Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
Chelo kebab is Dubai's Iranian staple: minced koobideh and saffron chicken skewers grilled over coals, served on buttered saffron rice with a grilled tomato.
Iranian cooks have fed Dubai since merchants from the Persian coast settled Bastakiya, and chelo kebab is the dish that community serves the whole city. Chelo is the rice, steamed then finished with butter and saffron so the base forms a crust, and the kebab is either koobideh, minced lamb and beef pressed onto a flat sword skewer, or joojeh, chicken marinated in saffron, lime and onion juice. The accompaniments are fixed: a blistered tomato, raw onion, sumac and a knob of butter stirred through the rice at the table. Al Ustad Special Kabab has served it near Al Fahidi since 1978 under walls of photos of its famous patrons.
2 editor picks for Chelo kebab in Dubai, ranked by editorial score. All Dubai signature dishes · Chelo kebab across every city.
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.
OrderChicken 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.
Special Kabab Iranian Restaurant grills kafta and chicken kebabs opposite Capitol Hotel on Al Mina Road, a Persian counter in Al Hudaiba, Dubai.
OrderChicken and beef kafta kebab
TipAsk for extra grilled tomato with the kafta; the char on it is why regulars keep coming back.
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