Atlantis Dubai scales back dining venues to upgrade guest experience

Luxury destination refines dining mix while key restaurants stay busy

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Atlantis The Royal resort is pictured in Dubai on March 11, 2026.
Atlantis The Royal resort is pictured in Dubai on March 11, 2026.
AFP--

Dubai: Atlantis Dubai has temporarily paused a number of venues across Atlantis The Palm and Atlantis The Royal, while maintaining strong visitor demand across its core dining portfolio.

The move comes as part of what the operator described as an ongoing review of operations aligned with guest demand, with several high-profile venues currently not in service even as others continue to see steady footfall.

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Select venues paused

Atlantis said, “We continue to review our operations in line with guest demand, and as part of this approach, a select number of venues have been temporarily paused.”

The venues currently not operating include La Mar by Gastón Acurio, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Cloud 22, Ling Ling at Atlantis The Royal, as well as Ossiano, Hakkasan and Brasserie Frantzén at Atlantis The Palm.

The decision forms part of a broader operational reset aimed at refining the destination’s dining mix and aligning capacity with demand patterns.

Focus on refining the offering

Atlantis indicated that the pause is also being used to enhance its food and beverage portfolio, with upgrades planned across concepts and venues.

The operator said, “This period also provides an opportunity to further refine and elevate our offering, including the development of new menus, existing concepts, activations across the destination, and refurbishment of select venues, including Cloud 22.”

The approach reflects a focus on refreshing experiences across the destination before reintroducing the venues at a later stage.

Strong demand across open venues

While several outlets are paused, Atlantis said its wider offering continues to operate normally, with strong footfall across open restaurants.

The operator said, “Our priority remains delivering the highest standard of experience across our key restaurants, many of which continue to welcome both residents and visitors.”

Open venues including CARBONE Dubai, estiatorio Milos, Nobu by the Beach and Gastronomy at Atlantis The Royal, along with Bread Street Kitchen & Bar, Wavehouse, Nobu Dubai and FZN by Björn Frantzén at Atlantis The Palm, continue to attract guests.

Reopening tied to demand

Atlantis said timelines for reopening the paused venues will be determined based on demand and market conditions.

The operator added that the venues will return with refreshed concepts and updated experiences once conditions support stronger footfall.

The move reflects a broader trend within Dubai’s hospitality sector, where operators are adjusting offerings and capacity in response to changing demand patterns while continuing to invest in upgrades and guest experience.

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

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