From tableside pani puri to slow-cooked biryani, familiar flavours return with fresh character.
- Rohini brings back beloved dishes with fresh seasonal energy.
- Lobster Pani Puri turns a street snack into theatre.
- Slow-cooked Indian classics anchor the new sharing-style menu.
- Playful desserts and whisky cocktails complete the refreshed experience.
There is a particular pleasure in returning to a restaurant and spotting a favourite dish before you’ve even opened the menu. That sense of familiarity is meeting something new at Rohini Dubai, where the JLT favourite has refreshed its Indian menu for September with dishes that lean into India’s street food, regional cooking and theatrical table moments. It starts with curiosity.
For Dubai diners, Indian food has become increasingly adventurous, with restaurants exploring regional flavours, tasting menus and playful interpretations of classics. At Rohini, that spirit arrives in a more relaxed setting at Mövenpick JLT, where an evening can move from a quick after-work dinner to a long table of shared plates.
A plate arriving at the table can change the mood of dinner instantly. Rohini’s Lobster Pani Puri does exactly that, with crisp shells cracked open tableside before being filled with spiced, tangy-sweet water and lobster. It is playful. It also turns a familiar street snack into a small piece of dinner-table theatre.
Tandoori Chicken Wings return as one of the restaurant’s recognisable signatures, this time finished with fresh lime and curry leaf salt. For friends settling in after work, they’re the kind of plate that disappears quickly while everyone is still deciding what to order next.
Then comes the food built for sharing. Raan Biryani Parcels arrive wrapped in banana leaf, concealing slow-cooked lamb raan and saffron rice until guests unwrap them at the table. The reveal is part of the experience, while the Galouti Kebab and Rajma Ki Galouti bring Lucknow-inspired flavours to both meat lovers and vegetarian diners.
A slower dinner calls for something substantial. The Slow Braised Goat Shoulder Aloo Gosht is made for the centre of the table, while Nariyal Malai Mahi Curry and Kashmiri Rogan Josh bring coastal and northern Indian influences into the same meal. Dubai tables tend to linger. These are dishes built for it.
Dessert refuses to become an afterthought. Rohini’s Treat combines rasmalai with rose and white chocolate clotted cream, while Gulab Jamun Surprise brings mascarpone, coffee and cocoa into the mix. It’s familiar, but slightly unexpected. That seems to be the point.
The drinks follow the same idea, with the Maharaja Old Fashioned mixing Indian whisky, jaggery and house-spiced bitters, while the Cinnamon Sutra arrives with Indian whisky, crème de mûre, dry vermouth and cinnamon smoke. For a later JLT dinner, the cocktails give the menu another layer of character.
With Dubai’s Indian dining scene continuing to explore heritage through modern techniques and presentation, Rohini’s refreshed menu fits naturally into the city’s appetite for food that carries a story without feeling overly formal. For regulars, there’s something new to order. For first-timers, there’s plenty to discover.
Rohini’s refreshed menu is now available at Mövenpick Hotel Apartments JLT, Cluster A. Book a table, gather the group and let the menu do the talking, one pani puri, biryani parcel and gulab jamun at a time!
Instagram: @rohini.dubai
