breathless energy as Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates, and that is precisely why its food scene is worth a proper look. It has a genuine waterfront, a nightly light and water show called IMAGINE, and a food hall that is, on paper…
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Let’s deal with the headline problem first, because pretending otherwise would be worse than admitting it. This article used to promise “40 Best Places to Eat, Ranked by Google Reviews,” complete with star ratings down to a decimal point and review counts running into the thousands. Having gone back through the actual current tenant list…
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The Dubai Mall doesn’t have a restaurant problem, it has an abundance problem. Google throws back well over 150 food and drink listings for the building, and half the “best of” guides floating around online just copy each other’s lists without checking whether the unit numbers still match reality. Tenants rotate constantly in a mall…
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DIFC is where Dubai eats when someone else is paying, or when the occasion demands a bit more than a mall food court. Roughly a square kilometre of glass towers and pedestrianised courtyards packs in more genuinely good restaurants per square metre than almost anywhere else in the city, but the district is not one…
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Mall of the Emirates has always had two personalities: the ski slope everyone photographs, and the dining scene that quietly does the harder work of getting you fed before or after. Between the Kempinski wing, the Sheraton wing, the Level 2 restaurant strip and the ground floor food court, there are now more places to…
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Yas Mall is the biggest shopping centre in Abu Dhabi and, by extension, one of the biggest dining rooms in the capital. It sits a short walk from Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Etihad Arena, which means the crowd wandering through its food court on any given afternoon is…
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Ask anyone who has spent a 3am taxi ride craving mixed grill and hummus where to go, and Aroos Damascus will come up before the driver has even pulled off. It is one of Dubai’s longest-running Syrian restaurants, the kind of place where the queue at midnight is as long as the one at lunch,…
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