Located inside the unique One&Only The Palm Hotel on the famous Palm Jumeirah island of Dubai, you can discover the exceptional French restaurant STAY by Yannick Alléno. The sumptuous dining establishment with its gorgeous interior design, impresses at first sight. But not only at first sight… Traditional French dishes prepared flawlessly in a contemporary style, with lots of respect for the product and clearly carrying the signature of one of the best chefs on this globe, served by discrete and welcoming staff in a lavish environment, make this restaurant a must do during a trip to Dubai.

Location and Interior

STAY by Yannick Alléno is located in one of the island’s most quietly, high-end and luxury hotels. The exclusive style of the One&Only The Palm Hotel does not stop when you enter the spectacular restaurant of the awarded French chef. Once you walk in and are greeted by the courteous staff, you cannot avoid being impressed by the high walls, white pillars and black crystal chandeliers of the lavish venue that seems to be from former times. The tables with pristine white table cloths and gleaming silverware only add to that chic and glamourous atmosphere. Even though the interior design could be overwhelming at first, the staff succeeds in creating a comfortable but at all times refined atmosphere. For who wants to experience the exquisite dishes of the restaurant outside, they have a gorgeous terrace with pergola, which has lush views over the tropical gardens of the ultra-luxury hotel, that at that moment feels far away from the bustling city of Dubai.

The Chef & the team

As the name discloses, STAY by Yannick Alléno was created by famous French chef Yannick Alléno. Even though Alléno is strongly involved in everything that happens in his Dubai restaurant, it is Chef Renaud Dutel who is daily behind the stove of this imposing restaurant. Dutel, originating from the same country as Alléno, was born in 1991. Already at a very young age, he got interested in food, mainly under the influence of his father. The Dutels had a garden where they grew vegetables the whole year. As a kid, Renaud was impressed by the process of planting seeds and seeing the plant turn into a beautiful product. The family were farmers and still today the chef remembers the feeling of getting fresh, warm eggs from the chickens in their garden. His parents also took him to restaurants regularly and more and more Renaud started to like eating. Already at that young age, he decided he wanted to become a chef.

A logic step was thus going to culinary school. He joined Saint-Vincent in Montluçon. Upon graduating, he got the opportunity to do an internship with chef Larose of restaurant Jardin Délice in Saint-Victor. A chef that he considers still today as his mentor. After that internship, he went to the interprofessional training institute in Moulins and worked in several locations such as Cannes, Avignon, Monaco, Switzerland and back to Monaco where he joined Alain Ducasse in the legendary restaurant Le Louis XV. At that time, the unexpected opportunity was offered to him to become sous-chef in a new restaurant of Yannick Alléno that opened in Dubai in 2018, STAY by Yannick Alléno. Eight months after he joined the restaurant, the executive chef would leave and beginning of 2019 Dutel took over the kitchen of the restaurant. From that moment, he started to work closely together with Alléno, which he considers to be one of the best chefs of this century.

The kitchen team consists out of nine people including Dutel himself and together they serve thirty-five guests per service. Renaud is the only French person in the team, that for the rest is composed with members from Greece, Russia, Indonesia, China, India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Including service, they are with eighteen people.

Gastronomy

The gastronomic offering of STAY by Yannick Alléno can best be described as traditional French cuisine prepared in a contemporary style. It is a mix of traditional cooking methods with a modern culinary approach where the French base is never far away. The menu is evolving seasonally and dishes are precise, sophisticated and characterized by a less is more approach, where the focus is always on the flavor. Dutel works closely together with Alléno but has clearly created his own style. Even though there are some dishes from the legendary, Parisian restaurant Pavillon Ledoyen of Chef Alléno on the menu, Dutel clearly gets the chance by Yannick to express himself and to create his own vision.

The focus in the kitchen is on the products that are being used. Some of them are imported, such as seabass or blue lobster. But Dutel also collaborates with local farmers to create the best products that perfectly fit his culinary vision. Vegetables, fruits and herbs are sourced from local farms, selected by the chef himself after numerous visits to identify the best partners and not allowing any sacrifice on the quality. Other local products such as kingfish or camel cheese give a regional touch to the cooking style in this for the rest mainly by France inspired restaurant.

Some of the dishes we tried :

• Portobello Abalone style

• Beef Millefeuille

The creative process of Dutel to conceive new dishes is strongly based on the product. Renaud starts from one ingredient and experiments in his kitchen to decide how he can get the most taste out of that product, by searing, steaming or barbecuing it. Once that decision is taken, the chef, who is still strongly influenced by the cooking methods of Escoffier, adds the sauces and the garnish. Only at the end, when the focus has gone completely to the taste, the look on the plate is designed. Every new dish is tasted by Alléno before it goes on the menu.

Service & Wine

The service team is taking care of thirty-five guests during dinner and this six days per week. Service is impeccable and professional at all times, without becoming stiff. The staff is discreet and welcoming, and remains classy and professional throughout the evening. You feel that they try to be close to the guest and that they aim at creating the best experience for every style of guest who is visiting the restaurant. As STAY by Yannick Alléno is offering both a la carte options as a set menu, guests can choose how they want to experience the restaurant. Since the Michelin stars, the restaurant is visited strongly by international guests, who most often opt for the full experience, while local patrons tend to chose for the a la carte offering.

Not every restaurant in Dubai has an alcohol license, but the experience which is offered in STAY by Yannick Alléno, almost requires wine paired with the delectable food and as such the epicurean restaurant of Alléno has one. The wine cellar is composed of 330 labels of which many are French, but also other regions from the old and the new world can be chosen for. With the set menu Dutel is cooking, the restaurant also offers a wine pairing, which consists for ninety percent out of French wines. The team experimented a lot, but always came to the conclusion that French wines match best with the food which is being served.

Why go?

Making a reservation in STAY by Yannick Alléno enables you to spend some time in the fabulous One&Only The Palm Hotel in Dubai. The refined, precise and sophisticated dishes of Yannick Alléno and Renaud Dutel, cooked with the best products and brought to your table by staff who delivers a customized, flawless, upscale but comfortable service, gives you already plenty of reasons to consider booking right away. The opulent environment inside the restaurant or the splendid terrace outside, overlooking the beautiful gardens, only add to the truly amazing experience a visit to STAY by Yannick Alléno is. A magical location to indulge in great food with your one and only…