The MICHELIN Guide Food Festival returns to Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental from Friday 21 November to Sunday 23 November 2025, and one of its most coveted seats is the MICHELIN Stars Table: Talea by Antonio Guida. On Friday 21 November, the one-star Italian restaurant hosts a six-hands dinner that brings together its own team with guest chefs from acclaimed MICHELIN-starred kitchens abroad. The event is scheduled as a single sitting at 7:30 pm in Talea’s dining room, with a dedicated tasting menu created exclusively for that evening. Festival communications present it as a headline experience within the culinary weekend rather than a routine service. For serious diners, this is the type of one-night collaboration that justifies planning an entire Abu Dhabi weekend around a single table (suitable for couples, solo).
About Talea and the guest chefs
Talea by Antonio Guida sits inside Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental as a one MICHELIN Star Italian restaurant, known for its “Cucina di Famiglia” approach that reworks family recipes with fine-dining precision. The kitchen reflects the vision of Italian chef Antonio Guida, long celebrated for his work in Milan, and is led on site by chef Luigi Stinga, whose team has helped secure Abu Dhabi recognition in the MICHELIN Guide. For the 2025 festival, the MICHELIN Stars Table series confirms that Talea’s brigade will cook alongside chefs from The Counter in Switzerland and Thevar in Singapore, both holding two MICHELIN Stars in their respective cities. This means guests effectively experience three MICHELIN-recognised restaurants in one room, within a single service. Three MICHELIN-recognised kitchens join forces for one evening only, turning Talea into a concentrated showcase of contemporary European and Asian fine dining (suitable for couples, solo).
Date, time and booking details
The MICHELIN Stars Table: Talea by Antonio Guida is scheduled for Friday 21 November 2025, with the experience beginning at 7:30 pm at the restaurant inside Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental on West Corniche Road in Abu Dhabi. Event listings and ticketing pages specify that it forms part of the wider MICHELIN Guide Food Festival taking place from Friday 21 November to Sunday 23 November on the palace lawns. Current information lists the six-hands dinner at approximately 850 AED per person, reflecting its status as a premium festival highlight. Places are limited to the capacity of the dining room, and bookings are handled through the festival’s ticketing partner rather than standard restaurant reservations. Reservation required; seats are limited and are sold as a dated, pre-paid experience rather than a flexible booking (suitable for couples, solo).
What to expect from the six-hands menu
Although the exact menu for Friday 21 November remains subject to seasonal produce and final creative decisions, the format follows the MICHELIN Stars Table pattern of a multi-course tasting menu designed around collaboration. Talea usually showcases refined, family-style Italian cooking, and for this dinner it is expected to sit alongside modern dishes from The Counter and spice-driven plates from Thevar, giving guests a progression that moves between Europe and Asia without leaving the room. Courses are plated in a fine-dining style, but the festival messaging frames the evening as convivial rather than overly formal, encouraging conversation between courses. Beverage pairings, including wine or non-alcoholic options, are typically available at an additional cost set by the hotel, so diners should budget on top of the 850 AED menu price. Arriving with an open palate and enough time to enjoy a full, unhurried tasting menu will make the investment feel justified (suitable for couples, solo).
Dress code and atmosphere at Emirates Palace
Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental remains one of the capital’s most recognisable luxury addresses, and Talea’s dining room echoes that setting with polished yet relaxed interiors that overlook landscaped grounds. For the MICHELIN Stars Table dinner, guests can safely assume a smart-casual to elegant dress code: jackets and dresses are common, but black-tie formality is not necessary. Closed shoes and neat attire feel appropriate in both the palace lobby and the restaurant, especially when moving between festival areas and the dining room. Because of the price point and the emphasis on wine pairings, the organisers state that participants must be at least 21 years old. Not suitable for children; the dinner is explicitly restricted to guests aged 21 and above (suitable for couples, solo).
Arriving from Abu Dhabi city and other emirates
From central Abu Dhabi, Emirates Palace sits along West Corniche Road, and the drive from districts such as Al Bateen, Corniche or Al Maryah Island typically takes around 10 to 20 minutes outside rush hour. Drivers enter through the main palace gates, pass security, and then follow signs to the hotel and restaurant drop-off, where valet and self-parking options are available according to hotel policy. On a Friday evening, traffic around the Corniche and key intersections can increase between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, so leaving the city centre by about 6:15 pm is a practical target for a 7:30 pm sitting. Guests travelling from Yas Island should allow roughly 30 to 40 minutes by car, while those coming from Dubai or Sharjah need to plan for a 60 to 90 minute highway drive along E11, ideally arriving in Abu Dhabi well before 6:30 pm. Parking capacity is limited at peak dinner times, so arriving early or using a taxi or ride-hailing service can reduce stress (suitable for couples, solo).
Festival context and alternative weekend options
Because the MICHELIN Guide Food Festival runs from Friday 21 November to Sunday 23 November 2025 at Emirates Palace, guests can combine the Talea dinner with a broader weekend of tastings and masterclasses. The main festival grounds open from around 4:00 pm each day, giving diners the option to arrive earlier on Friday for a stroll through the food booths and producer zones before heading inside for the 7:30 pm service. Over the weekend, families may prefer daytime general admission to the lawns, while dedicated food travellers might add other MICHELIN Stars Table dinners or adult masterclasses. For those who live in Dubai or other emirates, a common strategy is to book an overnight stay in Abu Dhabi on Friday, enjoy the dinner without worrying about a late return drive, and then spend Saturday at the festival or visiting Saadiyat Island. Treating the Talea six-hands dinner as the centrepiece of a full festival weekend helps maximise the value of the approximately 850 AED ticket (suitable for couples, solo).
Weather, weekend conditions and closing tips
Forecasts for Abu Dhabi from Friday 21 November to Sunday 23 November 2025 indicate hazy sunshine during the day, with highs close to 31°C and evening temperatures easing down towards 23°C, and no significant rain expected across the weekend. Light, breathable fabrics work well for arriving through the palace grounds or visiting the outdoor festival areas before dinner, while the air-conditioned interiors of Emirates Palace and Talea may justify a light blazer or shawl for those who feel cold easily. Even though the restaurant itself is indoors on solid flooring, lawns and garden paths around the festival can pick up dew after dark, so closed shoes are more practical than delicate high heels when moving between zones. Traffic along the Corniche and towards Emirates Palace tends to peak on Friday evenings, especially between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, so taxis and ride-hailing services often provide a calmer experience than searching for parking at the last minute, and all quoted ticket and on-site prices should be treated as approximately, because hotel and festival policies can adjust them closer to the date. Make your reservation before it’s too late, as editors and readers at platforms such as www.few.ae often note that the MICHELIN Stars Table dinners are among the first Food Festival experiences to sell out (suitable for couples, solo).
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