Food and Drink in Dubai: From Eastern Delights to Western Experiences

Not so long ago in the 1990s, the most popular dishes in Dubai were shawarma and falafel, and international restaurants in this city included Indian, Pakistani, and American fast food chains. Today, Dubai’s diverse restaurants and eateries with a variety of new and innovative foods have a significant contribution to the tourist attractions of this city. The chefs of these restaurants boldly use their ingenuity and creativity to combine new ingredients and create new flavors. These chefs have made a great impact on the food taste of the people of Dubai, who once were only fans of authentic flavors.

In Dubai, immigrants from 200 different nationalities of the world live, who have brought about many changes in the food structure of restaurants in this city, and this influence is not as noticeable in any other sector as food culture and cooking. From pancake and crepe shops and international bakeries to European food from the Balkans and local hamburger shops in Dubai. The food in some restaurants in Dubai are like works of art, which are cooked by the best chefs in the world. According to many tourists, nowhere in the world can you see the diversity of serving international cuisine in Dubai. In this article, we will introduce some of the best options for drinks and food in different meals.

Where to eat to experience the pure flavors of Dubai?

breakfast

One of the best local restaurants with dishes from the Balkan region is “21grams Urban Balkan” restaurant, which is located between the Jumeirah Beach promenade and Meyan Mall in Dubai. This eatery is one of the most popular breakfast spots in Dubai, founded and run by Serbian restaurateur Stasha Toncev and chef Milan Jurkovic.

_{21 Grams restaurant, photo source: Nordic Home Worx website, photographer: unknown}

21 grams Balkan restaurant offers delicious breakfasts and tasty snacks to tourists. The local egg dish of this restaurant with a combination of fried boiled eggs in tomato sauce and chili pepper with cinnamon, yogurt, chili oil and fresh basil is a popular dish among tourists interested in the local dishes of the Balkans. This breakfast is served with somun bread.

Among other popular breakfasts of 21 grams restaurant, we can mention “phyllo pie” (a kind of local bulky bread) with creamed spinach, goat cheese, honey and thyme. This restaurant serves its meals until 17:00 every day and is not only for breakfast. To dine at 21 Grams restaurant on holidays and weekends, you have to wait between 15 and 30 minutes for the tables to be emptied.

“Arabian Tea House” is a traditional restaurant with authentic Emirati architecture located in the historical neighborhood of “Al Fahidi” and a short distance from Dubai Creek. The open area of ​​this restaurant with colorful photos of different regions of Dubai and traditional oven for baking bread is an interesting environment to learn about the culture of the people of the UAE and their traditional houses. One of the best breakfast dishes at the Arabic Tea House, a special tray with dishes such as “balaleet” (sweet vermicelli omelette with cardamom, cinnamon and saffron), “dango” (pea dish), “bajella” (bean dish) ), the food is beans, cheese, dates, rose jam and freshly baked local breads.

_{Arabic Tea House, photo source: Happy Cow website, photographer: unknown}

The Egyptian breakfast tray of “Arabic Tea House” with its combination of falafel, hummus, white cheese and tomato and “musaqaa” (special Arabic food with pepper and eggplant) is popular with many tourists. Also, in this restaurant, local sandwiches of “halloumi” (grilled cheese), cucumber and tomato in local dough with “za’atar” seasoning (Arabic seasoning of spices and mountain herbs) and olives are served for breakfast. will be These dishes, along with Karak (Indian tea with local spices) iced tea, are some of the best local breakfasts in Dubai.

With a view of the Jumeirah Fishing Port, Brix Cafe is another good place to have breakfast in Dubai for Italian breakfast lovers. The popular breakfast of this cafe includes croissants, chocolate espresso ganache and tiramisu filled with oregano mascarpone. Truffles (a type of chocolate dessert) and croissants with cheese, tomato and basil brix also have many fans along with the special coffees of this cafe.

Cracked tea and coffee

“Crack” is one of the most popular drinks in Dubai, which has a special place in the daily food culture of the natives of this city. This drink is basically a type of Indian tea that has a structure similar to masala tea. Karak is prepared by combining ingredients such as brewed black tea, cardamom, saffron, some Arabic spices and condensed milk. Many Arabic cafes in Dubai have a significant sale of crack during the day and brew this drink with a special recipe.

_{Nightjar Cafe, photo source: alserkal.online, photographer: unknown}

“Filli Cafe” (Filli Cafe) on Dubai’s Kite Beach is one of the most famous cafes for Arabic drinks and especially crackers, which tourists line up in front of to enjoy saffron crackers on the last days of the week. This cafe has other branches in the neighborhoods of Dubai. Koukh Al Shay coffee shop in Al Hudaiba area is also one of the most popular coffee shops in Dubai. This cafe serves a special dish of paratha omelette (Indian omelette with meat, vegetables and egg) with spicy Omani chips, which is very popular. Kokh El Shay Cafe has different branches on the beaches of Dubai.

Nightjar Coffee is the perfect excuse to visit Alserkal Street, where Dubai’s art galleries, boutiques and showrooms are located. This cafe serves a variety of handmade coffees with home-roasted beans. Night Jar Cafe also has live music on weekends. The spicy chicken dish of this cafe is very delicious along with lamb toast and ricotta pancakes.

lunch

If you are a burger lover, go to Kite Beach or Dubai Kites for a delicious sandwich. On this beach, you can eat all kinds of fried chicken fillets, fried potatoes and hamburgers for lunch.

_{Maui Bordeaux restaurant, photo source: Caterer Middle East website, photographer: unknown}

“Bordo Mavi” restaurant is a seafood restaurant in Jumeirah Fishing Port, which has a Mediterranean restaurant atmosphere with a beautiful interior design of green plants and a balcony facing the sea. The food of this restaurant is prepared by a fishmonger from Turkey and with an original recipe that is 200 years old from daily fresh catch. In the restaurant display, a variety of marine products such as fish, spiny crab and other foods are displayed in the style of fish markets on ice, from which tourists choose their favorite foods.

Popular appetizers at the Bordeaux Maui restaurant are smoked anchovy pickles, wheat yogurt, tomato salad, and crispy potato chips. The most popular dishes of this restaurant among tourists are shrimp casserole with butter (shrimp casserole; a type of shrimp dish cooked in the oven), seafood with pomodoro sauce (a type of Italian sauce) and fish kebab with wheat.

dinner

For dinner in Dubai, you can experience the delicious taste of Iranian kebabs at “Al Ustad Special Kabab” restaurant in Al Fahidi area. This restaurant was established in 1978 and is one of the oldest restaurants in Dubai. Ostad’s special kebab restaurant serves all kinds of kebabs with mutton and chicken; But the best option for dining in it is the mixed kebab plate with all kinds of kebabs, which is served for two or more people.

_{Ostad Special Kebab Restaurant, photo source: The National website, photographer: unknown}

Don’t miss Chelo Kebab, a specialty of Ostad’s kebab restaurant, with saffron rice and butter. In this restaurant, you can also order creamy hummus, which is one of the best appetizers in Dubai. To dine at Ostad’s special kebab restaurant on the last days of the week, you have to wait for an empty table for a while.

Orfali Bros restaurant, founded by three brothers from Syria named Muhammad, Wasim and Omar, is one of the best international restaurants in Dubai with a variety of authentic dishes from around the world. This restaurant is considered one of the most creative restaurants in Dubai, which was established in 2021 and became one of the most popular restaurants in the city in a short time.

Inside the Orfali Brothers restaurant, there is an open kitchen in front of the customers, where the chefs are skillfully cooking and serving all kinds of food. The dishes of this restaurant are cooked from the combination of flavors and textures of high quality food and fresh local products. Popular dishes of Orfali restaurant include chicken croquettes (French food), shiso salad, and salmon with tahini sauce. Reserve your table in advance to dine at Orfali Brothers Restaurant.

_{Orfali Brothers Restaurant, photo source: Taste & Flavors website, photographer: unknown}

In this article, we introduced some of the best eateries and restaurants in Dubai to experience the pure and different flavors of this city. You can continue to share your experience of dining in different parts of Dubai with us and other Kojaro companions.

_{Cover photo of Dubai Arabic Tea House from Time Out Dubai website}