Japanese restaurant in Dubai among most expensive Michelin-starred spots in the world

With a tasting menu priced at Dh2,500 per person, Hoseki at Bulgari Resort offers the priciest meal in the UAE

Hoseki serves an omakase-style menu at Bulgari Resort Dubai. Photo: Hoseki

Hoseki restaurant, part of Bulgari Resort in Dubai, is one of the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants in the world.

Costing Dh2,500 ($680) per person for its tasting menu, the Japanese restaurant ranks 11th on the list that is otherwise dominated by venues in Japan itself, plus the US and Europe, according to analysis by Chef's Pencil.

The food-dedicated online resource looked at the menus of 3,500 Michelin-starred restaurants in all countries and territories covered by the Guide, and found prices for more than 90 per cent of the list. At $2,130 per person, Ginza Kitafuku in Tokyo is the most expensive.

“For this ranking, we focused on the most expensive regular and seasonal tasting menus, excluding one-time celebratory meals like those offered for Christmas or New Year's,” says a note on its website.

The tasting menu at Hoseki is called Ruri. Available as a private dining experience, it includes a selection of seven appetisers, a premium sushi offering, miso soup, Japanese fruit and Japanese omelette.

The restaurant is known for its traditional omakase set-up, where guests let the chef decide on the dishes. It prides itself on using only premium ingredients sourced directly from Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market. No two meals are alike at the minimalist spot.

Chef Masahiro Sugiyama leads the meals and bases his courses on the preferences of the guests at the counter.

In an earlier study, Chef's Pencil found that the UAE is seventh in the world when it comes to having some of the priciest Michelin-starred restaurants, with a median tag of $217. Relatively new to the guide, the Emirates currently has 23 starred restaurants between Dubai, with 19 spots, and Abu Dhabi, with four. Most of these are housed in five-star hotels and offer fine dining.

World's most expensive restaurants

Ginza Kitafuku's tasting menu features Echizen crab, a type of snow crab exclusively caught off the coast of Echizen, a region in Fukui Prefecture, north of Kyoto. A single crab, known for its sweet and tender meat, could cost up to $7,000.

In second place is the UV Royale tasting menu ($1,230) at three Michelin-starred Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet in Shanghai. The restaurant is known for its multi-sensorial dining experience and uses digital technology to immerse diners.

New York's Caviar Russe ranks third with a tasting menu priced at $975, the most expensive Michelin-starred meal in the US. It is followed by Masa, also in New York, with a $950 meal; and Azabu Kadowaki in Tokyo, with an omakase course at $935.