Specialty

Contemporary Anatolian Cuisine/Bar

Founders

Umut Özkanca, Dogus Restaurant Entertainment and Management group

Opening Year

2016

Introduction

Restaurant Rüya was opened in 2016 as an addition to Grosvenor House Hotel, directly at one of Dubai’s hot spots at the Marina. Restaurant and Bar stretch across 800 m², accommodating up to dining 230 guests. The guest area consists of a bar, lounge, private dining rooms and an external terrace overlooking the Marina.

Rüya means dream in Turkish. Umut Özkanca, who created the concept of Rüya, wanted to take future guest on a culinary journey to his home region In Turkey, Anatolia.

For Rüya, Bar Consultant Andrew Mullins not only designed and overlooked the innovative ice maker installation, he exclusively developed a list of signature cocktails as well. To bring Anatolia into the glass, he fuses classic flavours with traditional Turkish ingredients, such as hibiscus, rose, pomegranate, honey, spices, citrus, and mint.

Combining aesthetics and functionality, the masterminds behind the clever Rüya bar concept decided to promote the ice maker to be the actual highlight of the bar. With the ice maker built into the ceiling, guests can witness fresh batches of premium ice cubes “raining” down, right into the ice chest of the bar below.

What merely seems to be a stunning visual effect is a concept based on functionality, food safety, and operator convenience. With Rüyas installation, the bar is supplied with fresh ice instantly, avoiding the tiring step of manual ice transport from the bin to the bar. Besides avoiding potential contamination, eliminating the step of manual ice transport saves valuable time, especially in peak times, when the bar needs to be refilled constantly.