From the moment you walk in, it’s clear that this isn’t just a simple dinner, but a multi-course gastronomic performance: Saini has neither the need nor the intention to hide. Born in New Delhi, trained at the Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute, and having honed his craft alongside Manish Mehrotra at Indian Accent, he is now a chef who is fully aware of his identity. It is no coincidence that he is the first to lead an Indian restaurant awarded 3 Macarons.
Himanshu Saini is the first Indian chef in the world to have earned three Michelin stars. It’s a milestone he achieved about a year ago, but one that continues to resonate as a turning point in the history of contemporary gastronomy. People in Dubai had been talking about it for some time, as had the vast international community of food lovers; but ever since that third star arrived, Trèsind Studio has continued to rack up accolades. Awards that celebrate not just a restaurant, but a clear vision and the ambition of a team that never stops pushing the boundaries of Indian cuisine. But what does dining at Trèsind Studio really mean?
A Talented Chef and His Ambition
Recently redesigned while retaining its theatrical flair, Trèsind Studio is located on a rooftop terrace at the St. Regis Hotel, right at the start of Dubai’s famous Palm. The dining room is an intimate setting seating just twenty guests, all facing a fully open kitchen, where every gesture, every dish, and every finishing touch takes place before the guests’ eyes. From the moment you walk in, it’s clear that this isn’t just a simple dinner, but a multi-course gastronomic performance. Saini, after all, has no need or intention of hiding. Born in New Delhi, trained at the Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute, and having honed his craft alongside Manish Mehrotra at Indian Accent, he is now a chef fully aware of his identity who knows exactly what he wants to convey and how to do it.
His cuisine doesn’t amplify spices; it orchestrates them. He measures them out with almost surgical precision, whereas in many other Indian restaurants they are the loud protagonists, leaving the palate in a state of constant curiosity. In a Dubai where the idea of Indian cuisine is often associated with abundance and instant comfort, Saini does the opposite: he subtracts and refines, dissecting tradition and reassembling it into a new, luminous, and more contemporary form.
A Culinary Journey Through the Regions
The tasting menu is organized by geography and ingredients. From the Himalayas to the shores of the Indian Ocean, the menu traverses the subcontinent’s major macro-regions, reflecting their cultural and gastronomic complexity. After all, as Saini himself likes to point out, simply referring to “Indian cuisine” is just as reductive as talking about “European cuisine” without distinguishing between Italy, France, or Spain. The meal begins with pani puri, an icon of street food, transformed with avocado, jicama, and green plum aguachile. This is followed by a crispy shiso leaf with a yogurt crémeux and garden herbs, medu vada with mild gorgonzola, and crab in ghee with burnt cinnamon and crispy curry leaves—now a classic at the restaurant.
The rest of the menu skillfully alternates between sweet, sour, spicy, and aromatic flavors, with a technical mastery that makes every bite a cohesive narrative. The marinated bell pepper with mandarin blossoms and khandvi ice cream, as well as the duck haleem toast with foie gras (or tofu for those choosing the vegetarian option), draw masterful inspiration from the Thar Desert. From the Deccan Plateau, meanwhile, comes the idea for scallops with Guntur chili sambal and koshimbir broth.
Also hailing from this region is one of the most iconic dishes and moments of the experience: the Sadya, a ceremonial meal inspired by a traditional Kerala feast celebrated during Onam. In the dining room, each member of the kitchen team adds a different dish to the guest’s plate; when combined with all the others, these create a meal with a unique and ever-changing flavor—a sort of ode to diversity, community, and unity in diversity.
Next come the eastern coastal plains, celebrated through dishes such as lobster tail with smoked chili jam, XO sauce, and tomato moilee, and the northern plains, represented by the surprising tortellini stuffed with goat cheese raita and braised lamb curry. And finally, the Himalayas with its desserts: bakarkhani with white corn ice cream, mini corn cob caviar, and tsampa tea caramel, and hazelnut praline parfait with black apple and artichoke ice cream. All accompanied by a pairing that alternates between various wine labels and the original drinks by Dom Carella, designed to harmonize perfectly with a cuisine as complex as it is balanced.
A cuisine of carefully balanced influences
The dining room, led by Vipin Panwar, explains and illustrates each stage of the gastronomic journey on a map. Without ever being intrusive, he steps in to describe origins, techniques, and processes, inviting guests to taste but also—and above all—to understand. There is a theatrical element, yes, but it serves the narrative. The goal? To free Indian cuisine from the “curry and naan” stereotype, in a cultural rewriting even before a gastronomic one.
Thus, at the end of the meal, one feels as though one has witnessed a complete narrative—one capable of traversing territories, memories, and rituals, and of rendering them with clarity and coherence. Saini does not Westernize, simplify, or pander. He uses fusion as a tool. Andthis is perhaps precisely what makes Trèsind Studio unique: its ability to take ingredients and techniques from other parts of the world and blend them with the spices and principles of a millennia-old culinary tradition without ever betraying it. In fact, it proves that it has earned its place at the table of global fine dining.
Contact
Trèsind Studio
St. Regis Gardens Entrance B - The Palm Jumeirah - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971 58 895 1272
