(Bloomberg) -- In Dubai, almost everything is in expansion mode, from the real estate market to the size of its flagship mall. The number of Michelin-starred restaurants is no exception. 

On Wednesday, the Michelin guide announced its latest ranking for the emirate: There are now 19 starred restaurants, up from 14 last year.

It helped to be a star chef in this year’s rankings. Among the cooks who already had made names in other parts of the world is Jason Atherton, whose Row on 45 is a brand new Two Star restaurant, the highest current ranking in Dubai. His fine dining restaurant features an 1,145 dirham ($312) tasting menu with dishes like Date Maguro, the sustainably raised blue fin tuna with wasabi and Singapore-styled Norwegian king crab. 

Anne -Sophie Pic is another internationally famous chef new to the Dubai list; her La Dame de Pic received One Star. It’s located in One Za’abeel (“The Link”), the newly opened mega development just outside DIFC, the city’s financial center. Another popular new addition to the One Star list is Orfali Bros, the restaurant operated by Syrian brothers Mohammad, Wassim and Omar Orfali. Mohammed has described his food as “modern Dubai cooking.”

One Za’abeel played host to this year’s awards, in a room festooned with chandeliers. It’s the third year Michelin has awarded stars in Dubai.

At the event, Hoor al Khaja, senior vice president at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, called out restaurants as part of the goal of being one of the top cities in the world by 2033. “Having a strong gastronomy pillar is a huge part of that,” she said from the stage.  “People are eating out more, entrepreneurs and investors are seeing more opportunity.”

Last year One Za’abeel announced that it was bringing in big name chefs like Pic, who is now the woman with the most Michelin starred restaurants. The property includes the One&Only One Za’Abeel hotel as well as residences and office space. 

Restaurants don’t usually garner stars soon after opening, although Michelin has been moving more quickly recently. In Paris, Plentitude, the restaurant in the LVMH-owned Cheval  Blanc hotel, got 3 stars within one year of opening. 

The number of Bib Gourmand, or value-oriented restaurants, grew incrementally. There are 18 spots with that label this year, up from 17 in 2023. Among the six new spots are Berenjak, an offshoot of the popular Persian dining spots in London from JKS Restaurants.

There were no new Green Stars for Dubai, Michelin’s sustainably minded award.

In other special awards, opening of the Year went to the Guild, a plant-filled space with multiple dining concepts. The Sommelier award went to Michael Mpofu, from Celebrities by Mauro Colagreco. 

The full list of starred restaurants and Bib Gourmands follows. An asterisk (*) indicates a new entry.

 

Two Stars (Excellent cooking, worth a detour)

Il Ristorante – Niko Romito*Row on 45STAY by Yannick AllénoTrèsind Studio

One Star (High-quality cooking, worth a stop)

11 WoodfireAl MuntahaArmani RistoranteAvataraDinner by Heston BlumenthalHakkasanHöseki*La Dame de Pic DubaiMoonrise*Orfali BrosOssiano*Sagetsu by Tetsuya*Smoked RoomTasca by José AvillezTorno Subito

Bib Gourmand (value for money spots)

21 Grams3FilsAamaraAl KhaymaBait Maryam*Berenjak*Duo GastrobarGoldfish*Holy CowIbn AlbahrIndya by VineetKinoya*Konjiki Hototogisu*Reef Japanese Kushiyaki - Dubai HillsREIF Japanese Kushiyaki*RevelryShabestanTeible

Green Stars (notably sustainable places) 

BocaLoweTeible

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