A Thai restaurant on Palm Jumeirah has quietly become one of Dubai's more interesting dinner options. Mekong, inside the Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort, has rolled out a new menu, a reworked cocktail list and near-nightly DJ sets, all built around the food of Bangkok rather than a generic pan-Asian playbook.
The kitchen's inspiration is Yaowarat, Bangkok's famously raucous Chinatown, and the menu leans into Thai cooking with Chinese and wider Southeast Asian accents. Standouts include Laab Pla Salmon, an Esarn-style salmon tartare lifted with mint, chilli and ikura, and Phad Thai Goong with wok-fried noodles, prawns, tamarind and peanuts. If you want something more substantial, there's Massaman Ossobuco, a slow-braised veal shank, and Kao Soi Nuer, a Burmese-influenced beef cheek curry served with egg noodles and chilli oil.
The bar keeps pace. New cocktails pull flavours from across the region: the City of Lights mixes lemongrass, roselle soda and tropical fruits, while the Dragon Wall Negroni twists the Italian classic with kaffir lime and oolong tea. DJs play from 8.30pm to 11.30pm, Friday through Wednesday, so it works as an evening out rather than just a meal.
The date to circle is Friday, November 6, when chef Akkawin 'Punn' Pitrachart of Spice Market at Anantara Siam Bangkok touches down for Rooted in Thailand. It's a one-night-only, five-course dinner spanning all four of Thailand's culinary regions, pairing heritage ingredients and traditional recipes with modern technique. It costs Dhs495 per person, and given it's a single seating of a visiting chef's menu, it's the kind of thing worth booking ahead for.
Mekong serves dinner Wednesday to Monday, 6pm to 11.30pm, with the kitchen dark on Tuesdays. The resort setting on Palm Jumeirah makes it an easy combine with a stay at the Anantara or an evening stroll along the Palm's boardwalk. For travellers passing through Dubai who've had their fill of steakhouses and brunch spots, this is a solid pick for a night that feels closer to Southeast Asia than the Gulf.
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