What makes a good Champagne list? Is it about price or product, rarity or variety? Or it is a combination of all of the above?
For 50 years, Gault&Millau has applied stringent criteria to the restaurants it anonymously reviews and, as well as critiquing the food, there’s a big emphasis on the service, location, ambience and the drinks offering – specifically the wine and champagne available.
In the Gault&Millau UAE Guide 2023, 50 restaurants received between one and four toques.
We looked at the Champagnes on offer to create the second UAE Champagne Index, with 52 different Champagne houses represented.
When interrogating what matters in Champagne lists, we looked at variety, the number of houses represented, the availability of large formats and vintages and, of course, the price.
While true oenophiles are prepared to spend on the best bottles available, there’s little question that value for money has a role to play too, and there are often huge variations in prices of the same bottle from venue to venue.
While Gault&Millau’s research looked at each restaurant’s offering in detail, with criteria ranging from vintage selection to Gault&Millau’s own rating of the restaurant, to determine overall ranking we focused on two key metrics: variety and value.
Variety has been determined based on the number of different Champagnes each restaurant offers.
Value has been determined based on the price of every bottle each restaurant offers, as compared with other restaurants in our overall Champagne Index.
Based on these two criteria, each restaurant received a total score. Now, having crunched those numbers, we present the ten restaurants with the best Champagne offerings in the UAE right now.
1. Chic Nonna
Located in DIFC, one-toque rated Chic Nonna has a vast array of Champagnes and offers almost unbeatable value, coming out on top of our rankings more than any other venue.
2. LPM Restaurant & Bar Dubai
One of Dubai’s longest-running fine-dining establishments, LPM Restaurant & Bar is not restingon its laurels, especially when it comes to wine and Champagne. The restaurant has a wide range, including some bottles that no other venue stocks, and at good value.
3. City Social
From acclaimed British chef Jason Atherton, City Social has an impressive wine list and a Champagne cellar to match. The restaurant earned one toque in 2023, just months after opening, and was a finalist in the Wine Offering of the Year category in the annual awards ceremony. The sheer breadth of options on the Champagne lists places it high on this list, though the value doesn’t match with some of the other venues in the Index.
4. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal burst onto the Dubai dining scene when it opened in February 2023, earning two toques in our annual guide just two month later. The wine cellar is a central part of the experience at the Atlantis The Royal Restaurant, with a variety of Champagnes hard to match elsewhere. As you might expect from such a restaurant, the prices can be on the high side, compared to other venues in the Index.
5. Takahisa
Found in Banyan Tree Dubai (formerly Caesars Palace Dubai) but not operated by the hotel, Takahisa is a high-end Japanese omakase restaurant, with two executive chefs specialising in sushi and wagyu respectively. When it first opened, the impressive selection of bottles of Champagne was prohibitively priced, but in the months that have followed, the selection has been refined and the prices brought more in line with other venues in the Index.
6. CLAP
Last year’s number one has moved down the list to sixth. That’s not because CLAP’s offering was changed, more that other restaurants have upped their own Champagne game in the past 12 months. Some of the prices at CLAP have also increased slightly, moving them from top of many of the tables in the full Index to be more in line with the average prices across the city.
7. Pierre’s TT
Pierre’s TT, from legendary French chef Pierre Gagnaire, has moved up the list this year. The fine selection of quality Champagnes remains, but this year the prices are the little bit more keen, upping the restaurant’s value-for-money rating. Some options you can’t find elsewhere and vintages of rare wines help put Pierre’s in the top 10,
8. Ristorante L’Olivo at Al Mahara
The restaurant with the most bottles of Champagne in the entire index, with a staggering 88 options available from the extensive cellar, Ristorante L’Olivo at Al Mahara is the place to be for variety, especially if you like rare vintages. However, the pricing is on par with the exclusive experience that Burj Al Arab Jumeirah provides, which means it doesn’t reach the upper end of this top 10.
9. Al Muntaha
Another restaurant at Burj Al Arab, Al Muntaha also benefits from the experience and expertise of G&M award-winning sommelier Samuel Lacroix in charge of the cellar. Again, the prices are in line with the lofty experience, which means the wide variety of Champagnes can often come in more pricey than at other venues for the same bottle. However, there is a 1966 Dom Perignon Oenoteque on offer here that you won’t find anywhere else, if you have the best part of AED40,000 to spend on it.
10. Ossiano
The Gault&Millau Restaurant of the Year 2023 has the highest score in the annual guide and four toques to go with it. The Champagne list is equally impressive with a wide variety of options and many bottles and producers you won’t find anywhere else. The most expensive bottle in the Index can be found here, too, coming in at more than AED48,000.