#85 World’s Best Pizza Chef Roberta de Sario and Chef Josh Stumbaugh celebrate their passion for Italy’s greatest loves in the heart of the UAE.

Hong Kong-based Black Sheep, Asia’s most compelling hospitality movement, announces their arrival in Dubai with the launch of their award-winning pizzeria Napoletana FALCONE, a neighbourhood Italian in Al Barsha that brings Neapolitan pizza, handcrafted pasta and freshly spun gelato to the UAE. Led by Chef Roberta de Sario (#85, World’s Best Pizza Chefs 2025) and Chef Josh Stumbaugh, FALCONE is a celebration of Italy’s greatest loves, delivered with warmth, generosity and ease.

From the north to the south, Italy is filled with cities that live in technicolour: balconies strung with laundry, markets bursting with sun-kissed tomatoes, pizza ovens glowing on every corner. FALCONE captures this vibrancy and brings it to Al Barsha, focusing on what Italy does best. It is premium without the fuss, a neighbourhood Italian for everyone, where every guest feels looked after, pairing premium craft with a hospitality experience that lingers long after the last bite.

“The spirit of FALCONE is about bringing people together over delicious Italian fare in a place that feels like home,” says Black Sheep Founder Syed Asim Hussain. “We envisioned a restaurant that works for everyone, from a fun weekend lunch with the kids and gelato, to a laid-back date night or a satisfying meal with colleagues. FALCONE is that easygoing neighbourhood Italian spot you can always count on.”

The origins of FALCONE stretch back to Napoli, the birthplace of pizza, where Chef Roberta, a Napoli native, and Chef Josh walked the streets that smell of dough, smoke and basil. From the legendary ovens of Da Michele Condurro to the creativity of Franco Pepe, they tasted, studied and reaffirmed what they already knew: that pizza should remain faithful to its roots: a few great ingredients, cooked in a blistering hot oven, shared with people you love.

Out of that conviction came FALCONE: a pizzeria for Dubai that stays true to Napoli’s soul while offering a warm embrace to all in Al Barsha.

THE MENU

The menu is a celebration of Italian flavours, from pizza and pasta to Parms and freshly spun gelato. FALCONE’s pizzas are made in a custom Pavesi brick oven in Neapolitan style, while defying the traditional and rigid rules that bind Neapolitan pizzaiolos. It is everything that guests love about Neapolitan pizza: bright tomato sauce, charred crust and a malleable centre, but baked at a lower temperature for longer, which gives it that beautiful crunch in every bite. Untraditional yet inventive, the offerings span the pizza canon: a pure and perfect Margherita, with tomato, fior di latte and basil, next to a fiery Salame Piccante, made with tomato, fior di latte spicy veal salami. The Neapolitan Pizza Fritta is fried then baked until extra crispy in its own oil. Spinaci e Scamorza tangles spinach and provolo affumicata with Calabrian chilli and garlic, the Funghi melts mushroom into taleggio, and the Italia pairs glowing green basil pesto with tomato compote.

While the pizza often gets most of the attention, the pasta holds its own as well. Linguine Vongole captures the trio of clams, chilli and parsley, Rigatoni Genovese is slow and soulful with braised beef and onions, Lasagna Bolognese arrives bubbling with bechamel and Parmesan, while Spaghetti all’ Aragosta drapes Atlantic lobster and cherry tomato over twirls of golden wheat. Fettuccine Alfredo, decadent and glossy with butter, Parmesan and Pecorino, has found its dancingpartner in FALCONE’s house-favourite Parmesans.

Even without the fettuccine, the Parms are theatre: Chicken, Veal and Eggplant come smothered in sauce and cheese, and are baked until bubbling perfection. They are not traditional Italian, but they are a FALCONE signature, served with the pride of an Italian grandmother. And as every Italian family has its roast chicken, the Pollo Al Forno with wood oven-roasted chicken and salsa verde comes out golden, juicy and ready to share.

Because no meal is complete without a sweet ending, the Tiramisu tastes of espresso and mascarpone clouds, Chocolate Nemesis, a rich, flourless chocolate cake, comes as dark as midnight, and the star of the after-dinner lineup is the Freshly Spun Gelato, churned hourly, never frozen and gloriously creamy. At Gelato FALCONE, the in-house gelateria, guests are treated to the classic flavours that Italy grew up on, such as fior di latte, caramel and hazelnut. With an endless array of Condiments to choose from, all that is left is to crown each scoop to their heart’s content — with strawberry or chocolate sauce, Italian cherries, pistachio brittle, caramel and sprinkles, or say yes to an affogato that ends the evening just right.

At FALCONE, the drinks programme centres around an offering that truly sparkles: Italian sodas crafted with century-old syrups from our friends at Fabbri, who have been making artisanal syrups with real extracts of fruits like pineapple, passionfruit, strawberry and mango in Bologna since 1905, fizzing with colour and sweetness, exclusively available at FALCONE in Dubai.

Fresh juices and soft drinks round out a menu made for joy: bright, refreshing and celebratory.

THE CHEFS

Chef-led but designed for guests to have whatever experience they choose, the restaurant is helmed by two main protagonists who have built the FALCONE story from the very beginning.

Chef Roberta treats pizza as a calling. Her craft is rooted in the traditions of her hometown and shaped by time spent working in some of the world’s great food cities, from Napoli to Paris to Hong Kong. She brings both knowledge and experience to FALCONE, shaping its pizza programme with the techniques and recipes passed down from some of the world’s most renowned pizzaiolos — from Pizzeria Da Michele Condurro, one of the forefathers of pizzaiolos, to Franco Pepe of Kytaly — expressed with her own signature flair.

“Every pizza has a story,” says Chef Roberta. “At FALCONE, we tell Napoli’s story with every bite, but we also write a new one here with the people of Dubai.”

Originally from Philadelphia, Chef Josh honed his craft through a career spent in Italian kitchens in New York and Hong Kong. With a focus on pasta and seasonal cooking, he brings his philosophy of simplicity and flavour to FALCONE, making his pastas, Parms and gelato a natural complement to Chef Roberta’s award-winning pizzas.

“This cuisine is meant to bring people closer. You break bread, you share plates and scoops of gelato and suddenly you have made a memory together. We hope to be the catalyst for a lot of happy memories here,” says Chef Josh.

THE ATMOPSHERE AND DÉCOR

Italian culture is filled with colour, character and warmth. FALCONE embraces this vibrancy while keeping the spirit approachable and celebratory for Dubai guests. Expect an atmosphere that is casual; fast-paced but never rushed, lively but always welcoming. Daytime is bright and buzzing; evenings glow warm and unpretentious. It is a place to gather, linger and celebrate small moments well.

The space is designed by Melissa Collison to mirror the warmth and abundance of a beloved Italian trattoria. The design is a stage set for abundance: the pizza oven glows like a hearth, marble counters catch the light, colourful ceramics scatter charm across the space. The valet-side entrance is a see-and-be-seen moment, where planters, colour, and signage invite guests in. At lunch it is bright, buzzing, filled with the smell of bread just pulled from the oven. By night it glows warm, every table filled, laughter bouncing against tiled walls. It is a room that captures the spirit of Italy: not copied, not recreated, but translated into a beloved neighbourhood Italian where everyone feels welcome.