One of London’s poshest restaurants is set to open its doors for business in Dubai during the early part of next year.
The Ivy which usually has a 3 month waiting list in London due to it’s celebrity-spotting scene and trendy food will welcome it’s first guests in the UAE next spring at a new outlet at The Boulevard in Jumeirah Emirates Towers.
A franchise deal between UAE hotel and restaurant operators Jumeirah and Caprice Holdings, which runs The Ivy and its sister restaurant le Caprice, was announced in August. Under the terms of the partnership, Jumeirah is licensed to open and operate all the Caprice Holdings brands, including Scott’s and Le Caprice, across the Middle East and North Africa.
In a separate deal, owner of Caprice Holdings Richard Caring will also open a Le Caprice restaurant in Beirut, as well as versions of London nightspots Annabel’s and Harry’s Bar.
The Ivy in Dubai will be designed by London interiors star Martin Brudnizki and it will be the first in a series of restaurants planned for the region, with other likely locations thought to be Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Caring told The Times in May that an Annabel’s is also planned for Dubai, while Brudnizki was quoted in The New York Times earlier this year as saying he was developing 8 sites for different types of clubs and restaurants with Caprice Holdings and Jumeirah.
However, Jumeirah Restaurants’ Managing Director Phil Broad says for now the focus remains firmly on Dubai.
The Ivy, which replaces Scarlett’s at Emirates Towers, will be the second Caprice brand to open in the UAE, the first, Rivington Grill, opened in 2008 and has made a name for itself for serving up modern British classics.
Media speculation has also revolved around a likely outlet at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah and that a Le Caprice restaurant will replace Vu’s bar at the Emirates Towers, but Broad did not confirm where future restaurants might open, only saying that such decisions depended very much on finding the right locations.