Dubai's Italian restaurant count keeps climbing, but the newest addition has one clear ace up its sleeve: the pasta. Pepe Cucina has just opened at the Address Beach Resort in JBR, serving handmade pasta, wood-fired cooking and a relaxed, trattoria-inspired vibe right on the waterfront.
The restaurant is spread across four distinct areas, which gives it more flexibility than your average Italian dining room. Indoors, the look nods to a traditional trattoria with a modern finish, while open-air tables look out over JBR and the Ain Dubai — well suited to a long lunch, sunset drinks or dinner with friends. There's a bar with playful décor and, usefully for parents, a dedicated kids' area.
As for the food, reviewers at What's On Dubai found the starters — an endive salad with gorgonzola, pecans and figs, plus a beef carpaccio with mustard and pickled mushrooms — solid, but it was the pasta that earned the return visit. Standouts include homemade gnocchi arrabbiata topped with burrata in a spicy smoked cherry tomato sauce, and fusilloni alla genovese with an onion and beef ragù finished in pecorino sauce. The lobster linguine, with al dente pasta and generous, sweet lobster in just enough sauce, was flagged as the dish to order.
Desserts run the classic-to-fresh range: tiramisu, a bombolone alla crema and a mango and passion fruit sorbet. Drinks stay on theme with a premium Italian wine list alongside creative cocktails and mocktails. Service is pitched as friendly and informal rather than formal.
Budget-wise, expect roughly Dhs650-700 for two people covering drinks, starters, mains and dessert — more if you add a bottle of wine. Opening hours: 1pm to midnight on Sundays, Fridays and Saturdays; 4pm to midnight Tuesday to Thursday; closed Mondays.
