The honest version of "Best Uruguayan Restaurants in Dubai" is: there is no Uruguayan restaurant in Dubai. There are three options for eating Uruguayan food in this city, and they range from "an Argentinian parrilla where you can order Uruguayan dishes off-menu if you know to ask" to "a private chef who will set up a parrilla in your villa garden and cook for eight people". This is the ranked, honest list as of May 2026.
We have eaten at all three multiple times over the past 18 months. We have ordered chivitos, asados, pamplonas, morcillas dulces. We have asked for Tannat. We have, in one case, brought our own dulce de leche to a private dinner. The ranking below reflects fidelity to the Uruguayan tradition, not absolute restaurant quality.
The 3 Places to Eat Uruguayan in Dubai
1. Pablo Errea Private Asado
AED 350ppPrivate catering · Minimum 8 guests · @pabloparrilladubai (Instagram)
Pablo Errea spent seven years as sous-chef at Tannat in Montevideo before moving to Dubai in 2021. He runs a private-event parrilla operation: he brings the grill (a custom-built v-rack), the meat (sourced through a Hereford supplier in Australia he has used for two years), and a service team of three. Minimum 8 guests, maximum 40. Menu includes Uruguayan-cut tira de asado, entraña, vacío, morcilla dulce with walnut and raisin, chorizo criollo, pamplona de pollo, provoleta, and ensalada rusa. He brings his own Tannat and Albariño wines (the latter increasingly produced in Maldonado). He brings mate equipment if requested.
What we ate: tira de asado (he cuts to 1.5cm Uruguayan-style, not 2.5cm Argentinian), morcilla dulce (the only one we have eaten in the UAE), pamplona de pollo, dulce de leche flan. Total per head with drinks: AED 480.
How to book: DM Instagram, 3 weeks advance notice. He requires a 50% deposit. Pays via bank transfer. He provides his own staff and clean-up. You provide a garden, patio, or large kitchen.
2. Gaucho — Atlantis The Palm (and DIFC)
AED 250-450 ppArgentinian-branded with Uruguayan dishes · Atlantis the Palm · +971 4 426 1166
Gaucho is the only commercial Dubai restaurant with a serviceable chivito (off-menu — you must ask for it). The Atlantis branch is better than the DIFC branch for the chivito; the DIFC branch is better for asado de tira. Both serve Bodega Garzón Tannat Reserva by the bottle at AED 480, which is the only restaurant Tannat in Dubai outside of La Cantina de los Murales. The asado is Argentinian-thick (2cm tira), not Uruguayan-thin, but the wood-fire treatment is correct.
What to order: Chivito (off-menu, AED 145), asado de tira 600g (AED 220), provoleta (AED 78), dulce de leche cheesecake (AED 65). Skip the empanadas — they are Argentinian Salteña style, not Uruguayan.
Best time to visit: Sunday lunch on the Atlantis terrace overlooking the marina. Booking essential 5+ days ahead.
3. La Cantina de los Murales — DIFC
AED 200-350 ppArgentinian parrilla · Uruguay-trained grill chef · ICD Brookfield Place, DIFC
La Cantina opened in 2024 with a head grill chef (Diego Costa) who trained at Garzón in Punta del Este before working at a Punta parrilla for nine years. The technique is unambiguously Uruguayan — lower coals, longer time, thinner cuts. The 600g tira de asado at AED 195 is the cleanest piece of Uruguayan-style asado in commercial Dubai. The wine list includes Bouza Tannat at AED 520. They do not serve chivito.
What to order: Tira de asado (AED 195), entraña (skirt steak, AED 175), provoleta with oregano (AED 65), Garzón albariño (AED 380 by bottle). The chimichurri is house-made and excellent.
Best time to visit: Thursday or Friday lunch when the DIFC crowd thins. Sit at the chef's counter overlooking the grill.
What's Missing — A Real Uruguayan Restaurant
Dubai does not have what Buenos Aires has on every block: a small, neighbourhood, family-run parrilla with a tira de asado on the grill, four bottles of Tannat on the wall, and a mate gourd circulating between tables. The closest thing in spirit is Sabores del Sur in Al Quoz (Chilean, not Uruguayan, but the only South American-owned restaurant in Dubai). The format does not yet exist for Uruguay. We have asked. We have begged. We continue to wait.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an actual Uruguayan restaurant in Dubai?
No. As of May 2026 there is no Uruguayan-owned and Uruguayan-branded restaurant in Dubai. The three options for eating Uruguayan food are Pablo Errea's private catering (the most authentic), Gaucho Atlantis (the chivito off-menu), and La Cantina de los Murales DIFC (Uruguay-trained grill chef).
How do I order the chivito at Gaucho?
Tell the server you want a chivito. It is not on the printed menu but the kitchen will make it, takes about 18 minutes, and costs AED 145. They use their filet mignon for the beef, San Daniele ham, mozzarella di bufala, bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato. Ask for it 'cargado' (loaded) if you want the works.
Can I hire Pablo Errea for a small dinner of 4 people?
No — the minimum booking is 8 guests. The economics of bringing a grill, three staff, and a full meat order do not work below that. If you have 4 people, your best option is a Sunday lunch at Gaucho Atlantis with the chivito off-menu, or a tira de asado at La Cantina DIFC.
Where can I buy Uruguayan ingredients in Dubai?
Spinneys Carrefour Khalidiya has a small Latin American section with yerba mate (Cruz de Malta, Canarias), dulce de leche (Conaprole brand from Uruguay, AED 28), and alfajores. For Hereford beef, try Spinneys premium butcher counter or Prime Gourmet at Mercato Mall. For Tannat wine, MMI stocks Bouza and Garzon consistently.
