Sharjah's Murmur opens its first Dubai spot, a pop-up at Marsa Boulevard

Murmur, the Emirati fine-dining bistro that opened in Aljada, Sharjah, earlier this year, has crossed into Dubai for the first time. Its winter pop-up at Marsa Boulevard, the seasonal food strip on the Dubai Festival City side of Dubai Creek, opened on Friday 30 October, the same day the boulevard began its third season.

The Sharjah restaurant is run by Emirati founder Saeed Algaz, who describes its cooking as modern regional bistronomy: Gulf and Levantine dishes reworked with techniques from elsewhere. The name comes from murmuration, the swirling formations that flocks of birds make in the sky. It was described at its launch as Sharjah's first homegrown fine-dining concept, and it has drawn steady coverage since.

The Dubai pop-up keeps two of the dishes the Sharjah room is known for, the Wagyu Short Rib with Tahdig, the crisp Persian rice, and the Machboos Arancini, which turns the Emirati spiced rice dish into fried rice balls. It adds a short menu that is served only at Marsa Boulevard: a Saffron Chicken Burger, Musakhan Croquettes built on the Palestinian sumac and onion chicken, Biryani Arancini, Eggplant Melanzane and Marsa Fries. For dessert there is a Karak San Sebastian, a burnt Basque cheesecake flavoured with the spiced tea Dubai drinks by the cup.

The setting is outdoors, with seats along the water under the pop-up's lit frame. Marsa Boulevard itself brings together dozens of food pop-ups, small shops and activities for the cooler months, and Murmur is one of the new names in this year's line-up. It is a rare chance to try a Sharjah kitchen without the drive to Aljada.

Murmur at Marsa Boulevard is open from 4pm to midnight on weekdays and until 1am at weekends. There are no bookings: it works on a walk-in basis, so arrive early on Friday and Saturday evenings. Prices have not been published. Marsa Boulevard is in Dubai Festival City; the closest way in by public transport is the Creek Metro station followed by a short taxi ride, and the boulevard has its own parking. The pop-up runs for the winter season; its last day has not been announced.