The restaurant comes complete with grandmothers flown in monthly to cook the food they’ve perfected over generations
If your idea of comfort food involves fresh pasta, regional Italian recipes, and a grandmother telling you you’re too skinny, then this one’s for you.
Opening at the end of September 2025, MamaBella is not just another Italian restaurant in Dubai, it’s a heartfelt tribute to Italy’s most cherished culinary icons: the nonnas.
Inspired by the hit Netflix film Nonnas, this soulful concept is landing at Kempinski The Boulevard, turning a corner of downtown Dubai into a rustic slice of southern Italy.
Here’s the twist: every month, MamaBella will fly in a real grandmother from a different region of Italy.
These women bring decades of experience, handwritten recipes, and serious culinary heart.
Expect lovingly made lasagna, hand-shaped culurgiones, golden seadas, wood-grilled meats, and all the soulful sauces that remind you of someone’s home (even if you’ve never been to Italy).
This is the heart of the ‘Cucina Mamma’ experience, where food isn’t just cooked, it’s passed down, plate by plate, story by story.
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Want to do more than just eat? The Mamma Studio, a 12-seat communal table, is where you can watch, taste, and learn from the visiting nonna herself. It’s part kitchen theatre, part culinary archive, and fully immersive.
Whether you’re chatting with Nonna Maria from Sardinia or tasting Emilia-Romagna’s famous tortellini from Nonna Lucia, each visit promises new flavours and deeper stories.
MamaBella’s interiors channel the feeling of a quiet Italian village tucked between mountains and sea, all stone textures, warm wood, and olive-toned greenery. It’s rustic charm meets Dubai luxury.
The food philosophy here is deeply regional, seasonal, and emotional. No trendy reinventions. Just real Italian cooking made with:
Artisanal cheeses
Fresh seafood from Mediterranean waters
Wild herbs and hand-rolled pasta
And, of course, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil in everything
Each nonna brings her own specialities, so the menu will change often, but expect every dish to be filled with passion, tradition, and more than a few family secrets.
MamaBella opens its doors at the end of September, with the first visiting nonna and full menu reveal coming soon.
Until then, follow @mamabelladubai for behind-the-scenes peeks, sneak previews, and early bookings.
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