The original Em Sherif is tucked away in the heart of Ashrafieh, Monot, Em Sherif is a distinguished fine-dining Oriental restaurant that offers unique, authentic Oriental cuisine which brings back forgotten traditional flavours, providing its guests with an unsurpassed first class dining experience.
It is designed to represent an antique oriental mansion, lavish with luxury and Em Sherif’s own personal touch, as well as by its homey atmosphere where invitees are offered whatever is cooked daily.
It is distinguished by its daily dish that promises to surprise clients’ palette, its wide variety of mezze and food, its refined service and its elegant decoration. Guests can also enjoy a shisha on the terrace.
Em Sherif herself carefully takes food and service supervising matters into her own hands, and makes sure clients are served delicious food that is adoringly cooked daily with the freshest and highest quality products.
Em Sherif Dubai is located in Downtown Dubai with stunning views over the lake as well as the Burj Khalifa.
Who is Em Sherif?
Mireille Hayek, or “Em Sherif” is well known among the Lebanese and Arab society for her passion for cooking, her dedication to her restaurant & the satisfaction of her clientele.
She takes traditional Arabic recipes and adds her special touch to make them unique and memorable.
Mireille Hayek represents the passionate, talented, perseverant, detailed oriented woman who spends most of her time in the restaurant leading the whole show.
She is not just involved in the cooking process but everywhere else.
She oversees everything from “what dishes are being served, to the staff serving”, making sure her customers are happy and leave wanting to come back for more.
Her personality warms the room and she is present every night to monitor the kitchens and socialise with her loyal clientele.
She is behind the scenes of this restaurant working extremely hard to maintain an exceptional experience for her guests characterised by its homey atmosphere where invitees are offered whatever is cooked daily and according to seasonal changes.
She is always up to date with food trends, and constantly reviewing and fine tuning her recipes using her refined palette. A remarkable woman, with a remarkable restaurant. “I feel at home when I’m cooking, I feel good. I believe everyone deserves to taste good food” she says.
The History
Mrs. Hayek’s passion for cooking began when she got married and had to cook for her family.
She realised that she was talented and was encouraged by her brother Dany Chaccour and her husband Salim Hayek to open her first restaurant in Lebanon in 2006 called “La Parrilla”.
The success of her first restaurant led to the opening of a second restaurant concept in 2009 “Yasmina”, an Indian fusion restaurant, named after her daughter.
Both restaurants reflected the highest quality in service and culinary arts, which then led to opening her crown jewel in 2011 “Em Sherif”, named after her son.
Since then they have worked together on all their restaurant projects, the brother managing the business and the sister in front of the house.
She says: “He is the head and I am the heart”. Her main aim is to become a landmark in authentic oriental cuisine worldwide.