Private dining in the UAE is no longer the exclusive domain of the rich and famous.
Heeding requests from customers with a desire for closed-door rooms and secluded enclaves for entertaining, restaurants in the country are increasingly providing spaces where patrons can host private get-togethers.
While some packages can cost thousands of dirhams, if your tastes are gourmet or your group exceeds 30, there are deals to be had for as little as Dh150 a head.
“I get a lot of inquiries about private dining room [PDR] events,” says Christine Wakim, the owner of Events by Christina.
“I reserve many dining rooms for ladies who want gatherings in complete privacy. These rooms are quite different from hotel ‘meeting rooms’, because they are more ornate in decoration and the food matches that of the signature restaurant.
"I also did a Frozen-themed birthday party for a little girl, within the PDR of Turquoiz restaurant in The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi. Absolutely everything was blue, from the chairs to the decorations to the glasses."
For couples on the hunt for intimate venues for small-scale weddings, private dining rooms offer an affordable option.
“The UAE is promoted as being good for destination weddings,” says Wakim. “I’m doing more and more of them. For example, I had a bride from Tokyo and a groom from Syria wanting a venue for just 25 people, so we went for the private dining room at the Shangri-La in Abu Dhabi.
“The food and drink is normally a set package in most private dining rooms, but these are weddings – it’s up to the couple how much extra they want to spend on flowers, decoration, a photographer and music et cetera.”
Some private dining rooms require clients pay deposits of between 50 and 100 per cent for large-scale bookings, while others charge a supplement per head.
Emirati restaurant Mezlai, in Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace, however, offers customers its plush VIP dining facilities at no additional cost.
“Anyone can use our private room, there’s no extra charge,” says Emirati executive chef Ali Ebdowa. “The room can fit about 17 people and it’s a very special place. The interior design is inspired by Islamic and Arabic architecture and the room has it’s own gold-plated china dinner service.”
There is no minimum spend at Mezlai, where à la carte dishes include grilled local hammour with mixed nuts and rose water for Dh140, and camel or lamb machboos from Dh125.
“Our style of cooking and presentation is traditional Emirati with a modern twist,” says Ebdowa. “There are many very famous people who use the room but I’m unable to tell you who they are. All I can say is that we host a lot of ministers and business people who like to hold private meetings with clients.”
Well-known faces, from politicians and footballers to Saudi royals, are also frequently spotted in Argentinian restaurant Gaucho, in Dubai International Financial Centre. The venue has three PDRs, seating between eight and 44 people.
“I would say we’re in the medium price range for private dining,” says Natissa Bouhezila, Gaucho’s international operations director.
“We have very reasonable set-menu prices ranging from Dh375 to Dh480 a person. Obviously if you prefer chateaubriand [steak] it can push the cost higher.”
With the cost for private dining not differing greatly from prices the main restaurant, Bouhezila has seen an influx of clients reserving the spaces for birthday celebrations, leaving-dos and bachelor parties. Gaucho’s open-minded policy means that no colour scheme or theme is too unusual to accommodate.
“On the weekends, we’re doing a lot of divorce parties,” says Bouhezila. “We can even provide a cake with the iced hashtag #GameOver. In general, the parties are made up of ladies of all nationalities, ages 35 to 50.”
At the luxury end of the scale, five sophisticated private rooms are available at Armani Hotel in Dubai. Fine-dining options span the cuisines of authentic Indian, Japanese, European-Mediterranean and signature Italian. The venue’s Armani/Ristorante has two elegant rooms for high-rolling clients to choose from.
“The Circular private dining room seats up to eight guests and the Rectangular private dining room seats up to 12 guests,” says Mark Kirby, general manager of Armani Hotel Dubai. “Armani/Casa’s exclusive furniture reflects the restaurant’s understated gold, cream and sand colour palette. The cutlery is 24-carat gold plated, the linen is silk dupion and the glassware is sparkling German crystal. Prices of set menus range from Dh350 to Dh750 per person and customised menus are available upon request.”
The venues are popular with patrons looking to host intimate suppers, high-powered business meetings and celebratory family get-togethers.
The restaurant regularly welcomes actors, singers, designers and dignitaries, with anonymity guaranteed.
“Because of the discrete environment, the private dining rooms are frequented by several celebrities and well-known business tycoons,” says Kirby.
“Constant endeavours are made to provide guests with the ultimate in exclusivity and confidentiality through these areas.”
rduane@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Racecard
6pm: Mina Hamriya – Handicap (TB) $75,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
6.35pm: Al Wasl Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.10pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,900m
7.45pm: Blue Point Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,000m
8.20pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (T) 2,810m
8.55pm: Mina Rashid – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (T) 1,600m
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
