The restaurateur dishes on inspiration, ownership and the importance of authenticity
What is the core concept of Orilla and why now?
Orilla was born from memory, travel, and emotion. The word ‘Orilla’ means ‘shore’ in Spanish, and for me, the shore represents a meeting point where cultures, people, flavours, and stories come together. The concept is rooted in Mediterranean coastal cuisine with subtle Asian influences, inspired by my upbringing near the coast in India and my years working across international kitchens.
The timing felt right because Dubai is evolving. Diners today are looking beyond luxury for the sake of luxury – they want authenticity, warmth, personality, and places that feel alive. I wanted to create a restaurant that feels elegant yet approachable, where the experience is not only about food, but also music, storytelling, community, and human connection.
After years of helping build brands for other groups, this was the right moment to finally build something deeply personal.
What gaps in Dubai’s dining scene are you hoping to fill with Orilla?
Dubai has incredible restaurants, but many concepts can sometimes feel overly engineered or trend-driven. With Orilla, I wanted to create a place with soul a restaurant that feels lived in, emotional, and human.
We are filling the space between high-end dining and genuine hospitality. Guests today want quality without stiffness. They want tasty food, but they also want energy, warmth, music, conversation, and familiarity.
Another gap is cultural blending done naturally. At Orilla, Mediterranean cuisine is the foundation, but we allow subtle influences from Asia and my own heritage to appear organically rather than forcing fusion for attention. It’s more about shared flavours and shared memories than labels.
Most importantly, we wanted to create a true neighborhood restaurant in Dubai – a place where guests can come for a sunset drink, a family dinner, an industry night, or a celebration, and feel equally comfortable every time.
Take us through the menu the inspirations, the techniques, the star dishes.
The menu is inspired by the Mediterranean coastline from Spain, Italy, Greece, southern France, Turkey, and North Africa while carrying subtle Asian touches through acidity, smoke, spice balance, and fermentation.
I believe in ingredient-led cooking. I never want to overcomplicate a dish. The hero ingredient should always remain the hero. Technique-wise, we focus heavily on fire cooking, grilling, roasting, slow braising, and natural flavors. There’s a lot of restraint in the food. Sometimes the hardest thing for a chef is knowing when to stop adding.
Some dishes that represent Orilla well include the grilled octopus with salsa verde and caper dust, the slow-braised lamb shoulder, our fresh seabass cooked with Asian Flavours, and dishes built around olive oil, citrus, smoke, and herbs. Even something as simple as our focaccia and tomato-based dishes reflects our philosophy good ingredients treated with respect.
The menu is designed to feel generous, shareable, and social, much like Mediterranean dining culture itself.
Opening a restaurant for a big group and building that group from the ground up are two very different experiences – how do you contend with that change?
It’s completely different. When you work for an established group, there is already infrastructure, systems, teams, and financial stability behind you. As a founder, every decision carries emotional and financial weight.
At the same time, building something from the ground up is incredibly fulfilling because every detail carries your fingerprint from the food and music to the interiors and culture of the team.
The biggest adjustment has been moving from purely creative and operational thinking into full entrepreneurship. Today, I am involved not only in food, but also finance, branding, construction, hiring, partnerships, marketing, and long-term strategy.
It teaches you resilience very quickly. You become more patient, more adaptable, and more connected to every part of the business.
With the circumstances in the UAE these past few months, what are some ways in which the restaurant is engaging with the community to extend and receive support?
Community has become one of the most important parts of Orilla.
We introduced initiatives like Neighborhood Nights, where we open our space to local artisans, homegrown businesses, creators, and small entrepreneurs. It allows people to share their craft and connect with the community while creating a more meaningful experience inside the restaurant.
We’ve also focused heavily on industry nights and accessible experiences because hospitality is built on people supporting one another. During difficult periods, restaurants cannot survive in isolation, they survive through relationships, loyalty, and community spirit.
Social media has also become more personal for us. Instead of simply promoting dishes, we try to tell stories, show the human side of the restaurant, and build genuine connections with guests.
What are some lessons you have picked up about longevity and building a recurring customer base in the current climate?
Consistency is everything.
Guests can forgive one imperfect moment, but they return because of how you consistently make them feel over time. Longevity is not built through hype it is built through trust.
Another important lesson is that restaurants today must constantly evolve while staying true to their identity. People want experiences, but they also want familiarity. The challenge is balancing both.
I’ve also learned that hospitality is becoming more emotional. Guests remember warmth, energy, music, atmosphere, and human interaction just as much as the food itself. A successful restaurant today has to create memories, not just meals.
Finally, humility matters. The market is competitive and fast-moving. Listening to guests, adapting quickly, and staying grounded are essential.
How has being a part of the homegrown community of Dubai helped or shaped your experience of running your own brand?
Dubai gave me my career and shaped me both professionally and personally.
I arrived here many years ago and worked my way through the industry step by step. Being part of Dubai’s homegrown hospitality community taught me resilience, diversity, adaptability, and ambition.
What makes Dubai special is that it allows people from different cultures and backgrounds to build something meaningful if they are willing to work hard enough. The city rewards energy, creativity, and persistence.
The support from fellow chefs, operators, creatives, suppliers, and regular guests has been incredibly important in this journey. There is a strong sense of community within the hospitality industry here, especially among independent brands trying to create something original.
What are your hopes for the future of Orilla?
My hope is for Orilla to become more than just a restaurant. I want it to become a place people feel emotionally connected to — a restaurant that becomes part of their memories and routines. I hope we continue growing into a true lifestyle brand built around hospitality, music, culture, and community.
From a business perspective, of course I would love to expand eventually, but growth only makes sense if we preserve the soul of the brand. I never want Orilla to lose its warmth or personality.
Image credit: Supplied
Deeply passionate about food, culture and community, Manaal loves telling extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Besides sniffing out a tale to tell, her favourite things to do include binging true crime documentaries, chasing cats on the streets and curating a good outfit.
