Dubai is a city that is known for its luxury and high-end lifestyle. That being said, if you’re looking for the best food in Dubai, you don’t have to look very far – numerous amazing restaurants will satisfy even the most discerning palate.
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Dubai is the melting pot of different cultures and cuisines. This diversity is also reflected in the city’s food scene, where you can find all sorts of delicious restaurants serving up everything from traditional Emirati cuisine to modern European dishes. However, with several choices available, it can be difficult choice to know where to eat.
The city of Dubai offers its visitors the opportunity, like none other, to dine above the city streets, either on the 122nd floor of Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure on earth or in an eatery that is hanging from a building crane.
The food scene in Dubai has been growing for a long time now, and the streets are now flooded with so many options to choose from. Ranging from different kinds of street food, Thai food, local food, Emirati food, Arabic desserts and several other famous foods, the options are endless. Over the years, the best restaurants in Dubai have also been creative with an innovative menu that tingles the taste buds.
Packed with endless options, in Dubai, you can find anything from burgers and steaks to Turkish food to Thai food. With this, we bring to you some of the sought-after places in Dubai to enjoy an amazing meal.
Now let’s learn about these restaurants and the most popular dishes that they have on offer in detail:
Umami delivers Japanese cuisine that is a far cry from the overdone omakase at adjacent resorts. Umami is a member of a restaurant company founded in the 1980s to promote Asian cuisines to Dubaiin, Chinese Palace Restaurant, Mongolian Barbecue Restaurant, and Koryo Korean Restaurant. There are excellent yet straightforward versions of ramen, sushi, donburi, curry, and omurice on the menu.
When you go to each of these places, apart from good food, there’s a lot more that they offer. Some provide live entertainment or live music that people can enjoy along with their meals. It is also quite evident to say that the dining experience in the best restaurants in Dubai is unmatched. Imagine being served the most popular dishes from the United Arab Emirates while enjoying a wild view from the tallest building – Burj Khalifa. That would definitely be a meal that one would not forget about.
The city of Dubai offers its visitors the opportunity, like none other, to dine above the city streets, either on the 122nd floor of Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure on earth or in an eatery that is hanging from a building crane.
The food scene in Dubai has been growing for a long time now, and the streets are now flooded with so many options to choose from. Ranging from different kinds of street food, Thai food, local food, Emirati food, Arabic desserts and several other famous foods, the options are endless. Over the years, the best restaurants in Dubai have also been creative with an innovative menu that tingles the taste buds.
Packed with endless options, in Dubai, you can find anything from burgers and steaks to Turkish food to Thai food. With this, we bring to you some of the sought-after places in Dubai to enjoy an amazing meal.
Now let’s learn about these restaurants and the most popular dishes that they have on offer in detail:
Allo Beirut
Allo Beirut is a quirky, vibrant roadside eatery that serves up vivacious Levantine food, including shawarma, that is hard to beat anywhere else in Dubai for its juicy, expertly grilled meat. Additionally, crackly manakish, various baked goods such as stuffed saj, Kaak, pizza, and sandwiches on bread seasoned with sumac and za’atar are popular with customers. These baked goods can be topped with basil and rosemary, akkawi or kashkaval cheese, honey, labneh, soujok, or any combination of these. For those with a bigger appetite, there are stuffed lamb, sirloin, and rotisserie chicken with toum and cheese sauce.
Dream City Cafe
Dream City Cafeteria is a true representation of what a “cafeteria” means in Dubai—a hole in the wall. The eatery, which is situated in the center of Sheikh Zayed Road, offers a variety of the best street food available in Dubai, including shawarma, paratha, and desi burgers, which are American-style hamburgers with South Asian toppings such as handmade green chilli tamarind sauce. Considering how spicy a lot of the food is, it is best enjoyed with fresh fruit juices, which are essential for cooling off on warm summer days. Both the cooks and many of their patrons, who swarm in from nearby offices at lunch and right after work on weekdays, are from India and Bangladesh.STAY by Yannick Alléno
One of only two restaurants in Dubai to have two Michelin stars is STAY by Yannick Alléno, which can be found in the upscale island community known as One&Only The Palm. A meal at STAY is nothing short of an adventure, with a series of surprise tasting menus highlighting the freshest ingredients and featuring Alléno’s distinctive spin on traditional French cuisine. While the restaurant pushes the limits of good dining, the guide focused on the chef’s ‘less is more philosophy, which is admittedly uncommon in Dubai.
Umami
Umami delivers Japanese cuisine that is a far cry from the overdone omakase at adjacent resorts. Umami is a member of a restaurant company founded in the 1980s to promote Asian cuisines to Dubaiin, Chinese Palace Restaurant, Mongolian Barbecue Restaurant, and Koryo Korean Restaurant. There are excellent yet straightforward versions of ramen, sushi, donburi, curry, and omurice on the menu.
AL Ustad Special Kabab
When it comes to the food at AL Ustad Special Kabab, legendary is an understatement. They’ve been open since before Dubai had its development boom, and they’ve remained a wildly popular local eatery throughout the city’s history. It’s an Iranian restaurant, and their unbelievably tasty kebabs are what make them famous. Everything was excellent, but the yoghurt-marinated kebabs were my favorite. It is, without a doubt, a meat eater’s delight.
Al Muntaha
Al Muntaha is located on the 27th story of the iconic Burj Al Arab, making it one of the most admired after locations in all of Dubai. Ask for a table beside the floor-to-ceiling windows for some of the best city views. Restaurant Saverio Sbaragli is deeply based on European cuisine, fusing traditional French flavors and methods with a few Mediterranean influences. Al Muntaha received a coveted Michelin star as a result of its menu’s abundance of daring dishes.Vietnamese Foodies
Vietnamese Foodies introduces the culinary culture of Ho Chi Minh City to Dubai. The restaurant’s 14-hour-simmered pho is the standout dish, but other crowd-pleasers on the menu include the bun bo hue soup with beef and lemongrass, the hoanh thanh chien gion, and the goi cuon, which come in a vegan version with sweet potato, eggplant, and zucchini. The rest of the delicious menu is bursting with Southeast Asian tastes, including annatto, scallion, and scented Thai basil.Al-Baik
Locals eagerly anticipated the arrival of Al-Baik in 2021, perhaps the most well-known fast-food brand in the Arabian Gulf. With two new branches in Dubai, including one in the Dubai Mall, the Saudi Arabian chain marked its first global growth after 50 years of business. The restaurant is famous for its roasted and fried chicken that is marinated in seasonings that are known only to the owners. There isn’t much else on the menu that you’ll need or want.
Ristorante L’Olivo at Al Mahara
Being one of the top restaurants in Dubai, Ristorante L’Olivo on Capri delivers a taste of Italy to the city. L’Olivo is a newcomer to the competitive Dubai dining market, having just recently moved into the famed restaurant area of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah earlier this year, but diners are already raving about the culinary creations of chef Andrea Migliaccio and, of course, the iconic aquarium setting. The menu at Ristorante L’Olivo at Al Mahara is heavily centered on seafood, with a concentration on rich flavors and culinary artistry. It draws influence from both the restaurant’s aquatic surroundings and Capri’s long history of being an oceanic island.Eauzone
The atmosphere at Eauzone is laid-back during the day, reflecting the pace of the One&Only Royal Mirage and the nearby sea. But after dusk falls, this place smartens up into a classy, sophisticated restaurant serving modern Asian cuisine. The pool’s artistically placed decoration gives the impression that it is floating on the clear water. A winding staircase over the pool marks the entrance to the restaurant and leads to a stylish bar and a stunning, striped poolside tented deck. At a table close to the water, you can have the best Eauzone experience.La Petite Maison
La Petit Maison is a celebration of Mediterranean cuisine with a menu that draws heavily on the vibrant tastes of the South of France. It is magnificently situated in Dubai International Financial Centre. To create a style that is light and healthful, a lot of local produce is used, especially artichokes, courgettes, lemons, olives, tomatoes, peppers, and girolles. The restaurant also referred to as La Grande Maison, is spacious and offers plenty of room for large, leisurely lunches and evenings.Eskinita Street Food Restaurant
Eskinita satisfies any appetite for Filipino cuisine, particularly the adobong manok (chicken adobo), the country’s signature dish that is slow-cooked and then pan-fried with soy sauce. The restaurant began as a little street food stand but soon grew into a large establishment with both inside and outdoor seating. Various Bangus (milkfish), lumpia, tokneneng, and kwek preparations are among the numerous seafood and meat dishes from the Philippines that are offered on the menu.Al Hadheerah
The airport in Dubai is 60 minutes drive from the signature restaurant at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa. The resort appears to be a secluded paradise, suitable for a fine-dining experience under the stars in the lovely Al Hadheerah restaurant because it is tucked away among sand dunes. While guests are entertained live, fourteen live cooking stations serve real Middle Eastern food. For further culture, there is also the Emirati Heritage Museum close by.Saravana Bhavan
The best vegetarian Indian restaurant in the world, according to Saravana Bhavan, has more than 50 locations worldwide. The restaurant serves dosas, idli, medu vada, and desserts like payasam, all expertly cooked by cooks hired from Kerala and Madras, India. It specializes in South Indian food. There are now four branches in Dubai, and more are set to follow. There is no finer location to eat on a tight budget for vegetarians in Dubai. There are now four branches in Dubai, and more are set to follow. There is no finer location to eat on a tight budget for vegetarians in Dubai.
Foodie’s Paradise
Dubai is, without any doubt, a hub for delicious food. With numerous traditional food and Dubai dishes available in abundance, there are so many popular dishes that one can try. With eateries spread across the city, from the Burj al Arab, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, and Sheikh Zayed road to Burj Khalifa, the options are endless when you are out to find the best restaurants in Dubai. Some of the restaurants also focus on building on Dubai foods, which are traditional food which encapsulates the flavor of the Arabian gulf but also touches upon the essence of street food. Some middle eastern Emirati food also has a great influence of garlic sauce and Indian spices. A great amount of the best foods is made available on a special occasion, where everyone sets out to eat dishes that consist of meat, fish, mixed greens, sweet pastries, halloumi cheese and olive oil.
When you go to each of these places, apart from good food, there’s a lot more that they offer. Some provide live entertainment or live music that people can enjoy along with their meals. It is also quite evident to say that the dining experience in the best restaurants in Dubai is unmatched. Imagine being served the most popular dishes from the United Arab Emirates while enjoying a wild view from the tallest building – Burj Khalifa. That would definitely be a meal that one would not forget about.
FAQs
Ans. Al Machboos and Khuzi are the national dishes of the country. Lamb, dried lemon, stew, and tomatoes are the main ingredients of the non-vegetarian dish machboos, whereas a popular dish based on rice is known as khuzi. It is also regarded as one of Iraq’s national dishes. Over rice, it is served with lamb that has been cooked very gradually as well as roasted nuts and raisins. The dish is prepared during Iftar meals during Ramadan and is served with basmati rice. While meat, fish, and rice are the national foods of Dubai.
Ans. While the local food restaurants in Dubai provide a generous amount of portion of meat, fish and vegetables in the dishes, there are always two sides to this situation. There are restaurants and outlets in Dubai which are towards the more expensive side, and one can also find good food options which are more towards the cheaper end of options. While one can easily go to eat popular foods that are the locals’ firm favourite at restaurants that don’t hurt your pocket, some restaurants in Dubai don’t just sell a meal, they sell an experience.
Ans. While most of the restaurants in the United Arab Emirates provide meals with either fish, meat or vegetables, the food generally has a lot of influence from Southeast Asia and the Arabian Sea. Over the years, the street food culture has also widely evolved in Dubai. With the heavy influence of the middle east and Persian gulf, even restaurants in Atlantis hotel now serve dishes like Arab pizza.