Zuma Dubai — Restaurant in Dubai

Disrespectful and Biased Treatment at Zuma Dubai Entrance

Dear Zuma Dubai Management,

On the night of July 22nd, around 1:30 AM, I visited Zuma DIFC with a guest who had just arrived in Dubai. I chose Zuma because of its strong reputation and my expectation of a high-quality, professional experience. Unfortunately, what we encountered at the entrance was extremely disappointing and completely inconsistent with the standards I associate with your brand.

As we approached Zuma, we noticed a group of four people (two women and two men) walking ahead of us. It was clear they had just met and were visibly intoxicated. Upon reaching the entrance, we (my guest and I) and the group in front of us stood face-to-face with two male staff members (likely security or hosts), who did not greet us or say “welcome.” Instead, they just stared silently in a judgmental manner.

One of the women from the group said they wanted to come in. One of the staff asked, “Are you all together?” The woman said yes—although we had no relation to the group whatsoever. I immediately clarified that we were not with them, but the staff member replied, “We can’t let you in. It’s enough for you tonight.”

I asked politely if there was space inside for just the two of us. The staff member turned to the woman and said, “You told me you were six people.” She corrected him: “No, we are four.” The four of them were then allowed inside, (even they were drunk) while we were left outside.

The most upsetting part came next. The staff member turned to me with a sarcastic smile and said, “You’ve had enough to drink tonight.” When I asked what he meant, he said, “You’ve already been drinking—I can’t let you in.”

That statement was completely false and offensive. I had not consumed any alcohol that night. In fact, I had just finished work, rested briefly at home, and came directly to Zuma. Still, I felt forced to justify myself in front of others—an incredibly humiliating situation.

The staff member continued with disrespectful and mocking comments like: “This is experience—I can tell just by looking at your face.” and “I can smell the alcohol from a distance.” His tone lacked all professionalism or seriousness.

As a woman, being humiliated like this in front of my guest—and in plain view of others—was not only embarrassing but also deeply disrespectful. It’s not just about being denied entry; it’s about being wrongly accused and judged, and made to explain myself for something I did not do.

I responded by telling him that his behavior was neither professional nor humane, and that he should work on improving himself. I also mentioned that I myself work in this industry, in the DIFC area specifically, and that I have never experienced such treatment at any other venue in Dubai or DIFC. Without continuing the argument, we chose to leave.

It is truly disheartening to see such biased, disrespectful, and arbitrary behavior from staff at an establishment as internationally respected as Zuma. I hope you take this feedback seriously, review the conduct of the staff involved, and take the necessary steps to ensure that no other guest has to go through such an...

Zuma used to be the place that’s expensive but with quality food and service. Their brunch used to be the epitome of Dubai brunch, and now it’s just an overpriced restaurant with service that have an attitude. It’s actually very appalling the way they are speaking to their guests, beyond the fact that hospitality is not part of it, their lack of manner is outrageous it’s like the manager, Loan, was tired of his job and trying to pick up a fight with a diner. The brunch bill came wrong and it took them 30 min to fix it, it’s like the normal waiters don’t have authority nor basic judgement to know how to deal with situations. The waiter knew I had non alcoholic package but didn’t realize one of us was a 16 yo kid who obviously was not drinking alcohol. When I pointed out that the 16yo is being charged for champagne package he didn’t know what to do, and trying to find out who’s this 16 yo and to make sure that boy actually looks like a 16 yo. It was very weird. Then the manager came to understand more and when I told him the bill is wrong because me and the 16yo are not drinking but we only had 1 non alcoholic package on the bill, he looked at me and pointed that there were sake and champagne glasses close by in front of me, to suggest that I was lying. We are a big table it’s not rocket science to know that glasses can be everywhere, I also had two water glasses and one mocktail glass in front of me, why did he not point that out? I think if you cannot get your things in order within your team before speaking to your client who is paying 2000usd on the bill you are probably not suitable to work in such high end restaurant. His attitude and his manner shows his character outside of his uniform.

And also the waiter who was clearing the table dropped some leftover on my dress that made a stain on my it, instead of owning it from the get-go and I had to point that out for him. His first response was “no how could that happened?” You had a tray full of dirty dishes and leftovers and you were squeezing into me, I mean what did you think? While he later on try to bring soda water for me to clean it up. His initial reaction already left a bad impression.

Overall, it just felt like the staff during brunch hours are tired of their job and lack manners. Which brings a bad taste when you paid usd 2k for a meal. But why would they care about service, hospitality, or manner right? If getting big bucks is all they care about. Such a shame zuma is becoming like some places in difc who only cares about money and losing the meaning of...

We were visiting as a big group for a celebration and overall I am satisfied with my experience. The ambience at Zuma is amazing, dim lights with some music and a live view of the chefs making the food. I also appreciated the bar being in a different location from the dinning area, which is great at separating the different forms of settings and customers. The staff were friendly and very helpful.

For starters we went with the edamame, miso soup, crab soup, crispy fried squid and tiger prawn tempura. The crab soup was slightly fishy so I would recommend the miso soup. My favorites were the crispy fried squid and the tempura, great for sharing.

As for the sashimi, we chose the salmon, tuna, scallops and squid. For the rolls we went for California, sake maki, spicy salmon and spicy hamachi. All of which were great. In addition we were served an extra plate of crispy California rolls which was a nice gesture.

For the mains, the spicy beef tenderloin was well seasoned and cooked to our liking. While the beef skewers were tender, with a slight sweetness. I would recommend both to be cooked medium. The grilled octopus was presented nicely, but had a slight chewiness. It was ok, but could be improved. I have been served better grilled octopus in Japanese fusion restaurants in Dubai. The oyster mushroom with butter wafu sauce had a beefy texture with some sourness. Great for non-meat eaters. For drinks I enjoyed the boutoko. It has a refreshing fruity and candy-ish flavor.

Finally for desserts I would recommend the special chocolate with vanilla ice-cream for chocolate lovers. The exotic fruit platter with tropical sorbet was beautifully presented with two scoops of sorbet on the top and a variety of fresh fruit. However I would’ve loved seeing more sorbet flavors on the platter in comparison to the fruits.

Thank you...