The name symbolizes two things. First, in 1907, a single experiment found that the human soul weighed 21 grams. Secondly, 21 degrees marks the latitude of the Balkan Peninsula. The two symbolic numbers suggest what founder Stasha Toncev intended by founding 21 grams in 2018 – an urban Balkan bistro for the physical and spiritual nourishment of the customers.
“Back then, people would ask us all the time, ‘What is Balkan?'” says Toncev in an interview for Entrepreneur Magazine. “For most people, it could mean anything – fruit or vegetables, not necessarily the place in Europe. I don’t think any cuisine was less known and less appreciated than this one! Frankly speaking, failure seemed more probable than success.”
However, Toncev continued with her plan. Starting off with a small 25-person bistro, she created Dubai’s only Balkan restaurant, earning the Michelin Bib Gourmand, ranking #26 on MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, and gaining prominence as a woman restaurateur in the city.
From Belgrade to Dubai with 200 Euros
According to Toncev, her love for cooking began in Serbia when she used to cook food in secret for children from the neighborhood who would come when her house was empty. As Gault & Millau UAE mentioned, “Her policy of secrecy led to numerous doubtful dishes before she was finally discovered.”
In the future, she took a brave step by moving to Dubai with only 200 euros, as she confessed during an episode of The Lighthouse podcast. At that time, she didn’t have any plan to start a restaurant. “Always the 21 grams came to me,” she stated in an episode of Nourish by Spinneys podcast. “I was way off from actually starting a restaurant, especially not in Dubai. This wasn’t even a discussion point.”
However, others told her to pursue her passion and do something related to it. After much thinking, she gave in to their wishes. “The vision of 21 Grams restaurant is about creating a restaurant which serves delicious food, warm welcome and hospitality, as well as a celebration of our roots, the Balkans, combined with our new home country, the United Arab Emirates,” said Toncev in the Michelin Guide interview.
An Unlikely Success Story
From the start, 21 grams was a departure from anything in Dubai’s hospitality industry. An unauthorized establishment that served food from a part of the world that few could pinpoint on a map. “We started with 25 chairs, without any celebrities behind it and without any owners, totally anonymous,” said Toncev in an interview with Gault & Millau UAE.
The place made it through a hospitality-devastating pandemic, moved into a prominent kiosk at the Time Out Market, and finally got a fancy re-opening at the Meyan Mall. As a reviewer noted on EatGoSee: “21 Grams is, in many ways, an unexpected Dubai success story. An unlicensed eatery dubbed ‘Urban Balkan’ manages to survive a hospitality-crushing pandemic and opens up shop in two excellent venues.”
The place at the Meyan Mall is on the second floor in Umm Suqeim 2, offering large windows with views of the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Sunlight streams through large windows into the interior, where vintage pink and ash-grey shades feature, providing what Toncev calls on the official website “a cozy, urban bistro where time slows down.”
Soul Food with Balkan Roots
Everything prepared in 21 grams is made with hand-made family recipes and locally available, seasonal ingredients where possible. At the 21 Grams restaurant, the all-Balkan team of chefs, headed by Serbian chef Milan Jurkovic, prepares food “inspired by the countries of the Balkan Peninsula,” as Tripadvisor says.
The restaurant menu showcases the diversity of foods found throughout the peninsula, from Eastern Europe to Greece and Turkey. Some signature items at 21 grams include the phyllo spinach pie, komplet eggs (prepared sunny-side up in home-made bread with cheese, sour cream, and beef jus), sarma (steamed sour cabbage rolls filled with pulled beef and mashed potatoes), and wagyu beef kebabs with spicy pickles and kajmak, a creamy preparation served thickly on home-made somun bread.
“Let’s face it, nobody can make a dish better than your mum back at home,” Toncev told The National with a laugh. “Initially, I was a bit worried about the preconceived notions and cravings that those who have grown up eating Balkan food would come with.”
However, the restaurant does not only cater to the nostalgia of Balkan refugees. The restaurant attracts the artsy crowd of young twentysomething and thirtysomething Dubai residents for their brunch and lunch dates, says The World’s 50 Best Discovery. The place is open from 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening, and the breakfast comprises freshly baked pita bread and various egg preparations.
The Slow Food Philosophy
Toncev has ambitions beyond just serving good food. “In the near future, 21 Grams aims to become fully entrenched in the Slow Food Movement,” she told The National, “where produce imported from within 2,000 kilometers qualifies as slow food, which is typically produced or prepared using high-quality and locally sourced ingredients.” Looking to India, Iran, Jordan, and Syria for sourcing, she added: “It’s not only the food, but I’d very much like the whole eating experience to be slow.”
This philosophy extends to service. As noted by EatGoSee, staff at 21 Grams offer “service by jovial folk delighted to showcase a taste of the homeland, albeit primped for discerning Dubai diners.” Their party trick? They smile. Genuine warmth replaces the tiresome performance that Dubai often demands.
Recognition and Impact
According to the Michelin Guide, “the owner describes her simply styled but warm neighborhood space on the 2nd floor of a shopping mall as an ‘urban Balkan bistro.” Its Bib Gourmand award in 2023 was the official validation of a status locals had long recognized.
In 2022, the venue bagged Best European Restaurant at the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards. For 2023, it won Best Breakfast by Time Out. It made its way into Gault & Millau, The World’s 50 Best Discovery, and even got featured in the MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking of 2025.
“To be able to bring our Balkan heritage to Dubai through food brings a lot of joy for us. However, what really makes us proud is seeing all the love and support from such an amazing community. We get to feed their souls every day,” writes Toncev on LinkedIn following the Bib Gourmand win.
A Voice for Homegrown Restaurants
For Toncev, 21 grams is more than a personal achievement. Being one of the few restaurants in Dubai that is entirely independently owned, developed, and operated by a woman, she sees her business as contributing to an ongoing dialogue about the city’s culinary scene.
“Very much so, that’s why I wanted to make it a little bit different,” she explained to Entrepreneur. “I really felt like there was room to create an amazing dining experience, one that felt like it was truly about being family-oriented and about values as opposed to simply eating.”
This mission statement can be found on the restaurant’s website: “Born out of a deep desire for a taste of her homeland, 21grams celebrates Stasha’s love for wholesome soul food and her ambition to create a unique culinary journey through the diverse ethnicities, cultures and cuisines of the Balkan Peninsula.”
More Than an Eatery
According to Tripadvisor, “21grams is not just a restaurant, it’s a buzzing bistro, where ‘simple but good’ food makes friends”. This place is where strangers become friends, stories unfold against the backdrop of bold, unique flavors, and where the hospitality of the Balkans meets the spirit of Dubai.
Every detail of this restaurant was developed by Toncev, who serves as Chief Soul Kitchen Officer. On its roof terrace, one can enjoy amazing views of Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab. Bright and cozy, the venue is perfectly located between the city and the seashore.
After six years of running 21 Grams with 25 chairs and without any recognition whatsoever, the restaurant has established itself as a great example of Balkan cuisine. In the city full of celebrity chefs and borrowed ideas, Toncev proved that with authentic cuisine, hard work, and dedication, one can build a successful brand.
21 grams becomes a little piece of the Balkans in the center of Dubai.
