The creek's southern bank, where the wind tower houses of Al Fahidi meet Meena Bazaar. Pakistani karahi houses and South Indian rooms run all day here.
Al Ustad Special Kabab has grilled Persian skewers in Bur Dubai, Dubai, since 1978, a family run kebab house a short walk from Al Fahidi metro station.
SignatureChicken boti, Shish tawook, Chicken saffron
TipLook down as well as up: glass topped tables hold foreign banknotes and the walls carry photos of famous patrons with the late founder.
Al Fanar Restaurant & Cafe on the Al Seef waterfront serves Emirati seafood and heritage recipes for a brand founded in 2011, and is in the Michelin Guide.
SignatureGrilled seafood, Traditional Emirati bread
Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant occupies an old courtyard house in Al Fahidi Historical District, Dubai, plating home style Emirati family cooking.
SignatureLamb machboos, Lamb saloona, Luqaimat
TipPart restaurant, part museum: tables sit under a tree in an air conditioned covered courtyard, and bread is baked in view of the diners.
Sind Punjab Restaurant has served Mughlai and Punjabi cooking from Meena Bazaar since 1977, one of the oldest South Asian kitchens in Bur Dubai, Dubai.
OrderButter chicken with a garlic roomali roti, finished with a plate of pani puri.
TipOrder from the chaat side too: pani puri, sev puri and falooda sit on the same menu as the butter chicken and dal makhani.
Al Fanar Restaurant & Cafe rebuilds 1960s Dubai in its Al Seef dining room, serving machboos and harees the way the UAE ate before towers rose.
OrderLamb machboos with a plate of luqaimat and date syrup to finish.
TipAsk for the terrace, which looks across the creek at the boats and old Dubai.
Karaikudi Aachi Restaurant & Sweets fries parotta and simmers Chettinad chicken inside the Al Fahidi Souk, a Tamil Nadu counter in old Dubai.
OrderChettinad chicken curry with flaky parotta and a filter coffee to finish.
TipPair the Chettinad chicken with parotta and finish with a filter coffee from the sweets counter.
Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant & Cafe seats diners under a tree in a covered courtyard in Al Fahidi, a Bib Gourmand kitchen cooking rustic Emirati food.
OrderMachboos rice with dango chickpea soup and a plate of luqaimat.
TipBread is baked in view of the courtyard tables, and live music plays in the evening.
New Sarhad Darbar grills karahi and stacks biryani inside the Atrium Centre on Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street, a Pakistani room in Dubai's Al Mankhool.
OrderChicken karahi with tandoori naan and a plate of seekh kebab.
TipThe Chinese side of the menu is a local favourite here too, not just an afterthought to the karahi.
Arabian Tea House has poured karak chai and served Emirati breakfasts since 1997 in a courtyard house built in the early 1920s in Al Fahidi, Dubai.
DrinkKarak chai
TipAsk for a courtyard table under the big tree; the Emirati breakfast tray comes with khameer and chebab baked in the house tanoor.
XVA Cafe serves a mostly vegetarian menu in the shaded stone courtyard of a small boutique art hotel in the Al Fahidi district of old Dubai.
DrinkMint lemonade
TipTake a table in one of the three shaded courtyards rather than the small indoor room.
Vintage runs a cheese and wine bar on the first floor of the Wafi Pyramids, pairing a long cheese display with hams, terrines and a sommelier-picked list.
PourA wine flight on flight night
WineA sommelier-led list built for cheese pairing, with weekly flight nights
FoodCheese display, hams, terrines, fondue nights and freshly baked bread
TipGo on fondue night or flight night, the weekly offers that show the cheese counter and the wine list at their best.
Al Ustad Special Kabab has grilled seekh kebab on Al Mussallah Road since 1978, its walls lined with photos of famous patrons with the late founder.
TrySeekh kebab
TipThe minced lamb seekh roll wrapped in fresh bread is the order locals repeat visit after visit.
Farisian Cafeteria sells falafel sandwiches, samosas and potato sandwiches from a Meena Bazaar counter, a fixture of Bur Dubai's side streets.
TryFalafel sandwich
TipThe menu is three items long, so just point at the falafel and it comes wrapped in seconds.
Joshi has fried samosas and served thali beside the Al Munna Bookshop in Meena Bazaar since 1968, the oldest Indian kitchen in Dubai by What's On's count.
TrySamosas and vegetarian thali
TipThe kitchen shuts between 14:30 and 17:30, so plan a samosa stop for the morning or the evening rush.
Bur Dubai Souk runs along the creek with textile stalls and a scatter of juice and shawarma vendors, quieter than the Gold Souk across the water in Dubai.
TipTry the fresh sugarcane juice, cut and pressed to order at a stall near the abra station.
Smart Friend Travels' Al Fahidi walking tour crosses the Gold and Spice Souks in Old Dubai, and its premium option adds karak tea, samosas and camel milk ice cream.
The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding's Cultural Meals serve an Emirati breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea time or dinner in a traditional Al Fahidi house, with an open question and answer session.
Bateaux Dubai's glass walled boat serves a four course dinner past the Maktoum Bridge and Deira skyline on Dubai Creek, with a pianist playing through the meal in Dubai.
Al Khayma Heritage House teaches regag bread, chicken machboos and luqaimat in a three hour class inside Dubai's Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, ending with a shared meal.
Al Ustad Special Kabab has skewered koobideh near the Al Fahidi metro since 1978, a family run Bur Dubai canteen that locals return to again and again.
TryKebab koobideh with rice
TipLook under the glass tabletops, where regulars' foreign banknotes are kept, and at the walls of photos of famous guests.
Variety Momo Restaurant steams and fries Nepali dumplings beside Portsaid vegetarian restaurant, a small Al Fahidi, Dubai counter for Himalayan food.
TrySteamed chicken momo
TipOrder the jhol momo if you want the dumplings served in soup rather than the drier fried style.
XVA Cafe serves a weekend vegetarian brunch in the shaded stone courtyard of its small boutique art hotel in old Dubai's historic Al Fahidi district.
OrderA vegetarian Middle Eastern plate with a mint lemonade
TipTake a table in one of the three shaded courtyards rather than the small indoor room.
Al Ustad Special Kabab near Al Fahidi in Bur Dubai has grilled skewers since 1978 in a family run room hung with photos of its famous patrons.
TryMixed kebab platter with tandoori naan
TipMeals start with a complimentary plate of fresh vegetables; order a mixed platter of chicken and lamb kebabs to share.
Q's Bar and Lounge is the jazz room Quincy Jones opened inside Palazzo Versace Dubai, a Versace furnished space built for a rotating cast of soul singers.
TipA minimum spend of AED 350 per person applies from Friday to Sunday, so pair the evening with dinner at the hotel.
Cheers Pub at the Arabian Park hotel is a ground floor sports bar and pool terrace in Al Jaddaf, built for signature martinis and football on the screens.
TipThe full bar pours signature martinis alongside the football on the screens.
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