As CARBONE opens with fanfare at Atlantis The Royal, Chef & Co-Founder Mario Carbone and Co-Founder Jeff Zalaznick discuss what it takes to create one of the world’s most talked-about dining experience.

It’s three days before CARBONE Dubai’s grand opening, and the energy inside Atlantis The Royal is already electric. In one corner of the soon-to-be world-famous dining room, cofounders Mario Carbone and Jeff Zalaznick are having a lighthearted conversation about baseball – specifically, the Yankees’ playoff chances. It’s not what you might expect from two men who know they’re about to make hospitality history in the UAE.

But this is a pair that are as balanced as their restaurant – Carbone, a chef with a craftsman’s eye for detail; and Zalaznick, a strategist who knows how to turn every concept into a global movement.

The following weekend, Dubai’s most glamorous address would host an unforgettable three-day celebration to mark CARBONE’s arrival. The red carpet opening party would be peppered with supermodels like Alessandra Ambrosio and Romee Strijd, actress Kat Graham, and footballer Rio Ferdinand, joined by regional icons Mona Zaki and Mona Kattan. Guests mingled over bite-sized signatures, Caviar Stracciatella Toast, Spicy Rigatoni, and Tortellini Tartufo Nero, as the restaurant transformed into a cinematic homage to 1950s New York and Naomi Campbell DJed into the night. Over the weekend, nightly VIP dinners and a Rick Ross performance at CARBONE on the Beach sealed the venue’s status as the launch of the season.

But before the festivities kicked off, Carbone and Zalaznick proved themselves to be much more focused on precision than paparazzi. “The parties are great,” Zalaznick says with a half-smile, “but what really matters is what happens on a Tuesday night at 9:30pm, that’s when you earn your reputation.

We’ve been doing this for over a decade, and the truth is, we still show up like it’s day one. That’s what separates the good from the legendary.” Carbone nods, adding, “The glamour is what people see, but the grind is what keeps it alive.” That’s been the winning recipe for the duo since 2012, when CARBONE first opened in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The restaurant made nostalgia feel revolutionary with its now iconic Italian-American menu. From the Caesar alla ZZ, the Chicken Massimo, and the Veal Parmesan, to the mouthwatering Spicy Rigatoni, it didn’t just earn acclaim, it became a cultural touchpoint. Still, CARBONE’s global success isn’t built on nostalgia alone. Beneath the velvet banquettes and Sinatra soundtracks lies an almost military level of meticulousness.

“We have an incredible team of chefs,” says Carbone. “They travel from city to city, keeping the recipes alive. We’ve built this global system, videos, databases, everything, to make sure each plate tastes exactly as it should. The first rigatoni of the night shouldntaste just like the thousandth.” That consistency is matched by charisma. Service at CARBONE isn’t service, it’s theatre. Waiters glide through the dining room with old-school swagger, timing their services like choreography. “We created this philosophy of hospitality when we opened in New York,” Carbone explains. “After fifteen years of living it, training thousands of people, you become it, you embody it. The food, the music, the service, it’s all part of the same rhythm.”

“The truth is, we still show up like it’s day one.”

The Dubai outpost takes that rhythm and, of course, amplifies it. Designed by Bishop Design, it’s old-world glamour but seen through a modern lens. Chandeliers cascade over damask walls, Venetian mirrors catch the sparkling light, and a coffered ceiling of patinated metal tiles gives off an inviting glow. At its centre resides one of the largest jellyfish tanks in the world, an ethereal showpiece that perfectly mirrors the restaurant’s philosophy: familiar, yet unlike anything else. “We wanted guests to feel like they’re stepping into a film,” says Zalaznick. “Every CARBONE has its own story and its own visual heartbeat.”

That sense of place is key to preserving the brand’s DNA. “No two restaurants look the same,” he adds. “Vegas, Miami, Hong Kong, now Dubai, they all feel different, but they all feel like CARBONE. That’s how we maintain the essence while letting every city have its own identity.” That adaptability defines Major Food Group (MFG), the powerhouse hospitality company the duo built with Rich Torrisi.

With over fifty venues worldwide, MFG has reshaped how people experience dining, fusing world-class cuisine with storytelling and soul. “We’re not chasing trends,” Zalaznick affirms. “We’re creating timeless, multigenerational experiences. The innovation already happened when we decided fine dining could be fun again.” It’s that very mindset that first disrupted the global dining scene. Long before ‘experiential dining’ became an industry buzzword, CARBONE was pioneering it, redefining luxury through warmth and wit. “We wanted to bring back the joy,” Zalaznick shares. “Fine dining had become too serious. We made it emotional again. We made it human.”

For both founders, Dubai represents the ultimate stage for that evolution. “It’s a dream come true,” says Carbone. “We’ve always wanted to open here. Being part of Atlantis The Royal, it’s spectacular,”
Zalaznick nods, smiling. “It’s humbling that our brand is wanted this far from home, it’s exciting and it makes us proud.” Atlantis The Royal, already listed among the World’s 50 Best Hotels, provides a fitting backdrop. “This restaurant’s arrival has been nothing short of sensational,” says Olivier Bonard, the resort’s General Manager and Senior Vice President. “In less than a week of opening reservations, we received thousands of bookings.

CARBONE Dubai isn’t just a restaurant, it’s a destination.” That destination speaks to Dubai’s evolution into one of the world’s great dining capitals. “At this point, the emirate is as sophisticated a dining city as any in the world,” Zalaznick notes. “It’s become a global food and hospitality hub, and we treat it as such.” From the main dining room’s polished glamour to the terrace overlooking the Skyblaze Fountain Show, CARBONE Dubai captures both cities’ essence: New York’s timeless confidence and Dubai’s taste for spectacle.

And even as the brand expands across continents, both founders remain hands on. “We’re the first ones in and the last ones out,” Carbone says. “There are no shortcuts. If you want to grow internationally, it takes long hours, plane rides, and total commitment.” That commitment shows in every swirl of sauce, every flick of a napkin, every perfectly timed Sinatra track. “It’s about creating moments that stick,” says Zalaznick. “A night people talk about long after the last drink’s been poured.”

For all the glamour and global acclaim, Carbone insists the formula hasn’t changed. “We just wanted to open the best restaurant we could,” he says, “something that represents the idealised version of those New York Italian spots we grew up loving.” The global buzz, the celebrity following, the viral rigatoni, it all came later. “That was never the plan,” Zalaznick admits. “But if becoming part of pop culture is the byproduct of doing something right, we’ll take it.”

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