Ideally located in ICD Brookfield Place, a new development in the DIFC (Dubai International Finance Centre), the Arts Club Dubai is set over four floors and totals 65,000 square feet. The Foster + Partners designed development is the first international venue of the exclusive private members club, originally established in 1863 in Mayfair, London.

Tricon Foodservice Consultants were invited to tender for The Arts Club Dubai project via a personal recommendation.

The challenge was to replicate the original London Club, which was no mean feat given that A, it is the most famed and luxury private members clubs in the world, and B. Dubai is a relatively new state with a very different, albeit rich, artistic culture of its own. So, how do you make The Arts Club “fit” into Dubai?

The Club’s Chief Operating Officer, Ajaz Sheikh, brought the forward-thinking attitude to the project and was able to guide all the contractors involved in the project to achieve his vision. He said, “As the first international outpost of the Arts Club in London, we will be celebrating its vibrant legacy, reinterpreting its values and traditions, but also reimagining the experience to match the richness and diversity of the region and all the exciting things that are happening here, especially in arts and culture.”

The Arts Club Dubai comprises three world-class restaurants, plus its own in-house pâtisserie; seven cocktail bars; four meeting spaces; private dining rooms; five lounges; a library; a rooftop terrace featuring a nightclub and a cigar lounge with private cigar cabanas; and an event space that can be configured for any function. And with the promise that the menu will involve ‘bold and exhilarating cooking techniques, exotic flavours, brought together to push the boundaries of Members’ imaginations’, the project certainly kept our Dubai office busy detailing all the designs for the kitchens and bars.

The three restaurants include Brasserie on the first floor; an interpretation of the London Club’s beloved modern European Brasserie; Rōhen on the second floor, serving Nikkei cuisine which is a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian food; and a contemporary Italian Alveare on the third floor.

The seven craft cocktail bars each have a specialist team of waiters and bartenders, working alongside world-class sommeliers, to produce and serve exquisite beverages. Each bar had its own specific requirements and in terms of equipment and design layout to achieve this.

Commenting on the project, Tricon’s Dubai Design Director Robert Plumb said, “We worked closely with project architects AAID’s Dubai-based office and Italian interior design house Dimore Studio (who designed Leo’s at The Arts Club London) and Ajaz Sheikh was the glue that kept the project together with his attention to detail.

“Many tight-timeframes, language barriers and coordination difficulties later, the finished result oozes the same style, elegance and exclusive luxury of its London counterpart.”