When researching things to do in Dubai, I learned that Friday Brunch is a very popular thing in Dubai. So, clearly we had to sign up! There are so many options for Friday brunch in Dubai, from pub fare at Dubliners Irish Pub to super upscale experiences at top notch restaurants. We opted for the renowned Traiteur Brunch at the Park Hyatt Dubai! Known to be one of the best and most popular brunches in town, we booked a table before we left the US and were not disappointed. When planning, however, I had a lot of questions. Hopefully this post helps to answer some of your questions.

THE LOCATION

Traiteur brunch is located at the Park Hyatt Dubai Creek in its Brasserie du Park restaurant. With both indoor and outdoor seating, there are plenty of tables (though reservations are highly recommended). We sat outdoors in the sun, which is exactly what we wanted. I can see the appeal of indoors though, especially when its super hot. Outdoor seating is right on the water and consists of a mix of tables and casual seating areas. A live band set up right in the middle and played for the majority of the brunch.

TIME

Traiteur Brunch runs every Friday from 1:00 – 4:30 PM. Food and drinks start flowing right at 1:00 and lasted until right at 4:30 PM. Don’t be late or leave early – your table is for the entire duration of the brunch.

THE SCENE

Traiteur brunch is a very cool scene. Lots of pretty people, very Instagrammable! You’ll want to look cool, but, as set forth below, you don’t need to get too fancy. Brunch starts with drinks flowing, a live Jazz musician, and this champagne wall, where a mime behind the wall plays jokes until you grab a glass of champagne!

WHAT TO EAT

Wow, there is a TON of food at Traiteur, something for everyone! I would describe the food as French brasserie with some Dubai flair. Think things that would be popular at a posh bistro in France, paired with some Middle Eastern swag. Everything was excellent and nothing “ran out” until about the last hour. And I’m not even sure things “ran out,” but the restaurant certainly shifted to a more dessert/cheese/drinks focus than main courses the last hour. As such, I recommend eating earlier rather than later to get what you want. Unlimited brunch is 495 AED per person without alcohol (alcohol prices listed below, which include the brunch cost).

Food is separated into a number of different rooms or areas, and each one has a bit of a theme.  Here’s a brief highlight of each of the rooms we visited (I think we hit them all!).

COLD SEAFOOD ROOM

The “cold seafood room” is where our brunch experience started, probably because it was close to our table and, as mentioned, the scene was a little overwhelming. The “cold seafood room” room is home to all sorts of cold seafood, including fresh sushi (both rolls and sashimi), a wide variety of seafood salads, including those made with crab and lobster, and a bar with huge oysters, clams, crab legs, lobsters, caviar on freshly made blinis (!), and more. It was truly all you can eat, and we went all in on this first room (which, ha, is not recommended, PACE YOURSELF). The seafood was great and this “seafood room” was a winner for sure.

THE GRILLS

We next hit the grills, one roasting a piglet, one roasting a whole lamb, and one grilling huge ass lobsters. Dan tried the lamb and piglet, and I went with the lobster. All were so good, as would be expected. Pro tip: go here on the earlier side. The grills started to die down toward the second half brunch. Food was still served, but you kinda miss out on the experience.

MEAT AND CHEESE BAR

There is a substantial meat and cheese bar just inside the indoor part of the restaurant. Lots of great cold meats, sausages, and some lovely pate! I didn’t get a good picture; it was too hectic when I visited!

PASTA/BREAD BAR (AND MAYBE MORE??)

Just next to the meat and cheese bar is a pasta and bread bar. A tasty saffron risotto in a parmesan wheel was on special during our brunch. In addition, there were other pastas, some warm seafood, and potatoes. Aside from the scallops, this was more of a carb bar!

INDIAN BAR 

Also in the interior is a fabulous Indian bar serving popular Indian foods! I unfortunately missed the Indian bar, as I had ate too much food! But, given that Dubai is SO close to India, this is a great place to try some good Indian food, especially if you aren’t familiar with it. And spoiler alert, Indian food is delicious!

CHEESE ROOM

A well-known staple of Traiteur Brunch is the Cheese Room, which I often heard referred to as the “Willy Wonka of Cheese Rooms.” True to its moniker, this is a room with nothing but cheese spread around a large table. We tried a variety of different cheese, all of which were excellent. Two friendly cheese “sommeliers” were on hand to assist in choosing the proper cheese!

DESSERT

One CANNOT miss the dessert room, which is daunting and has about a million different desserts. Ok, not really that many, but a lot! Too many for one person. I really couldn’t choose so Dan and I each sampled and then traded with each other. The desserts were beautiful, decadent, and delicious. Don’t miss it! The desserts stayed out right until 4:30!

And, that’s all the rooms I recall trying. Even mentioning all of these rooms, I’m sure there is a lot that I missed! Come hungry and be sure to visit the food stands frequently!

WHAT TO DRINK AT TRAITUER BRUNCH

Traiteur Brunch comes with three unlimited beverage options if you want alcohol, which you almost certainly do: all-you-can-drink Prosecco and house beverages (695 AED), all-you-can-drink French Champagne plus house beverages (775 AED), all-you-can-drink top shelf French Champagne plus house beverages (895 AED). Prices include brunch.

We opted for the first package, all-you-can-drink sparkling wine and house drinks. And if you drink, this package is well worth the money. Prosecco flowed freely for the entirety of our time at brunch, without us even asking! We also ordered numerous other drinks, sometimes just to try them, including red wine, Aperol Spritzes, Mojitos, coffee martinis, mango martinis, margaritas, espresso, and coffee. We also noticed beer on draft, but did not drink any beer. The cocktails were surprisingly good, especially the coffee martinis!

WHAT TO DO BESIDES EAT AND DRINK

Aside from food and drink, Traiteur hosted a lovely singing duo who performed for most of the Brunch. They were seriously great and even got people on the dance floor towards the end of brunch! Aside from these performers, there was a saxophonist at the beginning and that cute little Champagne wall pictured above! Here are two videos of the amazing band!

WHAT TO WEAR

Most guests dressed up slightly for the event, wearing a nice dress or pants. That being said, there were some women dressed to go to a night club, others in traditional attire, and some in shorts. So really, wear whatever you want. There is no expectation here except that one is presentable. Men similarly wore whatever – long pants, shorts, hats, etc. Dan worse shorts and a tucked in Polo with Toms shoes.

I wore a long dress with short sleeves and Dan wore shorts and a polo. We felt comfortable the entire time. I think the best advice is to wear what you are comfortable in and that is not too warm. It gets hot in Dubai during the day and many seats are outdoors.  Since you are up and about a lot, I also recommend a small purse/bag that you can keep on your person. Dubai is SUPER safe, but I still did not want to leave my bag unattended around a bunch of intoxicated people that I’ll never see again…

FINAL THOUGHTS

Traiteur Brunch was so, so, so much fun and the food was really delicious! Much bigger with ex-pats than Emirati people, Friday Brunch is still a custom not to be missed when in Dubai! I can never spend another Friday in Dubai without going to brunch!

STEAL OUR TRIP

Brasserie du Parc (formerly Traiteur): Reservations can be made via the link. Brasserie du Park is located inside the Park Hyatt. Be sure to tell the taxi driver you’re going for brunch to ensure you are dropped off at the correct entrance. When making the reservation, you simply reserve your brunch spot. Alcohol package decisions are made on arrival with your server. If you are unsure about the cost/what is included, be sure to confirm with your server. For most people, the lowest level alcohol package is sufficient. That’s what we got, and we are kind of alcohol snobs.

ON A BUDGET

There are so many brunch options in Dubai. We found a decently priced Friday Brunch at Dubliner’s Irish Pub in Le Meridien near the airport, called The Dubliner’s Emerald City Brunch. It did not seem quite as fancy as Traiteur, but it looked like a lot of fun. Had we had another Friday, I definitely would have checked it out.

Dubliner’s Emerald City Brunch: Cost is 199 AED per person with alcohol. I would totally try this if I had another Friday in Dubai.