Moqa MagContemporary ItalianDIFC

Roberto’s: Mid-Century Milan in the Heart of DIFC

A homegrown Italian dining room in DIFC since 2012, now reimagined with a Milanese design language, a sharper kitchen and Scala, its after-dark cocktail lounge.

Review No. 07Moqa Editors25 October 20262 min read

The dining room at night: an arched opening framing clusters of amber glass-disc chandeliers, white-clothed tables with rust and patterned chairs, a long banquette and the lit towers of DIFC through the windows

Roberto’s opened in DIFC’s Gate Village in 2012 and has spent more than a decade as one of the city’s defining Italian addresses. This year it reopened after a full refurbishment, with a new design, a refreshed menu and a clearer sense of what it does best.

At its core is convivialità, the Italian tradition of gathering, sharing and lingering around the table. The setting suits a business lunch as easily as a celebration, and service is attentive throughout.

The dining room by day: round white-clothed tables with cream and green armchairs in front, orange chairs beyond, glass-disc chandeliers, a gold-trimmed ceiling and paintings on a wood-panelled wall — Green armchairs and white cloths

The kitchen

Executive Chef Danilo Valla, originally from Alba, trained under Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini and worked with Gualtiero Marchesi before joining Roberto’s in 2016. Bartolini remains the restaurant’s Culinary Ambassador and works with the team on menu development and training. Classic Italian dishes are given creative, modern interpretations, built on ingredients from producers such as Pomodori D’Auria and Mancini Pastificio Agricolo.

The craft

Technique is visible at the table. The crudo bar covers dry-aged, natural and lightly marinated fish. Whole fish are baked in sea-salt crusts or aromatic salt dough and carved tableside. Pasta is handmade in-house, and desserts arrive on a traditional trolley of rotating Italian sweets and cheeses.

Shared plates on a white tablecloth: carpaccio with green leaves and shavings on a white tray, a bowl of fritti on paper, a lemon wrapped in yellow muslin, raw fish with radish and herbs, and sliced raw fish in a pink sauce, a guest in a kandura mid-conversation behind — Carpaccio, fritti and crudo for the table

Overhead view of two rectangles of carpaccio on a marble tray, topped with slices of black truffle, a drizzled sauce, small green leaves and shavings of cheese — Carpaccio with black truffle

The room

The new interiors by Forsite Creative draw on Milan in the 1950s and 1960s, with sculpted stone, rich wood, tailored upholstery and clean lines. By day, the brighter dining room reads polished and composed. As the evening goes on, deeper tones and more dramatic lighting take over, shifting the room into something more atmospheric. An expanded terrace looks out over the DIFC skyline.

The dining room in daylight: rust and cream chairs around white-clothed tables, glass-disc chandeliers and a long banquette, and through the glass walls the terrace's sofas, palms and the DIFC towers — The dining room by day, the towers beyond the glass

Scala

Scala, the intimate lounge within Roberto’s, is where the evening continues. It is younger in spirit and more striking in its interiors, pairing mid-century Milanese architecture with subtle operatic cues. The cocktails are built on Italian spirits such as gin, vermouth, amaro and aperitivi, using clarification, infusion and milk-washing. The Sbagliato comes three ways: with Moscato, Prosecco or Champagne.

A bar lit red: backlit shelves of bottles under a ceiling grid of small lights, high tables and rust velvet bar stools on a herringbone floor — The bar under a grid of lights

A lounge in red: velvet booths and armchairs around low tables with glowing candles, a drawn red curtain at the far end under a fanned, lit ceiling, olive trees on either side — Red velvet booths and a drawn curtain

Roberto’s is for an evening with a sense of occasion. Start with the crudo, share a whole fish carved at the table, and finish the night at Scala.

Moqa's take

What to order

01CarciofiAn artichoke salad with grana padano and a pine nut dressing.
02CapesanteScallop carpaccio with a citrus dressing and crusco capsicum.
03Branzino CrudoSea bass carpaccio with Amalfi lemon and an artichoke salad.
04Il BoscoA long-standing favourite: wild forest and portobello mushroom risotto with anise powder and shaved black truffle.
05Branzino al CartoccioWild sea bass baked in parchment with spinach, pine nuts and a lemon butter sauce.
06Gelato Verde OroHalf a kilo of pistachio ice cream finished with extra virgin olive oil, made for the table.

See the a la carte menu Scala menu Wine menu Dessert menu Cigar menu

The verdict

A classy, reimagined DIFC institution serving creative modern Italian cooking, with Scala keeping the evening going after dinner.

Best for

Date nights
Business lunches
Celebrations
Cocktails

Good to knowThe salt-crusted sea bass is carved tableside, serves two, and needs at least 30 minutes.

At a glance

Area: Gate Village Building No. 1, DIFC
Cuisine: Contemporary Italian
Price guide: Crudo AED 95–155; pasta and risotto AED 110–215; mains AED 175–550; grill cuts AED 210–840; desserts AED 40–130; cocktails at Scala AED 72–115
Parking: Valet at Gate Village, validated by the restaurant
Hours: 12pm–3am Monday to Friday; 1pm–3am on Saturday and Sunday