Restaurant critics, good restaurant critics, are a lighthouse in the dark. A beacon at the edge, waving to warn of the perils below, whilst also pointing a light towards a better way.

For a while, I posted some form of Year in Review. The early years were overwrought, so I simplified the message, choosing instead to shine that light towards better, safer spaces.

Chefs know better.

Years ago, Massimo Bottura walked into Trésind Studio and ate a dish he loved so much, he traced the contours of a heart in the plate’s saucy remains so the kitchen would know how he felt. Chefs know that chefs check returning plates, and he knew Chef Himanshu Saini would see the message.

That plate is now museum-mounted inside the foyer of the three-Michelin-starred Trésind Studio.

I have remorselessly plagiarised Massimo’s gesture the world over, dispatching heart-sketched plates to chefs, asking the service team to ensure the kitchen sees them.

When assembling my thoughts about 2025, I wanted to focus on the memorable. To spotlight standout individual dishes.

Tell me what stood out to you in 2025. Who deserves our hearts?

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Lao Tahini Caesar Salad—Al Naqa, Neighbourhood Foodhall, Dubai

Any cook can throw more at more with spices, but each stabbing forkful—a deftly balanced tumble of Romaine lettuce, cucumber and Lao Tahini dressing with za’atar and fragrant herbs—tells me AJ knows when to pull back. It is the salad that makes me want to eat more salad and lick my fingers with the spoils. Al Naqa left Neighbourhood Foodhall for a new location that did not work out. Chef AJ is currently consulting and doing pop-ups. Investors, if you are reading, here’s his Instagram. You should reach out.

Duck haleem, foie gras, sourdough toast; Lobster tail, smoked chilli jam, tomato moilee, tomato XO—Trésind Studio, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

Trésind Studio’s long reign in my Year in Reviews shows no sign of slowing. This year, two dishes were created during a collaboration with chef Johannes Richter of TheLivingRoom. I still love foie gras. I know that’s uncouth to some. Moreover, I admire Chef Himanshi Saini for adding an Indian accent to a rich baton of the stuff served on what resembled a bed of hay and a sidecar of duck haleem. The lobster tail punched with an ochre, lacquered heat rarely seen on Trésind Studio’s menus.

Marinda tomato and pistachio-stained fusilloni—Ristorante Lido 84, Lake Garda, Italy

This dish lives among my top ten of all time—so much so that I’ve inhaled it during each of my four Lido 84 meals. It is the interplay of suave pistachio and the sweet tang of Marinda tomatoes enveloped around layers of oversized fusilli with the nose ring of basil leaves. To bore of this dish is to bore of life.

Kings Venison (c. 1995), pickled beetroot, smoked chestnut, black truffle—Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Dubai, Atlantis the Royal, Dubai

Venison is a rarely spotted protein in Dubai. Chef Chris Malone’s team laid a small banquet of dishes circling a judiciously-cooked venison, tender as you like, with a near purple core. The earthy beetroot, lightly pickled, brightens an autumnal, suave chestnut porridge and, dare I say, some black truffle added meaningful depth. Solid cooking.

Samosa Chaat—Bombay Bites, Meena Bazar, Dubai.

My Google Maps is littered with reader recommendations with their local favourites. Between fittings for an Indian wedding, I sauntered over to Bombay Bites—one such recommendation—which serves up a belly-filling, mouth-puckering, tongue-tingling samosa chaat ladled into a steel tray loaded with chickpeas, sev, coriander, diced red onion against two side pools of mint coriander chutney and cooling yoghurt. I drew a heart, snapped this photo and then smeared the plate with fluffy remains of a vada pav.

Beetroot tzatziki—Piehaus, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

The platter of vivid magenta shocks the retinas from across the room; but this suave balm of sweet and creamy, the tingle of dill’s vegetal anise and a welcomed texture of beetroot and seeds lubricated further with a trickle of olive oil rendered me to a quiet stupor one early afternoon pressed against this bar seating in Alserkal Avenue. If I did not eat it, I would wear it as a night cream to roll back the years.

Omani Coastal Fish in Mesoamerican Sauce—Girl & The Goose, Anantara Downtown Dubai, Dubai

The magic of this dish, like many great dishes, is in what it does and where it holds back. The woody-spiced Pinol sauce coats a slab of Omani reef cod, cooked perfectly. I did not know this fish in life, but its death was noble. A few asparagus spears accompany it with a bloom of sweet corn espuma and the warring, thick Pinol sauce. There’s no heavy carb. The fish and sauces are the stars. Gabriela, I could eat this once a week and never get bored.

Spaghettoni with mustard grains and tuna crudo—Al Muntaha, Burj Al Arab, Dubai.

The standout dish among a strong cohort during my last lunch at Al Muntaha. This spaghettoni—thick enough to hold up a bridge—apparently takes 18 minutes to cook, according to the effortlessly charming Antonio. The sweetness of the raw tuna, coupled with the texture and pop of mustard seeds, in a sauce of cooked tuna and shallots that felt both hearty and light in equal measure. There is pasta, and there is this.

Crab, Crab, Crab—Lolla, Chinatown, Singapore.

If you signal an ingredient three times, you have my attention. What earns a spot on this list is its complexity, but the crab remains the star. Generous crab leg and claw morsels with roe are bolstered by pearls of couscous and smoky burnt cabbage shreds still with its bite. The sweetness of crab, the tartness of tomato, the tingle of paprika, lemongrass and lime, and the whisper of smoked cabbage—all buttressed by the body of couscous—make this not only one of the most complex but also one of the most enjoyable dishes of the night.

Parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke, black garlic and togarashi with root vegetable and burnt garlic tea; grilled maitake mushroom with cep and pigs’ ear, beer and yeast foam with potato brioche with a whipped butter made with previous day’s brioche; roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup with Orkney scallop, chicken jus, cep dust and Jerusalem artichoke crisps—Osip, Hardway, United Kingdom.

I cannot think of another meal where I sent three hearts back to the kitchen; so my second and latest dinner at Osip is in the discussion as one of my best meals ever. The through line in all three is a flavour-first approach where Merlin, like a coach, coaxes ingredients to their fullest potential with pizzazz and flair, without feeling forced or contrived. I wanted to lick these plates and return them worryingly clean.

Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications. You can find Liam on Substack, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky or Facebook.