Giardino Ocean Feast Dinner Buffet in Dubai

Giardino Ocean Feast Dinner Buffet is a Saturday night seafood buffet at Giardino, the all-day dining restaurant of Palazzo Versace Dubai on the Dubai Creek waterfront, where seafood from around the world meets live cooking stations and one of the most opulent dining rooms in the city. It runs every Saturday from 7pm to 11pm, and it is built for people who want their seafood dinner to come with a sense of occasion.

Alongside the seafood, a full international buffet means the less fishy members of your group are well looked after too.

Giardino at Palazzo Versace Dubai

Palazzo Versace Dubai opened in November 2015 in Culture Village, on the foreshore of Dubai Creek, now often described as the Jaddaf Waterfront. It is one of the city’s most distinctive luxury hotels, with landscaped gardens looking across the creek to the skyline, eight restaurants and bars, and interiors that wear the Versace name proudly. The hotel is part of a large waterfront development of around 130,000 square metres, with 215 rooms and suites spread over ten floors and 169 private residences alongside, so it feels more like a self-contained palace than a city hotel.

That scale is part of what makes a dinner here feel like a night out in its own right. Arriving through the grand lobby and gardens sets the tone before you reach the restaurant.

Giardino, Italian for garden, is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant and leans fully into that look. The room has marble terrazzo flooring and grand columns, with a wallcovering inspired by the jungle motif of the Versace wallpaper collection in shades of green, light green and ivory. Even the plates are part of the design: the crockery comes from the exclusive Rosenthal meets Versace collection, inspired by Les Rêves Byzantins. There is also a spacious outdoor terrace, which comes into its own on cooler evenings.

The Ocean Feast

Saturday’s Ocean Feast at Giardino is designed especially for seafood lovers, with a selection of premium seafood sourced from across the world. The highlights:

• Mediterranean live cooking stations, where fish and crustaceans are cooked with Moroccan spices
• Italian coastal dishes prepared to your liking at the Italian stations
• International live stations, with chefs cooking dishes to order
• A wider international buffet covering Italian, Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine
• Decadent desserts to finish

The live stations are the heart of the evening. Rather than everything waiting on platters, much of the seafood is cooked in front of you, and you can ask the chefs for your fish or prawns exactly as you like them.

What is included

Your booking includes access to the dinner buffet, water and soft drinks, and valet parking at the resort. Mocktails and alcoholic drinks are not included, and the buffet is dine-in only, so leftovers cannot be taken away.

Who it suits

Giardino is a family-friendly choice. Children of all ages are welcome, with child tickets for ages 5 to 11 and adult tickets from age 12.

• Seafood lovers who want variety, from Mediterranean grills to Italian coastal dishes
• Families who need a buffet where everyone can find something, including younger children
• Celebrations where the Versace setting adds a sense of glamour to a birthday or anniversary dinner
• Visitors who want to see one of Dubai’s most talked-about hotel interiors over dinner

Know before you go

• The Ocean Feast runs on Saturdays from 7pm to 11pm.
• Blackout dates apply on public holidays and special occasions, including Eid, National Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, New Year, Ramadan and Iftar, so check your date before booking.
• Smart casual or traditional local attire is recommended.
• You can cancel up to 96 hours before your booking, and confirmation is instant.
• Transport to and from the hotel is not included.

The listing also gives a duration of two hours, so although the buffet runs from 7pm to 11pm, it is worth checking your booked sitting time on your confirmation. The blackout list is worth noting too if you are planning around a holiday weekend.

Getting to Palazzo Versace Dubai

Palazzo Versace Dubai sits on the Jaddaf Waterfront, on the Bur Dubai side of the creek. If you are driving, follow signs for Palazzo Versace Dubai; valet parking is included with your booking. By Metro, take the Green Line to Al Jadaf station, then a taxi of around five minutes. If you are coming by taxi, simply ask for Palazzo Versace Dubai.

The creekside location makes for a calmer evening than the beach hotels, and an after-dinner stroll in the hotel gardens, with the city lights across the water, is a lovely way to end the night.

For more ideas, see our dinner and brunch guide, browse things to do this weekend or our November guide, and explore more things to do in Dubai.