Dubai Foodie
Where and how to find whatever you want to eat (and drink).

Dubai is probably only just behind Singapore and Sydney as far as cosmopolitan food choices go. Dubai specializes in the high-end fancy restaurant category, and there are quite a few of them that cover a wide spectrum of international cuisine. Hotels in Dubai are probably the best bets as far as eating out goes – they offer a head-spinning range of food and beverage outlets – catering to both their guests and Dubai residents alike. Service is world standrad, and some of these reataurants compare to any of the best in the world.

There are several food courts in the shopping malls that also cater to international tastes, and pubs and medium-range places are plenty too.
Smaller eating places (outside hotels) are not permitted to serve alcohol, but otherwise provide a dazzling opportunity for culinary adventure.

Really, you'll be spoilt for choice, and while some can be quite expensive, you're not going to get stuck in Dubai for lack of choice.


By the way, we've put together a list of great sites here that provide directories to Restaurants, Pubs, Bars and other places to grab a meal.

TimeOut Dubai provides a great alphabetical directory and Review section. We find this a great place to check out, and they make recommendations as well.

The explocity Eating Out guide is useful as it lists places by area once you've decided on the kind of food you want.

The DubaiCityGuide listing is alphabetical, but there's a nice search facility in there as well.

And if you aren't sure what you want to eat or even if you want to leave the house to eat, check out DubaiMenu.

So, is there a Dubai specialty?
Well, Dubai is an ideal place to introduce yourself to Middle Eastern cuisine. It presents a well balanced representation of the best varieties of Middle Eastern food. You'll find restaurants specializing in local Arabic food, and as well ones that represent specialties from Lebanon, Iran and the latest craze – Morocco.
Lebanese cafeterias (quick and easy) are all over Dubai and provide an interesting, inexpensive glimpse into Middle Eastern dining.

Here's a quick glimpse at what to expect:

• Hoummus, is the probably the most common element. It is a paste made from chickpeas and sesame seeds, and is most often used as a dip for the Arabic breads – staple with any meal.
• Wara enab is made of vine leaves stuffed with rice.
• Koussa mahshi is stuffed courgettes, and quite common.
• Tabbouleh is chopped parsley, mint and crushed wheat served as a salad.
• Ghuzi is popular in restaurants. It's a whole roast lamb served on a bed of rice mixed with nuts and spices.
• Matchbous, spiced lamb cooked with rice.
• Haraeis, a rich delicacy of slow-cooked wheat and tender lamb.
• Seafood is very popular. Fish is probably just as popular as mets, and the local household serves fish several times a week if not every day. Many fish or seafood dished are served with specially seasoned rice.

You'll find a huge variety of fresh fish from the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean -- lobster, slipper lobster, crab, hamour, shrimp, tuna, king fish, pomfret, red snapper. etc, so if sea food is what you like, Dubai is the place.

Dates are an intrinsic part of almost all Arabic meals. Dates are healthy and are used to make several desserts as well Some desserts are:
• Umm Ali (meaning"Mother of Ali"), a typical Arabic bread pudding.
• Eesh asaraya (bread of the harem), is a cloyingly sweet cheesecake with a cream topping.
• Mehalabiya – a pudding flavoured with rosewater and pistachios.

If there's any food that's typically Dubai, it would be the traditional Middle Eastern shawarma. Grilled shavings of lamb or chicken, served with salad and rolled inside a pocket of Arabic pita bread is served fresh off the pit every day across several outlets in the city and is tremendous value for money and is a great snack or dinnner.

Dubai is also known for its fresh juices and shakes. Juice bars (some are on every street corner) serve freshly squeezed juices and make up fabulous shakes on order.

Finally, yes, you'll find your favourite place to eat here, no matter where you're from in the world. There''s burgers. There's pizza. And even quick-service Indian and Chinese!Yes Dubai has international fast food chains places like McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Burger King, Shakey's Pizza, Wimpy and Hardees.

What do people like you and me think about places to eat in Dubai? BestinME.com says it all...