VIP guests and our partners were on hand to celebrate the cream of the island’s hospitality and food and beverage (F&B) offerings as we handed out more than 110 well-deserved awards.
Taking place in the glamorous surroundings of the Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain, the event recognised the Best and Favourite venues across numerous well-contested categories, ranging from newcomers to the newly introduced Dining Experiences and the ever-popular regional cuisines.
As our 16th edition, it was something of a coming of age and we were in the mood to party with more than 560 specially invited guests, who enjoyed spectacular food and beverages alongside some great entertainment.
But the main event was, of course, the chance to pay tribute to those who continue to make the Kingdom’s dining scene a huge part of the entertainment industry as well as an important contributor to the local economy. As we launched the nominations for this year’s awards, we were seriously impressed with the number of well-thought-out new concepts taking their place alongside our many much-loved venues.
The Chef of the Year Award, now in its third year and presented purely on the basis of public online votes, was, as always, extremely strongly contested and, we have to say, each year brings new and excellent entrants.
The extremely popular winner was Chef Brian Becher, Regional Executive Chef – Middle East, Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, from the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay.
As always, with the Fact Dining Awards, two winners were chosen in each of the other 55 categories – the Favourites, selected by a public on-line vote, and the Best, chosen by industry experts and the fact editorial team from among the top three in the public voting.
We worked our way through more than 860 nominations, many of whom were suggested by our readership. And there was a big surprise when the voting numbers were finalised. This year’s edition attracted more than 114,000 votes – a huge jump from last year and an amazing show of support for the industry
The plaque for Overall Favourite Restaurant of the year went to Sumosan at Address Beach Resort Bahrain. This global brand made its Bahrain debut just over a year ago and from the local touches and curated art to the excellence of the menu, it has already gained a loyal following. The Overall Best Restaurant of The Year was awarded to Golestan Persian Grill, at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel, a venue that was hugely popular before the refurbishment and which has continued to please and attracted a whole legion of new fans for its amazing food and outstanding service since the reopening.
A great deal of hard work and planning went into the event which was made possible with the support of our generous partners:
Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain, Audi Centre Bahrain, BMMI Shops, Vatel Hotel & Tourism Business School, Anorris Events, Bidfood, the ENTERTAINER, Asgharali, HSP Marketing and Twigs Flowers & Chocolates.
And the night saw social media lighting up as the fact team took readers behind the scenes with stories throughout the day and evening @factmagazine and the Kingdom’s hospitality elite taking to Instagram and TikTok to share their experiences.
fact Magazines Group Publisher, Rami Khalil, said: “The hospitality industry is such an important part of who we are and what we do, so we always look forward to the opportunity to show our appreciation. The support from the dining sector and our readers and voters never fails to amaze and humble our whole team and we are, as always, so very thankful.”
The Fact Dining Awards is part of a wider initiative by Fact ME, with highly regarded awards also taking place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, Qatar and Riyadh.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2026.
