The latest issue of What's On lands with a simple promise: after a year of eating across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, here are the 50 restaurants the team would happily pay to revisit. No rankings, no scores — just the meals that stuck. That means spicy rigatoni at Carbone Dubai, the giant crab legs at The Guild, and the Norwegian langoustine at FZN by Björn Frantzén, described as worth every dirham of its Dhs2,000 price tag. Award winners dominate the list too: Manāo (Restaurant of the Year, with a Michelin star inside months of opening), Girl & the Goose, Middle Child, Mimi Kakushi and the tiny 26-seat Fusion Ceviche in JLT. Abu Dhabi gets its due with Sand & Koal, Novikov, Goldfish Sushi & Yakitori and Mosaic's mixed grill. Personal picks include the tacos at El Primo on Al Wasl Road (finish with soft serve and hot churros), junglee maas at Jodhpur Bar & Kitchen, and Gymkhana Dubai as opening of the year. Trèsind Studio — the world's first three-Michelin-star Indian restaurant — stays firmly on the bucket list.

Brunch season is also back. The annual guide rounds up 135 brunches across the UAE, from hotel classics to Michelin-starred spreads, with The Guild's Saturday brunch under chef Burak Pazarlıoğlu flagged as a strong starting point. For a different kind of weekend, a feature on the UAE's dance communities shows how quickly these scenes grow — Boot Scoot UAE went from one line-dancing lesson at a farewell party to more than 100 regulars across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Culture fans get a push toward Sharjah, often dismissed as Dubai's quiet neighbour. The guide runs from Sharjah Art Foundation's restored heritage buildings and the 1925 trading house Bait Elowal to the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization and Al Noor Island's Literature Pavilion, timed to this month's Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, Perform Sharjah and the children's film festival.

New openings worth knowing about: Aatish at Wasl 51, a live-fire project from the four friends behind Iranish; S.E.A Bistrot on Beach Road, a low-key Southeast Asian–French spot from chef Shane Mac Neill (order the duck salad and sesame prawn toast); and Chef's Society at City Centre Mirdif, a food hall cluster bringing Bait Maryam, Reif Othman's kushiyaki, and Rome's Gabriele Bonci with his 48-hour-fermented pizza al taglio.

October's calendar is stacked: The Amy Winehouse Band at Dubai Opera on October 8, Carl Cox launching Pacha ICONS on the 9th, the UAE National Orchestra opening Abu Dhabi Festival at Etihad Arena on the 10th, UFC 333 with two title fights, Dubai Comedy Festival from the 9th to 18th, and Black Coffee at Ushuaïa Dubai Harbour on the 24th. Fitness types get Dubai Fitness Challenge's tenth edition from October 31, plus HYROX Abu Dhabi at ADNEC from October 23-25. The issue also packs a 48-hour Riyadh itinerary (base yourself in KAFD, catch sunset at UNESCO-listed At-Turaif in Diriyah) and an InterContinental Residences Abu Dhabi staycation review.

For visitors, this issue doubles as a ready-made shortlist: which tables to book, which brunch to claim, and why Sharjah deserves a day of its own.