Bistros, trattorias and the everyday places where Dubai actually eats.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Dubai actually eats.
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.
Calicut Paragon, a Kozhikode name dating to 1939, cooks Malabar biryani, fish moilee and beef fry in a plain Al Karama dining room in Dubai.
OrderChicken biryani with a side of fried Kerala prawns and a bowl of chicken curry.
TipMost dishes come in full and half portions, priced to match, so a table can try more of the Malabar menu.
Aroos Damascus plates Syrian kebbeh, grills and manakish on Al Jaziera Street in Deira, serving all day and late into the evening, inside or on the patio.
OrderMixed grill platter with kebbeh, shish tawook and a bowl of fattoush to share.
TipService runs from breakfast until well past midnight, and the patio tables are the pick once evenings cool.
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.
Karachi Darbar in Al Karama belongs to the Pakistani group that traces its roots to 1973 and serves karahi and nihari to drivers and families alike.
OrderChicken karahi with tandoori roti and a plate of seekh kebab on the side.
TipFriday mornings bring halwa puri and chickpeas before the karahi menu switches on at lunch.
Bikanervala serves pure vegetarian thalis, chaats and sweets behind Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel, a reliable Al Karama room for Dubai's vegetarians.
OrderChole bhature with a side of jalebi and a glass of sweet lassi.
TipThe sweets counter at the front sells by the kilo; buy dessert on the way out rather than at the table.
Al Safadi Restaurant grills Lebanese mezze and steaks a short walk from DIFC in Dubai, open from 09:30 for breakfast through to a late dinner at 00:30.
OrderMixed grill platter with hummus and a plate of warm knafeh to close.
TipBreakfast runs from 09:30 and uses the same grill list as dinner.
Wafi Gourmet serves Lebanese hummus, tabouleh and kebbeh at its Sunset Mall branch on Jumeirah Beach Road, a Dubai brand established back in 2001.
OrderHummus plate with tabouleh salad and a side of kebbeh bil laban.
TipThe souq counter up front sells the same Lebanese ingredients to take home after the meal.
Saravanaa Bhavan pours filter coffee and folds masala dosa at its Al Karama branch in Dubai, part of the long running Chennai vegetarian chain.
OrderMasala dosa with coconut chutney and a tumbler of filter coffee.
TipIt opens at 07:00 every day, so it works for an early dosa breakfast.
Bu Qtair sells marinated fish and prawns by weight from a shack by the Umm Suqeim fishing harbour, then fries them to order while diners wait.
OrderFried pomfret or sheri by weight, with rice, parathas and the tomato curry sauce.
TipPick your fish at the counter, give your first name and wait for it to be called; there is no booking.
Al Mandaloun has served Lebanese mezze in DIFC's Gate Village since 2005, a Dubai room built for a business lunch or a shisha evening outside.
OrderShish tawook with garlic sauce, ordered alongside a round of hot and cold mezze.
TipIn cooler months the outdoor lounge between the DIFC towers is the draw, with shisha and mezze late into the evening.
China Bistro plates dim sum, sushi and Sichuan noodles in the Al Balorah building on the Al Karama side of Trade Centre Road, open late into Dubai's night.
OrderSteamed dim sum basket followed by a plate of Sichuan style noodles.
TipThe kitchen also rolls sushi alongside the Chinese menu, and the room is open 24 hours.
Nayaab Haandi has cooked Pakistani and Mughlai dishes since 2006, and its Al Wasl Road room near Al Bada serves chicken handi, karahi and seekh kebab.
OrderChicken handi with tandoori roti and a plate of seekh kebab rolls.
TipHandi dishes are cooked to order and take longer than the karahi list, so put that order in first.
Afghan Khorasan Kabab grills chapli kebab and cooks Afghan rice dishes on Al Meydan Street in Al Quoz, Dubai, a room built around shared plates.
OrderChapli kebab with a plate of Kabuli palaw studded with raisins and carrot.
TipOrder a grill platter with a rice dish for the table; the menu is built around sharing.
Automatic Restaurants & Grill serves Lebanese mezze, arayes, mixed grills and broasted chicken at the Uptown Mirdiff complex in Mirdif, Dubai, daily.
OrderMixed grill platter with garlic sauce, hummus and a side of fresh juice.
TipThe mixed grill with garlic sauce and hummus is the order for a table.
Karam Beirut bakes manoushe and rolls shawarma on the lower ground floor of The Dubai Mall, a Lebanese street food counter dressed for Downtown Dubai.
OrderZaatar manoushe with a side of shawarma and a glass of jallab.
TipThe branch sits on the lower ground floor, entered from the Fashion Avenue car park, P1 and P2.
Barrio Fiesta runs a Filipino buffet on Al Rigga Road in Deira, Dubai, one of the few in the city open from late morning until 06:00 the next day.
OrderCrispy pata with a side of kare-kare and steamed rice.
TipThe buffet runs from 11:00 until 06:00, so it works as a late supper after most kitchens nearby have closed.
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.
Al Yemen Mandi smokes lamb and chicken mandi over coals in Hor Al Anz East, a Yemeni dining room that Deira, Dubai regulars fill through the night.
OrderLamb mandi over smoked rice, ordered with a side of chilli sahawiq sauce.
TipMandi comes on one tray for the table with rice underneath, so order by the group rather than per person.
Zam Zam Mandi cooks chicken and lamb mandi opposite Gate 3 of Zabeel Park in Al Karama, a fast moving Arabic kitchen that stays open until 01:00.
OrderChicken mandi with grilled fish on the side and a glass of fresh juice.
TipIt sits opposite Gate 3 of Zabeel Park, handy after an evening in the park.
Delhi Darbar is the Al Karama branch of the Mumbai founded chain, a busy North Indian room on Za'abeel Road serving mutton biryani and butter chicken.
OrderMutton biryani with a side of butter chicken and garlic naan.
TipThe menu runs from rumali roti and tandoori chicken to biryani, so a table can cover the tandoor and the rice pot in one order.
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.
Malabar Paris Restaurant has cooked coconut fish curry and appam in Sheikh Hamdan Colony since 2010, a trusted Kerala kitchen in Al Karama, Dubai.
OrderFish curry with appam and a side of prawn roast.
TipThe fish pollichathu, marinated and cooked in a banana leaf, is the dish reviewers single out.
Kalpaka A Malabar Restaurant cooks Kerala coastal seafood inside the Regent Palace Hotel in Al Karama, Dubai, with a lunch and a late dinner service.
OrderKarimeen pearl spot fry with kappa tapioca and a Malabar prawn curry.
TipLunch and dinner are separate services, with a break in the afternoon.
5 hours
Experience the magic of the Arabian desert on a private dinner safari to Mleiha.
Day trip · 10 hours
Embark on a breathtaking journey from Dubai to Oman’s stunning Musandam Peninsula with our Khasab Full-Day Dhow Cruise, now including seamless round-trip transfers (SH...
1.5 hours
Feast on a 3-course meal of your choice 50 meters above the streets of Dubai, and enjoy a unique dining experience in the sky. Eat at a table suspended by a crane abov...