Each December, as other cities fall under frost, Dubai glows with its own festive spirit, a season where the charm of the holidays comes from sunlight and clear skies. This city, renowned for its cosmopolitan spirit and multicultural heritage, draws inspiration for its celebrations from the elegance of European tradition while embracing the warmth of the Middle East and Dubai’s unmistakable modern luxury.
Throughout Dubai, tables are laid with care and terraces dressed in festive lights, each telling its own story of celebration and connection, weaving together flavours from London to Kyoto, Rome to Beirut. To dine in one of these venues, perhaps on the twenty-fifth, is to take part in a ritual of conviviality. The city itself becomes the setting for a contemporary Christmas fable, where joy and Champagne gleam like the desert sun and togetherness lies at the heart of every table, a reminder, much like Dickens’s enduring legacy, that celebration, at its finest, is an act of connection.
As the city embraces the season, below is a selection of Dubai’s finest Christmas Day brunches that define the city’s festive table.
Jumeirah Al Qasr, Al Qasr Christmas Day Brunch
Set within the regal embrace of Madinat Jumeirah, the Al Qasr Christmas Day Brunch stands as one of Dubai’s most storied festive traditions. Beneath soaring arches and gilded interiors, the celebration unfolds across a constellation of restaurants and terraces, each table dressed in winter whites and alive with conversation. Guests move between live stations where chefs carve, sear, and plate with balletic precision, seafood towers shimmer like sculpture, and patisserie glistens under glass domes. The scent of roast and spice mingles with the sweetness of warm puddings and the sparkle of fine wines and festive pours, creating a traditional and indulgent tableau. The refined three-piece ensemble threads festive carols through the tablescape, their harmonies mingling with the clink of glass and the soft rise and fall of voices.
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Raffles The Palm Dubai, Le Jardin
Le Jardin, long celebrated for its palatial French-style interiors and tranquil garden ambience, conveys a special festive elegance each Christmas Day. The brunch unfolds across the restaurant and its verdant terraces, allowing guests to drift between marble-lined salons and open-air tables shaded by treetops and framed with soft and twinkling light. Live cooking stations feature carving tables, seafood grills, and handmade pastas beside an abundant buffet of international specialities, while dessert counters gleam with patisserie crafted like works of art. Guests can expect the comforting fragrance of traditional roasts – perhaps a turkey carved with all the trimmings – set beside fine seafood and elegant winter sides. The atmosphere is lifted further by the resort’s signature beverage service, with champagne, sparkling wine, and bespoke festive cocktails flowing from the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar, anchoring the lively spirit of the day. A live band fills the air with gentle carols and jazz standards, with Santa Claus making his signature entrance amid laughter and camera flashes, delighting children gathered for crafts and small treats.
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Palazzo Versace Dubai, Giardino
Beneath the chandeliers and emerald tones of Giardino, Christmas takes on a distinctly Versace expression. Each December, Giardino’s Christmas Day brunch features iced seafood displays with a dedicated sushi and sashimi counter; roast carving stations with turkey and festive trimmings; and abundant live stations alongside an international spread. The pastry room leans theatrical – from yule logs and mince pies to crowd-pleasers like the doughnut wall and toasted-marshmallow moments. In the glasses, the mood is celebratory, with champagne and sparkling packages available and a run of signature cocktails to match the season. Live festive entertainment sets a cheerful rhythm, Santa makes a scheduled appearance, and children’s craft and face-painting corners keep younger guests happily engaged.
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Armani Hotel Dubai, Armani/Mediterraneo
Armani/Mediterraneo will once again welcome the season’s finest on December 25 with one of the most refined Christmas Day Brunches in Dubai. Mediterraneo ushers in Christmas Day with a polished, Mediterranean-led brunch built around marquee stations such as a Gillardeau oyster display; a seafood bar featuring lobster tail, poached scallops, prawns, smoked salmon, and king crab; a burrata station with heirloom tomatoes and basil pesto; and a sushi and nigiri corner presented in collaboration with Armani/Hashi, alongside festive carvery and warm sides. At the bar, expect a classic, Italianate programme – Negroni and Negroni Sbagliato, Bellini or Rossini, and the house Spritz – poured alongside Moët & Chandon Impérial by the glass, Ferrari Brut, and organic Prosecco. Live music threads through the afternoon service from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., completing a scene that feels distinctly Burj Khalifa in its restraint and finesse.
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Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, Jou Jou Brasserie
At the Four Seasons Resort’s Jou Jou Brasserie, the holiday spirit is draped in seasonal elegance. From 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., guests are invited to indulge in a lavish spread of Christmas roasts, fresh seafood, and an award-winning dessert display with live music and flowing drinks, a format the resort confirms each season. The centrepieces of a classic festive table – roast turkey with traditional trimmings, fresh seafood on ice, and an expanded dessert display – alongside Mediterranean signatures from the brasserie’s repertoire. For the pour, service typically features Champagne by Perrier-Jouët (Grand Brut, Blason Rosé) and Prosecco by Ruggeri Argeo, with a concise list of house cocktails and wines to match the celebratory mood. Santa’s visit and children’s activities complete the family-friendly rhythm of the afternoon. At Jou Jou Brasserie, everything forms a portrait of festive refinement – capturing the spirit of a Dubai Christmas Day Brunch at its most enchanting.
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ZEST, One&Only The Palm
ZEST at One&Only The Palm has become a much-anticipated Christmas destination in Dubai, known for its elegant Italian-inspired brunches set amid lush gardens and graceful terracing. ZEST’s Christmas Day brunch leans resolutely Italian, set across the terrace and poolside gardens for a sunlit, Mediterranean mood. Expect an iced seafood corner, live pizza and pasta stations, and a beautiful bread display, with handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and abundant coastal plates anchoring the spread. Drinks follow suit – sparkling Italian wines and aperitivi, from elegant spritzes to bitters-led classics, complement the menu’s clean, bright flavours. Soft live music and gently lit greenery round out the afternoon, giving the celebration a quietly polished air that feels distinctly One&Only.
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La Mar by Gastón Acurio, Atlantis The Royal
Among the season’s grand tables at Atlantis The Royal, La Mar brings a distinctly coastal Peruvian cadence to Christmas Day – bright, citrus-driven and artfully plated. Signatures from the cebiche bar and grill set the tone – Clásico cebiche (sea bass in zesty leche de tigre), Chucuito tiradito (fine-sliced fish with olive-oil emulsion), and anticucho striploin (charcoal-grilled beef with ají panca and chimichurri). Festive pours mirror the palate – Pisco Sour and Chilcano as standards – alongside Italianate aperitivi from Aperol Spritz to Negroni and house red or white sangria. With sweeping terrace views and a lively soundtrack, the restaurant’s style delivers a celebration with tiraditos and pisco-led classics.
Season’s Reflection
The season’s essence reveals itself through the simple beauty of gathering in one of Dubai’s Christmas brunch venues, for Christmas, after all, has never been only about feasting. The holy season is about sharing warmth beneath a shimmer of light, and in this desert city – where palms stand for pines and sun-kissed replaces snow-kissed – the spirit endures amid laughter and the soft chime of glasses, as the air fills with fragrant notes of cinnamon and citrus, with bread breaking and stories shared.
