Located within the ultra-luxury Atlantis Hotel in Dubai, Ariana’s Persian Kitchen is a smart restaurant designed to bring guests the food and flavours of a traditional Persian home. It’s award-winning TV chef and cookbook author Ariana Bundy’s debut restaurant, an entirely female-led concept which aims to honour authentic Persian dishes, albeit with a few modern flourishes.
Ariana was first inspired to cook by her father and grandparents who grew their own produce and raised animals on their farm in Iran. Starting her career as a pastry chef, she went on to write a cookbook about the food and recipes of her childhood, and later to launch a TV show that showcases Persian cuisine to a wider audience.
Ariana’s Persian Kitchen offers complex and comforting flavours through the use of varying textures and spices. Expect dishes that take inspiration from Persia’s surrounding regions including the Levantine, Greece, Turkey and even Russia.
While a menu is not yet available, guests can expect traditional and widespread Iranian spices to be used in abundance, such as highly-prized saffron and fragrant rose water. Many of its main dishes offer a combination of rice with meat, vegetables and nuts, while an abundance of herbs adds freshness and colour to each plate. Finally, fruits such as plums, pomegranates, prunes, apricots and more can be expected to feature heavily on the menu.
Well worthy of a place on your Instagram feed, the stylish dining room boasts a pink colour palette, from high-backed bar stools to wine-coloured banquets. While a copper bar serves as the focus of the space, with bowls piled high with vibrant salads perched at one end of the counter.
The restaurant advocates a smart casual dress code, with all ages welcome. Ariana’s Persian Kitchen is open daily from 6pm to 11pm, serving dinner only.