SUSHISAMBA Dubai brings three-night culinary takeover to The Ritz-Carlton Maldives

The September pop-up at EAU Bar will pair the brand’s Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine with live samba performances and oceanfront dining at Fari Islands

SUSHISAMBA Dubai will stage a three-night takeover of EAU Bar at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands from 25 to 27 September 2026.

(NEWS) MALÉ, Maldives, 2026-Sep-02 — /Travel PR News/ — SUSHISAMBA Dubai is taking its restaurant concept out of The Palm Jumeirah and into the Indian Ocean for a three-night culinary residency at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, adding another international restaurant collaboration to the Maldives’ increasingly experience-led luxury resort scene.

The pop-up will run from 25 to 27 September 2026 at EAU Bar, the resort’s oceanfront dining venue, with two dinner seatings each evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. According to the event announcement published by Visit Maldives, the takeover will combine a bespoke food menu, cocktails and live performances by SUSHISAMBA’s samba dancers.

The collaboration brings together two hospitality brands with very different home settings. SUSHISAMBA Dubai operates on the 51st floor of The Palm Tower at The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm Jumeirah, where the restaurant is known for panoramic skyline views and a menu combining Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian influences. In the Maldives, the same culinary identity will be recast around an open-air island setting rather than a high-rise city backdrop.

Kitak Lee, SUSHISAMBA’s brand chef, will lead the culinary programme. The resort and destination partners say the menu will draw on signature dishes from the brand’s three-culture format, supported by craft cocktails using tropical and exotic ingredients. SUSHISAMBA’s own Dubai menus describe the concept as spanning sushi, ceviche, robata cooking and shared plates, giving the Maldives residency a broad base to work from without simply reproducing the Dubai restaurant experience.

The choice of EAU Bar also fits the format. The Ritz-Carlton’s current dining guide describes the venue as a day-to-night space arranged around the resort’s circular infinity pool, moving from light bites and Japanese-inspired lunches into evening dining with cocktails and music. That existing emphasis on food, drinks and entertainment gives the venue a natural platform for SUSHISAMBA’s more theatrical service style.

For the resort, the three-night programme is another example of how luxury properties in the Maldives are using short-term chef residencies, branded takeovers and entertainment-led dinners to give repeat visitors a reason to return beyond the traditional villa-and-beach proposition. These collaborations can also help resorts generate destination-specific experiences without permanently altering their core restaurant mix.

For SUSHISAMBA, the event offers a different kind of international exposure. The brand already operates in a number of major cities and resort markets, but a temporary residency allows it to test its identity in a highly seasonal leisure environment while keeping the focus on a limited, event-driven experience rather than a permanent opening.

The three evenings will pair dining with SUSHISAMBA’s signature live entertainment, including samba dancers, while the bar team will serve cocktails alongside the bespoke menu. Reservations are being handled through The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, whose official resort site lists the property in North Malé Atoll at Fari Islands.

With the dates falling at the end of September, the takeover gives travellers already booked into the resort a tightly timed culinary event, while also reinforcing a wider trend in Maldivian hospitality: using visiting chefs, global restaurant brands and short-run cultural programming to turn individual stays into more distinctive travel experiences.