Tribes Restaurant Dubai Mall: Best Fountain Show Views & Delicious Food
Discover Tribes Restaurant in Dubai Mall, offering unparalleled views of the spectacular Dubai Fountain Show and delicious African-inspired dishes. A must-visit!
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Discover Tribes Restaurant in Dubai Mall, offering unparalleled views of the spectacular Dubai Fountain Show and delicious African-inspired dishes. A must-visit!
Tribes: A Must-Try Dubai Restaurant
A trip to Dubai simply isn't complete without experiencing the iconic Dubai Fountain Show.
Watching from ground level can be crowded, making it hard to get a clear view. I really wanted an elevated perspective to fully appreciate it.
After looking at many restaurants, I chose Tribes. Not only is its location unbeatable for the show, but the food is genuinely fantastic, so I highly recommend it.
Here's a quick recap of my experience.
1. Tribes: A Top Restaurant in Dubai Mall
📍 Tribes Dubai Mall
Level 2, Star Atrium, above apple store, The Dubai Mall - برج خليفة - وسط مدينة دبي - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Operating Hours | Mon - Thu: 11 AM - Midnight Fri - Sun: 11 AM - 1 AM |
Closed Days | None |
Reservations Recommended | Highly Recommended |
Located on the second floor of Dubai Mall, Tribes is uniquely an African-inspired restaurant. You can probably guess that from the name! It's open daily and is quite a spacious restaurant, but the terrace seating is limited, so reservations are a must. I'll explain more about booking further down.
The complimentary bread was delicious, and the calamari was perfectly crispy. It's a familiar flavor done exceptionally well, great for a quick appetizer.
Their oxtail stew is likely a signature dish, topped with cute little carrots. This dish is absolutely incredible! It has a comforting, rich flavor that reminded me of some hearty stews, making it a universally appealing choice – perfect even if you're dining with family. Highly, highly recommended!
I asked our server for mocktail recommendations and ordered two. These mocktails were unlike anything I'd tasted before, and every single one was fantastic! I keep saying 'delicious,' but they truly were. Don't skip out on the drinks here!
To fully enjoy the evening fountain show, we took our time, savoring our meal and even ordering another round of mocktails. (Pardon the slight blur, the table got a bit messy as we enjoyed ourselves!)
Many Google reviews mention the incredibly friendly staff, and I can confirm they are absolutely wonderful.
2. The Fountain Show View from Tribes
While I initially chose this restaurant for the fountain show view, the delicious food made the experience even better. We timed our meal perfectly to catch the show.
The Dubai Mall Fountain is the largest I've ever seen. This means that from ground level, you simply can't take in the entire spectacle. While there were tons of people watching from below, the sheer scale of the fountains dancing to music and changing lights makes it impossible to fully appreciate from the ground. Seriously, you *must* see it from an elevated spot. The view from the restaurant's terrace was perfect, wasn't it?
The night view here isn't the best quality, but we stepped out onto the terrace with our leftover drinks to wait for another fountain show performance.
I've been fortunate enough to see the 'Big Three' fountain shows – Montjuïc, Las Vegas, and Dubai – and Dubai's was by far the most impressive. You absolutely have to see it!
From this restaurant, you get an unobstructed view of both the fountains and the Burj Khalifa. This means you can fully appreciate any light shows on the skyscraper too. Trying to see all this from ground level would surely strain your neck!
3. How to Make a Reservation
There are two main ways to reserve a table at Tribes. The first, and most straightforward, is through Google Maps.
Simply find Tribes on the map, click 'Reserve a table,' and you'll see a window (like the image on the right) where you can select your desired date and time. The catch here is that this option only offers indoor seating. There's no direct option to book an outdoor terrace table.
If you want to guarantee a terrace table, you'll need to consider the second method: booking through a dedicated reservation website.
Booking Site | 2-Person Set Menu Price | Notes |
~$253 | 10% off for first-time app bookings -> ~$228 after discount |
This method guarantees you a terrace seat and pre-selects a set menu for your meal. While the prices might seem steep at first glance, keep in mind that dining in Dubai can be quite expensive. For example, a main course, drinks, and sides for two people at this restaurant can easily exceed ~$207. These 2-person set menus include a starter, main, dessert, and drinks.
When I ordered a la carte for two, my bill also surpassed ~$207, which was a bit of a shock, but Dubai's cost of living and dining is just higher. I even remember paying around ~$35 for a burger combo!
The specific dishes included in the 2-person set menus are detailed on each booking site.
Notably, KKday offers an additional 10% discount for first-time app bookings.
If you're comfortable dining indoors and simply stepping out to the terrace for the fountain show, then booking via Google Maps is a good, simple option. But if you want the guaranteed terrace reservation to enjoy your meal with the fountain show as your backdrop, I highly recommend using one of the dedicated booking sites.
Honestly, even without the fountain show, the food itself is so delicious that Tribes is a restaurant I'd want to revisit on my next trip to Dubai. It's not just a prime spot for the fountain show; it's a fantastic Dubai restaurant, and I wholeheartedly recommend it!
Tribes is located on the 2nd floor of Dubai Mall, in the Star Atrium, above the Apple Store. Operating hours are from 11 AM to midnight from Monday to Thursday, and from 11 AM to 1 AM from Friday to Sunday. There are no closing days.
To guarantee a terrace seat and dine with a view of the Fountain Show, you must use external booking sites like kkday or MyRealTrip. Reservations made through Google Maps only allow for indoor seating.
On kkday, the 2-person set costs ~$253, and with a 10% discount for the first app payment, it can be paid for at ~$228. On MyRealTrip, it costs ~$234, and as a Korean site, you can utilize benefits such as coupons, card payment advantages, and installment plans.
The signature dish of this restaurant is the Oxtail Stew, which has a Korean-like flavor. As for drinks, the mocktails recommended by the server were mentioned as all being delicious, even for a first-time try.
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