Dubai's booming restaurant scene is feeling the heat of high costs and high failure rates
They cater to all tastes and budgets. Some spots ladle out inexpensive biryani while others offer dishes dusted with edible gold. These are some of the ways the emirate is competing with its neighbors Saudi Arabia and Qatar for tourist dollars and, so far, it's beating them handily. Dubai has more restaurants per capita than any major city except Paris.
But the city-state's booming restaurant scene is testing the limits of its growth-at-all-costs model, raising questions about how long Dubai can keep feeding its own ambitions.
A crowded and competitive market
The competition is cutthroat, so presentation is key.
'Gone are the days when it just tastes good,' said Kym Barter, the general manager of Atlantis The Palm, a resort perched on a manmade archipelago that boasts more Michelin stars than any other venue in the Middle East.
But dazzling Dubai's food bloggers — the most popular of whom have millions of social media followers — isn't enough. Staying afloat means battling high rents and winning over a diverse and demanding group of consumers.
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