Africana Home Restaurant is a nigerian restaurant in Deira, Dubai.
Editorially verified September 26, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: It trades from a mezzanine near the Al Sabkha Hotel, a floor that most people walking past on the street never notice.
Tip: Order the jollof rice with grilled tilapia.
Private tour · 3 hours
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Get a taste of Dubai and enjoy 10 of the best tastings that city offers. Dubai is of the best city which offers Alot of different Local Food and Enjoy Local History by...
Private tour · 5 - 6 hours
Discover Dubai’s top sights in a premium business-class vehicle on a private guided tour, including the Frame, Burj Khalifa, Blue Mosque, Bluewaters Island, Old Town, ...
Address: Al Sabkha Street, Al Ras, Deira, Dubai
Fujian Snacks looks like a Deira hot pot counter off Al Rigga Road, but its Fujianese chef also cooks poached mutton in numbing Sichuan chili oil.
Why locals goFrom the street it reads as a plain hot pot shop, but the chef from Fujian province cooks a longer regional menu that most passers-by never ask about.
TipOrder from the dishes beyond the hot pot list, and ask for rice with the mutton to take the edge off the Sichuan peppercorn.
Zagol Restaurant ladles doro wat onto injera in a ground floor room in Al Karama, Dubai, opposite BurJuman, one of the city's Ethiopian kitchens.
Why locals goA small ground floor Ethiopian room among the Karama blocks opposite BurJuman, easy to walk past among bigger restaurants.
TipOrder injera with doro wat to share.
Betawi Restaurant cooks nasi padang, beef rendang and gado gado on the lower ground floor of Lake Terrace in JLT, after years in a Karama shop unit.
Why locals goIt trades from the lower ground floor of Lake Terrace in Cluster D, a level most people crossing JLT never think to visit.
TipAsk which curries are on the counter that day for the nasi padang.
Sthan cooks Pakistani, Afghan and Indian frontier dishes named for Kabul, Peshawar and Karachi on Zabeel Road, a Karama, Dubai room built for sharing.
Why locals goThe name joins Hindustan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and first time visitors often expect one national cuisine instead of the frontier menu it serves.
TipCover all three countries: a Kabuli chicken shorba, Lahori gosht seekh and a slow cooked rogan josh.
Fujian Snacks looks like a Deira hot pot counter off Al Rigga Road, but its Fujianese chef also cooks poached mutton in numbing Sichuan chili oil.
Why locals goFrom the street it reads as a plain hot pot shop, but the chef from Fujian province cooks a longer regional menu that most passers-by never ask about.
TipOrder from the dishes beyond the hot pot list, and ask for rice with the mutton to take the edge off the Sichuan peppercorn.
Scantic Restaurant serves Kerala-style curries, ghee roast and biryani from 07:00 until 23:30 in the Al Arti Building near the Satwa bus station in Dubai.
Why locals goThe plain Al Arti Building storefront near the bus station blends into the shops around it, so most Satwa visitors never look twice.
TipIt opens at 07:00 and runs until 23:30, so it works for a South Indian breakfast as well as a late dinner.
Pandecia bakes Filipino pandesal and ladles Vietnamese pho from one counter in SBO Tower on Al Barsha Road, opening at five each morning, daily.
Why locals goThe counter sells Filipino pandesal and Vietnamese pho side by side, a pairing unusual enough that most people assume they are two different shops.
TipBuy the pandesal warm from the morning batch, before the lunchtime pho crowd arrives.
