At.mosphere, on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa, is a restaurant whose existence seems designed to make a point. The point is altitude: 442 metres above sea level, the holder of the Guinness World Record for highest restaurant from ground level, with views that extend to Iran on clear days and to existential vertigo on all days. The room itself rewards the elevator ride — purple tones, patterned fabrics, low lighting that throws the windows into sharp relief, and a layout that ensures every table gets a view rather than the awkward inner ring that lesser sky-high restaurants tolerate. We booked for sunset, which the website warned was the most requested slot, and understood why when the sun began its descent.

Here’s what happens at 442 metres: the sun sets, dropping below the horizon in the familiar manner. Then, because the Earth is round and you are very high, it appears again — a sliver of orange that hovers above the desert before disappearing a second time. The phenomenon has a name (the “double sunset”) and a scientific explanation (the horizon at altitude is lower than the horizon at ground level, so you watch the sun set first across the local horizon, then again across the more distant one your elevation reveals). None of which diminishes the strangeness of watching the sun change its mind. The fellow diners around us — Russian families, Indian honeymooners, a pair of Japanese businessmen working their way through the wine list — all paused at the same moment, phones raised, conversations suspended, in the kind of collective stillness that good restaurants occasionally produce.

The meal itself was secondary, though secondary at At.mosphere still means impressive. The Michelin Guide has listed the restaurant since the Dubai guide launched, and the kitchen — under the direction of a rotating cast of European chefs sent in by Emaar Hospitality — works modern French cuisine with regional accents: wagyu from the Gulf, dates worked into desserts, saffron and cardamom appearing in dishes that don’t quite need them but earn their place. The wine list takes the altitude seriously (champagne behaves differently at low pressure; the cellar adjusts its recommendations accordingly); the service achieves the difficult balance of formal and warm; and the tasting menu, while not revolutionary, executes with precision that the price demands. We spent AED 2,500 for two (£550), which sounds outrageous until you calculate the cost per metre of altitude (approximately AED 5.66). Value, in Dubai, requires creative accounting.

The restaurant operates as two distinct spaces on the same floor. The formal dining room — where we sat — runs set menus at breakfast (AED 350 / £75), lunch (AED 450 / £95), afternoon tea (AED 450 / £95) and dinner (AED 800-1,400 / £170-300 depending on course count and beverage pairings), with minimum-spend requirements that rise toward the window tables. The adjacent Lounge runs a more relaxed à la carte service, with sharing plates, cocktails, and a slightly more forgiving dress code that suits travellers wanting the altitude without the formality. Both share the same view; the choice is essentially between commitment and flexibility. Children under eight cannot dine after 6pm; the dress code prohibits shorts, sports shoes, sandals, and what the restaurant tactfully calls “sporty outfits.” Smart elegant is the safe interpretation.

Dubai offers other sky-high dining options that compete on different terms. CÉ LA VI on the 54th floor of the Address Sky View pairs Asian-influenced cuisine with a swimming pool overlooking the Burj Khalifa itself — arguably a better view of the building than from inside it. The SkyView Bar at the Burj Al Arab, on the 27th floor of the sail-shaped hotel, runs an afternoon tea ceremony that has become its own institution. Cloud 22 at the Address Beach Resort holds the title of world’s highest infinity pool with bar service attached. And Ossiano at Atlantis The Royal, an underwater restaurant with marine life as the view, takes the directional opposite approach: depth rather than height, with a Michelin star that At.mosphere has not yet matched. Each makes its own argument about what Dubai dining should be. At.mosphere makes the most literal one. The altitude is the experience; the food earns its keep; the bill is what it is.