A record 300,000 public votes, 37 winners, and the first-ever tie for Restaurant of the Year
Dubai’s food scene just had a big night. At the fourth Deliveroo Restaurant Awards, Pickl and Mashrou3 Tabkha were jointly crowned Restaurant of the Year, the first tie in the award’s history and a neat snapshot of how homegrown brands continue to set the pace. The result capped a bumper edition that drew nearly 1,000 nominations, recognised 37 category winners, and logged a record 300,000-plus public votes as Deliveroo marked its 10th year in the UAE.
The headline category follows a two-step process: open public voting, then a panel assessment on food quality, packaging and presentation, value for money, going the extra mile, and overall brand personality. Finalists this year included Pickl, Mashrou3 Tabkha, Rascals, Pitfire Pizza, and Joe & The Juice. The judging panel featured What’s On’s editor Liam Joyce, journalist and creator Laura Lai, entrepreneur and TV presenter Peyman Al Awadhi, culinary duo Ola & Tarek (Cucina Del Sul), and F&B expert Farah Sawaf.
Beyond the top gong, the winners’ list reads like a who’s-who of UAE crowd-pleasers. Five Guys was named Most Loved by Riders, while Pickl also took Best Homegrown Dubai, and Pizza Di Rocco clinched Best Homegrown Abu Dhabi. Category favourites included SALT (Best Burger), Pitfire Pizza (Best Pizza), Nando’s (Best Chicken), Wagamama (Best Asian), Operation Falafel (Best Middle Eastern), Eataly (Best Italian), SushiArt (Best Japanese), Gazebo (Best Indian), Chipotle (Best Mexican), Peet’s (Best Coffee), Rascals Deli (Best Sandwich Shop) and Allo Beirut (Best Shawarma), to name only a few from a long winners’ roll. New names made noise too, with The Lazy Guy taking Best Newcomer.
For Deliveroo, the night doubled as an anniversary moment. “As we celebrate a decade of delivering the best food the UAE has to offer… the first-ever tie for Restaurant of the Year shows just how exceptional our finalists were,” said Yasmine Mroueh, Director of Restaurant Account Management at Deliveroo UAE. From the winners’ side, Pickl’s team called it a fourth straight Restaurant of the Year recognition, while Mashrou3 Tabkha marked the title as a milestone in a landmark year for the brand.
If you are building a must-eat list for the months ahead, consider this your ready-made cheat sheet. Whether you are chasing cult burgers, shawarma that never misses, or a new dessert detour, the 2025 class offers a tidy map of what locals actually order, rate, and re-order. And with a first-place tie at the top, the takeaway is simple: there has never been a better time to be hungry in the UAE.
Images: Supplied
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