It’s a wrap: The 2018 JLT Restaurant Awards - #JLTdiningAwards2018

The second JLT Restaurant Awards are over and we would like to thank all our partners, sponsors, and participating restaurants for helping us to put on another phenomenally successful event!

The #JLTdiningAwards2018 were bigger and better than the inaugural event in 2017, but the underlying mission remained the same: The Awards aimed to showcase the variety and quality of the eateries in this Dubai neighbourhood – nowhere else can you find this many different restaurants in one area – and wanted to recognise the passion, sweat, and efforts put in by the many independent restaurants in JLT.

We were also curious to see which restaurants are most popular in 2018 among JLTians – residents, office workers, and visitors in JLT, the DMCC regulated free zone in the heart of new Dubai.

2018 JLT Restaurant Awards facts:

There were 16 publicly voted categories in the 2018 JLT Restaurant Awards. JLT-based restaurants, bars, and cafes nominated themselves for one or several categories during August and September 2018. Public online voting took place from 1^st – 31^st October 2018. In total, we received 67 nominations, which attracted 9,748 public online votes – 1,854 more votes than in 2017! Online voting was supervised by our legal partner, Charles Russell Speechlys.
For the first time, the Awards featured a “Hidden Gem in JLT” category, which gave JLT residents, office dwellers, visitors, and Dubai foodies the chance to suggest their favourite hidden gems in JLT during August and September. The six most mentioned restaurants were then put into the online voting for the new JLT Hidden Gem category. Click here to find out more about the 2018 #HiddenGemInJLT campaign.
There were also two additional categories, which were awarded by our expert panel of chefs and restaurant industry experts: Best Newcomer and Best Overall. You can find out more about our panel of judges on our blog.
The 2018 Awards also featured two “Founder’s Awards” – special awards given out during the awards gala by JLT Dining founder and CEO of sps:affinity – Strategic Partnership Solutions Martin Kubler.
Following the close of online voting, we announced the top three restaurants in each category on our blog. Our expert judges then scrutinized all shortlisted restaurants to determine the winner and runner-up for each category.
The second JLT Restaurant Awards were open to all restaurants, cafes, and bars located in JLT, with the exception of international fast food franchises. We don’t like plastic food.

Judges Awarded Categories

Best Overall	Best Newcomer
Winner: Couqley French Bistro and Bar	Winner: Vietnamese Foodies
Runner-Up: Wokyo	Runner-Up: El Mostacho

Publicly Voted Categories

Best Brunch	Best Service	Best Bar
Winner: McGettigan’s JLT	Winner: Ananda Bhavan	Winner: Couqley French Bistro and Bar
Runner-Up: Friends Avenue Cafe	Runner-Up: Own Cafe	Runner-Up: McGettigan’s JLT

Best Café	Best Chinese	Best European (Licensed)
Winner: Own Cafe	Winner: Asian Wok	Winner: Manzoni Bistro & Bar
Runner-Up: La Cantina	Runner-Up: Wokyo	Runner-Up: Mythos

Best European (Unlicensed)	Best Healthy	Best Middle Eastern
Winner: Greek & Delicious (formerly Labbys The Hellenic House)	Winner: Hayz – Healthy & Yummie Zone	Winner: Bait Maryam
Runner-Up: Favourite Choice	Runner-Up: Poke and Co.	Runner-Up: Mezza Lebanese Kitchen

Best Indian	Best Pizza	Best South Asian
Winner: 800Thali	Winner: Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria Dubai	Winner: Little Lahore
Runner-Up: Sagar Ratna	Runner-Up: Pitfire Pizza Dubai	Runner-Up: Unforgettable Biryani

Best South East Asian	Best Street Food	Best Sweet Tooth	JLT Hidden Gem
Winner: Betawi Cafe	Winner: Wokyo	Winner: Il Donaccino	Winner: Golositalia
Runner-Up: Vietnamese Foodies	Runner-Up: Café Isan	Runner-Up: The Cake Lab	Runner-Up: Sagar Ratna

Founder’s Awards 2018:

Ayubowan and Bystro Deli JLT

An event like the JLT Restaurant Awards 2018 could not have been made possible without the support of passionate individuals, sponsors and partners and we’d like to thank the following people and companies:

Cold Stone Creamery, Ina Kubler, Saleem Suleman, Courtney Brandt, Chef Tomas Reger, Foodsheikh Media, Charles Russell Speechlys, Lanjaron Arabia, Hershal Ghambir, Ravneet Arora, sps:affinity, sps:digital, sps:pr, Blossom Tree Flower Shop, Localyser, Foodiva, Liquid of Life, Vogue Interior Decoration L.L.C., Fruitful Day, Hala Kiwi, Make My Meal, Stylextend, Body Time, and Geordie Armani.