R – Restaurants in Dubai | #AtoZChallenge

R – Restaurants in Dubai | #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z

A place only becomes cosmopolitan because of its inhabitants from all across the planet and when you have people from all across then they are surely going to bring their food along with it. Dubai is one such place where you will find every possible cuisine in the world.
There are a plethora of options to eat with almost every big brand present and some of the smaller authentic places available. Everybody knows about the Cheesecake Factories and KFCs of the world, let’s keep this post experiential and what I would like to highlight is the places where I had food and found it really amazing, delicious and authentic along with being easy on my wallet.
Contrary to the belief that Dubai is only for the rich, one can still find good food for as cheap as AED 5.
Sigdi
I have to begin with the place where I order the most. They have two outlets – one in Al Nahda and the other in Al Karama. I have mostly been to Al Nahda one. Whatever you order, it is simply home-like delicious. Order blindly from their Indian and Chinese cuisine options.
Must Try – Bhuna Chicken and Mongolian pot rice.
Cost: AED 120 for two.
Zaroob
Zaroob offers the most authentic Arabic street food in a more contemporary set up. They have about five outlets in Dubai. The word translates to ‘Small Alley’ and the ambiance literally brings back the old Arab days.
Must try – Falafel, Mana’oushe morsel, and Fateer.
Cost: AED 150 for two.
Bu Qtair Café
Bu Qtair was like a tea-stall in the 80s serving Indian tea to the pearl divers before becoming what it is today, an ultra-modern seafood shack on Kite Beach. Its simplicity lies in the fact that it still serves only three dishes, all of which are lip-smacking. Don’t even think of missing their Masala fish sauce.
Cost: AED 120 for two.
Tom & Serg
Tom is from Melbourne and Sergio is from Spain and when their paths crossed they collaborated to come up with ‘Tom & Serg’. It is a no frills café where you can just walk in, order food, sit and relax and just feel at home. It is located in the industrial warehouse region of Al Quoz and might be difficult to initially locate it.
Must Try: Breakfast & Brunches. Head to Alserkal Avenue after the brunch.
Cost: AED 190 for two.
Din Tai Fung
New York Times rates it as one of the world’s top ten restaurants and it is the best place to try Taiwanese cuisine. They have three outlets in Dubai.
Must Try: Xiao long bao, noodles and vegetable dishes.
Cost: AED 160 for two.
Calicut Paragon
A popular name for South Indian cuisines and a favorite among them. With their two outlets – Al Nahda & Al Karama, they bring the authentic aromatic spicy flavors of South India to the shores of Dubai. Their seafood are real showstoppers.
Must try: Cheese-stuffed mushrooms, crab masala, fruity mango fish curry, whole pomfret in a spicy rub and biryani chai.
Cost: AED 120 for two.
Pakistani Cuisines
A lot of Dubai’s working strata survive on Pakistani restaurants and cuisines given their cheap price and location availability. Ravi Restaurant, Karachi Darbar and Daily Restaurant are the prominent names among others. My favorite is Daily restaurant because of its genuine taste and the value for money.
Must Try: Nihari, korma and biryanis.
Cost: AED 50 for two – yes your read it right.
Al Ustad Special
Just like Zaroob, Al Ustad is a historical place offering the old-world charm. It is one of Dubai’s oldest establishments serving Persian and Iranian cuisine. If you can keep up with the average service you are going to love the food there.
Must Try: Kebabs.
Cost: AED 70 for two.
Arabic Cuisine
‘When in Rome do as Romans do’, well if you are in Dubai then not trying Arabic food would be criminal, isn’t it? Some of the best places include; Al Fanar, Al Safadi and Al Halabi. My favorite is Al Safadi. It is a little expensive but the food will surely make up for it. You are going to fall in love with their freshly made pita bread and hummus.
Must Try: Shawarma, falafel, pita bread and hummus.
Cost: AED 190 for two.
Indian Street Food
Well, who doesn’t love Indian street food! I will highlight a couple of options – one expensive and one economical – the taste varies as per price.
Bombay Brasserie by Taj – everything here is exceptional and the combos start at 199 AED. Try their brunches with beer combos.
Bhukkad café in Al Karama is an economical option for the lovers of street food. Do try out their Aam panna, vada pav and pani puris. Cost for two is around 100 AED.
Biryani
If you are a die-hard fan of Hyderabadi biryani then these two places are a must go. Shahran and Biryaniwala & co. They are decently priced with authentic flavors.
Thali Restaurants
Indians are a huge fan of thalis, wherever you travel you would definitely come across a local thali. Well, Dubai isn’t spared either and you can find multiple options suiting your location and budget. Some of the worthy places are; Rasoi Ghar, Chappan Bhog, Maharaja bhog and Rajdhani.
My personal favorite is Rasoi Ghar in Al Karama known for their Gujarati and Rajasthani thalis.
Special mention – Manisha’s kitchen – authentic home-style Indian cuisine place. Their Al Karama outlet is famous for Maharashtrian food.
Puranmal
There are not much places in Dubai where you would find authentic Indian ‘chat’. I believe all the ladies will agree with me how important the flavors, the tanginess of water and the spiciness of chat is. To make a perfect chat is an art.
The Puranmal outlet in Meena Bazar offers the best chat in town along with other Indian cuisine options.
Must Try: Indian Chat, Sweets and Gulab Jamun.
Cost: AED 100 for two.
Kulfilicious
The last time I checked they had about two outlets, now they have grown to 12. I have been to their Al Nahda outlet. Well, I cannot pick one since I loved all the flavors I tried. Their fusion kulfis are simply too good along with their quirky interiors.
Cost: AED 45 for two.
Tea
Currently, Dubai has become like India where every roundabout will have a tea place but the Filis Café started the culture of tea in the region. During my stay, there was one in my complex and would be our regular hangout spot. I think for tea Filis Café is the best, there are like the Chaipoint of Dubai with outlet available everywhere.
Must try – Zafran Chai and Oreo Shakes.
Tea starts from 4 AED.
Special Shoutouts
Pressman’s pressed sandwiches – for sandwiches.
Asia’s kitchen – amazing Asian cuisine.
Kebab bistro & Funky Café – for Parsi food and Iranian café.
Faadil – for their Lassi. Try the mango lassi.
The lighthouse in design district – for Mediterranean and Greek food.
Café Ride – for Black coffee.
Da Vinci in Millenium Hotel – For Italian cuisine.
For all the alcoholic beverage lovers there is a separate post coming in a couple of days. Keep visiting and watching the space for the love of Dubai.
For all those who love to dine out,
For all those who live to eat,
For all those who eat to live,
And
For all the lovers of food…
It’s not a goodbye,
But it’s a GOOD BYE.
Manas ‘Sameer’ Mukul
This is the 18th post for the #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z. My theme in Travel Category is ‘Dubai – the City of Gold’, where I would be covering everything about the city in the course of 26 posts.
Read the Previous post here: Dubai – City of Gold
Please do visit tomorrow for the next post with the letter ‘S’
I am also taking part in the #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z using another theme –‘IPL – Indian Parliamentary League’. If you are keen on following key issues pertaining to the upcoming General Elections head over to the Politics Theme and share your feedback.