Restaurateur by trade. Fisherman by tide.
From Sho Cho in 2000 to Chez Sushi, Flooka and Loca — and the tide that runs through all of it. This is The Fisherman: the finest tackle and the freshest catch of the day, from Jumeirah 2.
Raed's story
Four restaurants taught him one lesson
Raed Dabous opened the first Sho Cho restaurant and lounge in 2000 — a homegrown name daring to sit beside the international giants. He went on to build Flooka, Dubai's seafood house; Loca, the city's Mexican table; and Chez Sushi, the make-your-own-roll concept founded with partner Hiba Kosta and franchised across the region. Four brands, one thread: menus that begin with the fish.
Long before the villa in Jumeirah, there was the east coast — the Harbour Club at Fujairah International Marine Club, where the "fish of the day" was often caught that same morning off Fujairah, and where the Fujairah Fishing Classic fleet found him already on the water. Four decades of kitchens taught him the lesson no supplier ever could: freshness is not a marketing word, it is a clock that starts ticking at dawn.
The Fisherman is where that lesson becomes a business — his personal project supplying the finest fishing equipment and the finest, freshest caught fish of the day, straight from the family villa in Jumeirah 2. The home is the shop: no warehouse, no suppliers, no stories. If it's on the ice, it landed today — to the standard his own restaurants are held to.
Now the boats take guests too. The same marks, the same hand-lines, the same patience — because the best day Raed can give anyone is the one where they feel a fish take the line themselves.
"It's so fresh I have to go and catch it myself."Raed Dabous — The National, 2014
A quarter-century at Dubai's tables
The timeline
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2000
Sho Cho opens
The first Sho Cho restaurant and lounge — a homegrown concept holding its own beside international heavyweights like Nobu and Zuma.
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East-coast years
The Harbour Club, Fujairah
Running the Harbour Club at Fujairah International Marine Club — the original "fish of the day," caught the same morning. On the water for mahi-mahi and yellowfin long before the Fishing Classic made it official.
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The group grows
Flooka & Loca
Flooka, the seafood house, and Loca, the Mexican table — two more Dubai favourites, still going strong today.
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2014
Chez Sushi
Founded with partner Hiba Kosta — a UAE-born, make-your-own-roll concept built for franchising, first deal signed for Bahrain. The National calls him "an avid fisherman whose catches often end up in his restaurants."
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Today
The Fisherman
The personal project: the finest fishing equipment and the freshest caught fish of the day from the villa in Jumeirah 2 — plus expeditions on the water with the man himself.
How the stall works
Three rules that don't bend
Honest scales
Every fish is weighed in front of you, on a scale you can read. Prices are set each morning and never negotiated twice. Reputation is the only advertisement this stall has ever had.
Respect the sea
Undersized fish go back. Closed seasons are kept. The Gulf has fed this family for generations — taking everything today means empty ice tomorrow.
The home is the shop
No counter, no queue tickets, no glass between you and the fish. Come to the villa, look at the ice, ask anything. Fish bought like this tastes better — everyone says so.
Come see for yourself
Everyone is welcome at the gate
Whether you want two sultan Ibrahim for tonight, a full tray for a gathering, or a day on the water learning the hand-line — it starts the same way: knock, or send a message.
Say hello
Come read tomorrow's board with us
The kettle is usually on. The fish is definitely fresh.