Expo Eats Awards celebrate Filipino restaurants, AlBaik, Cafe Milano and more

Here are the venues at Expo 2020 Dubai that diners voted for

Pasta at Cafe Milano, winner of Favourite Upscale Dining Restaurant at Expo Eats Awards. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Dishes at Grill & Tapas, highly commended, Favourite Upscale Dining Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Sky Bar in the Czech Pavilion, highly commended, Favourite Upscale Dining Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Dishes at Mangrove Philippines Cuisine, winner, Favourite Casual Dining Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Burgers and sides at Adrift Burger Bar, highly commended, Favourite Casual Dining Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Korean pavilion restaurant, highly commended, Favourite Casual Dining Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Korean pavilion

Dampa Seafood & Grill, winner, Favourite Local Gem, Expo Eats Awards. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Dishes at Mama'esh, highly commended, Favourite Local Gem, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Chicken Tikka Inn, highly commended, Favourite Local Gem, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Doughnuts at Bread Ahead, winner, Favourite Sweet Treats Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Baked goods at Croissants at Cafe de Paris in the Monaco Pavilion, highly commended, Favourite Sweet Treats Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Mahmoud Khaled / Expo 2020 Dubai

Dishes at Sard, highly commended, Favourite Sweet Treats Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

AlBaik is the winner of Favourite Fast Food Restaurant at the Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

A dish at Expo Street Food, highly commended, Favourite Fast Food Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Domino’s, highly commended, Favourite Fast Food Restaurant, Expo Eats Awards. Photo: Antony Fleyhan / Expo 2020 Dubai

Filipino restaurants Mangrove and Dampa took top honours at the Expo Eats Awards. The ceremony took place on Wednesday at Festival Garden in Expo 2020 Dubai, and favourite venues were lauded in five categories on the back of the number of votes directly collected from diners over five weeks.

The end game was to find restaurants that “have brought visitors much joy, that people have queued for and that they have told their friends about”.

The five categories were: Favourite Casual Dining Restaurant, Favourite Local Gem, Favourite Upscale Dining Restaurant, Favourite Fast Food Restaurant and Favourite Sweet Treats Restaurant.

While Mangrove Philippines Cuisine and Dampa Seafood Grill won top honours in the first two, famed fine-dining Washington restaurant Cafe Milano, Saudi Arabia’s broasted chicken joint AlBaik and Bread Ahead, a bakery known for its doughnuts and sourdough goodies, emerged as favourites in the other three.

The categories also shone a light on two “highly commended” venues each (see full list below). For instance, Adrift Burger Bar, which Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, famously visited in October (without having to queue, we reckon) came highly commended in the list of casual dining spots.

The ceremony also gave a heartening shoutout to the behind-the-scenes players who made Expo 2020’s dining scene shine, from waiters and bartenders to dishwashers.

“For six months, Expo 2020 Dubai has become a global food destination. Today is the chance to recognise the outlets that have warmed the hearts of our visitors,” said Ahmed Al Khatib, the fair’s chief development and delivery officer.

Favourite restaurants at Expo 2020 Dubai

Favourite Upscale Dining Restaurant:

Winner: Cafe Milano

Highly commended: Grill&Tapas

Highly commended: Sky Bar

Favourite Casual Dining Restaurant:

Winner: Mangrove Philippines Cuisine

Highly commended: Adrift Burger Bar

Highly commended: Korean Restaurant

Favourite Local Gem:

Winner: Dampa Seafood Grill

Highly commended: Mama'esh

Highly commended: Chicken Tikka Inn

Favourite Sweet Treats Restaurant:

Winner: Bread Ahead

Highly commended: Cafe de Paris

Highly commended: Sard

Favourite Fast Food Restaurant:

Winner: AlBaik

Highly commended: Expo Street Food

Highly commended: Domino's