The Insta-worthy concept heads from the UK to the UAE.
Dubai is a magnet for international restaurants, featuring a diverse range of options from celebrity chefs to established big brands. Now, it has welcomed TATTU from London, which has taken over the top three floors of the world’s tallest hotel, Ciel Dubai Marina.
Building on its success across the United Kingdom, where it has cultivated a loyal following through immersive design and contemporary Asian cuisine in cities such as London, Manchester, and Edinburgh, TATTU brings its elevated dining experience to Dubai in a multi-faceted venue incorporating a restaurant, the world’s highest infinity pool and the world’s highest 360-degree air-conditioned lounge.
TATTU Dubai is a true day-to-night destination, offering sky-high swimming by day, followed by afternoon tea, sunset cocktails, and a memorable meal that lingers late into the night. Arriving at level 74, a canopy of cherry blossom spills from the ceiling and a sinuous dragon arcs overhead. The dining room is bisected into “black dragon” and “white dragon” zones — a yin and yang of intimate darkness and pale sheen — with Palm Jumeirah glittering beyond the glass. Tables are cut from handsome marble, though they are set a fraction too close for easy passage. Top tip: book a spot by the windows in time for the sunset.
The menu is pitched as contemporary Chinese and Japanese with a luxury accent. The menu boasts luxurious ingredients, from caviar to truffle shavings, and the best route in is to share across sections. We started with the Surf and Turf Shumai (AED 77) — plump red prawn perched on a supple dumpling of short rib and spring onion. The wrapper is thin, the filling well-seasoned, and the bite lands with the clean sweetness of prawn against the savoury depth of beef. A boujee riff on the classic Prawn Toast follows, reinterpreted as a lavish Lobster and Scallop (AED 93) variation, serving fried triangles of bread crowned with rich seafood, then paired with a coconut mousse for dipping. It is a textural puzzle that should not work, the mousse cooling the fry while lifting the shellfish, with gentle coconut perfume.
Sushi is where the kitchen hits stride. Otoro Nigiri (AED 108) comes as two neat paddles of rice topped with fatty tuna that blooms on the tongue. Temperature and seasoning are on point, the shari holding its form without clumping. The Wagyu Maki (AED 97) is a fiery delight of beef, sesame and jalapeño with a spicy mayonnaise.
Among the marvellous mains, Sweet and Sour Monkfish (AED 191) proves to be the crowd-pleaser. Monkfish is notoriously unforgiving when mishandled; here it is lightly battered and fried so the meat stays bouncy, then slathered in a sauce aromatised with lime, shallot and lemongrass. The result is recognisably sweet and sour, yet re-tuned with citrus and herbs. On our visit, the Caramel Soy Aged Beef Fillet (AED 304) set over shiitake and asparagus was a touch dry at the centre, though the seductively sweet dipping sauce — all soy, caramel and umami — restored some of the intended succulence. TATTU Candy Rice (AED 68) is an Insta-worthy side, tinted a playful pink with beetroot and dotted with candied ginger and orange.
The dessert menu offers a Chinese take on popular dishes. The Chinese Lantern (AED 59) is shaped like its auspicious namesake, a symbol of good luck, prosperity and joy. This edible take on a Terry’s Chocolate Orange beautifully blends mandarin, almond and milk chocolate into a lantern-shaped mouse. Year of the Snake (AED 58) is a textural masterpiece, blending cashew butter fudge with hazelnut, honeycomb, and popping candy, then topped with marshmallow.
Drinks follow suit with a showman’s touch, served in elaborate glassware: from the Skull Candy, a glass skull filled with lychee, strawberry, bubblegum, and lavender, to the Celestial Dragon, serving Bacardi Superior, Muyu Jasmine, lavender, jasmine tea, and lemon in a sculpted dragon glass.
Tattu’s name combines the words tattoo, which refers to the art form, and tatau, which refers to the ancient eastern tradition of making a mark. The resulting experience is generally successful. There are quibbles. The table spacing nudges the boundary of comfort, and the kitchen’s sweet tooth sometimes dominates when subtlety would suffice. But on balance, TATTU Dubai understands its audience and meets them with confidence.
Beyond dinner, TATTU Dubai offers additional reasons to brave the Marina traffic and ascend the tower. There is a sky lounge at the needle’s tip where DJ sets, exceptional cocktails and cinematic views collide, and an infinity pool featuring 50 plush daybeds and premium bottle service that claims a world record. These additions cement the venue’s day-to-night credentials, yet the restaurant is the anchor.
As the first global expansion for Permanently Unique Group, TATTU Dubai marks a significant milestone for the UK-based hospitality group, founded by brothers Adam and Drew Jones. With Modern Greek-Mediterranean Fenix and Italian-American live music venue Louis also set for Middle East expansion, TATTU sets the bar for what’s to come.
It’s easy to dismiss Insta-ready restaurants for prioritising gimmicks over gourmet, but the team at TATTU have clearly mastered their market.
GO: Visit https://tattuskypool.me for more information.