A Cosmopolitan Flavour

Dubai’s cosmopolitan flavour is matched by the city’s many restaurants and entertainment venues, which provide a truly international array of choices for the visitor.

Hotels offer a remarkably diverse range of food and beverage outlets, partly because they serve not only their own guests but also attract large numbers of local residents. Their restaurants cover everything from coffee shops to fine dining and speciality outlets and the standard of service is on a par with the best in the world. The night-life is equally varied, with many bars, pubs, discos and nightclubs open until the small hours.

Outside the hotels, small eating places are to be found in all parts of the city including Deira, Bur Dubai, Satwa and Jumeirah.

While restaurants located outside hotel and club premises are not permitted to serve alcohol, all are air-conditioned, clean and are often culinary adventures in their own right.

 

Middle East Cuisine

Dubai is an excellent place to sample all types of Gulf and Middle Eastern cuisine, including Iranian, Moroccan and Lebanese.

Arabian food makes up an important part of most buffet spreads. Specialities include:

• Hoummus: a dip made from chick-peas and sesame seeds.
• Tabbouleh: chopped parsley, mint and crushed wheat.
• Ghuzi: a whole roast lamb on a bed of rice mixed with nuts.
• Wara enab: vine leaves stuffed with rice.
• Koussa mahshi: stuffed courgettes.

 

Local dishes include:

• Matchbous: spiced lamb with rice.
• Hareis: a rich delicacy of slow-cooked wheat and tender lamb.
• Seafood served with specially seasoned rice. Naturally, dates are a feature of any Arabian meal.

Delicious regional desserts include:

• Umm Ali (literally ‘Mother of Ali’): a type of bread pudding.
• Esh asaraya (meaning ‘bread of the harem’): a sweet kind of cheesecake with a cream topping.
• Mehalabiya: a pudding sprinkled with rosewater and pistachios.

Visitors especially enjoy fresh fish from the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean — lobster, cigale, crab, hammour, shrimp, tuna, kingfish, pomfret and red snapper.

A traditional Middle Eastern snack is the shawarma — grilled shavings of lamb or chicken, mixed with salad and rolled inside a pocket of Arabic bread — that is sold in many small outlets around the city.

There are also numerous juice bars where visitors can buy a fresh juice cocktail or a mango milkshake.

 

International Cuisine

Standards of international cuisine in Dubai are high and the choice is wide. Top class European restaurants in the city’s hotels range from French to Italian, Swiss to Mediterranean, Spanish to Greek and British to German.

Asia is equally well represented with many fine Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino and Korean restaurants, as well as numerous outlets featuring cuisine from the Asian Subcontinent.

International theme restaurants such as TGI Friday’s, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Café and Henry J Bean’s have all opened, while Fashion Café was due to open as Destination Dubai went to press.

There are also several other American and Mexican restaurants in the city, while international fast food chains are represented by such names as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Round Table Pizza, Pizza Corner, Harry Ramsden’s, Burger King, Shakey’s, Wimpy, Dunkin’ Donuts and Hardee’s.

The International dialing code for Dubai is +971 4 The International dialing code for Abu Dhabi is +971 2 The International dialing code forSharjah is +971 6 Restaurant List 49ers Shell Inn Hotel 3934777 A Mushrif St. George Hotel 2251122 Abu Nawas Metropolitan Beach Hotel 3995000 Al Abaya Dubai Park Hotel 3992222 Al Buteen Coffee Shop Vendome Plaza Hotel 2222333 Al Dallah Sheraton Dubai Hotel 2281111 Al Dana Holiday Inn Crown Plaza 2311111 Al Dana Riviera Hotel 2222131 Al Dawaar (Revolving) Hyatt Regency Hotel 2091100 Al Fahidi Hilton Intl' Hotel 2314000 Al Faro Vendome Plaza Hotel 2222333 Al Jawhara Howard Johnson Hotel 2221111 Al Jumeirah Metropolitan Beach Hotel 3995000 Al Khayam Lounge Dubai Metropolitan Hotel 3430000 Al Manara Vendome Plaza 2222333 Al Mandaloun Al Khaleej Palace Hotel 2231000 Al Qasr Dubai Marine Beach Club 460111 Al Saffa Dubai Metropolitan Hotel 3430000 Al Sarab Forte Grand Jumeira Beach 2845555 Al Tannour Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza 2311111 Al-Diyafah Coffee Shop 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Dubai Hotel 2281111 Noble House The Imperial Suites Hotel 3515100 Old Vic Ramada Hotel 3519999 Palms JW Marriott Hotel 2624444 Palmyto Jebel Ali Hotel And Beach Resort 8835252 Pancho Villa's Astoria Hotel 3534300 Planet Hollywood The Pyramids, Wafi Citys 3244777 Ponte Vecchio Forte Grand Jumeira Beach 3995555 Pool Terrace Princeton Hotel 2827777 Prasino's Hilton Beach Club 3445333 Promenade Palm Beach Hotel 3931999 Ruan Thai The Pyramids, Wafi City 3240000 Russian Crown Palm Beach Hotel 3931999 Sail's Hilton Beach Club 3445333 Samiana Nihal Hotel 2278800 Sampaguita Claridge Hotel 2227141 Sanuk Forte Grand Jumeira Beach 3995555 Seafood Market Forte Grand Dubai 2824040 Shabestan Hotel Inter-Continental Dubai 2227171 Shaharzad Hyatt Regency Hotel 2091200 Shahjahan Dubai Metropolitan Hotel 3430000 Shooters Restaurant Jebel Ali Hotel And Beach Resort 8835252 Sinatra's Al Khaleej Palace Hotel 2231000 Sizzlers Howard Johnson Hotel 2221111 Sombrero Renaissance Hotel 2625555 South Indian Restaurant Nihal Hotel 2278800 Sphinx The Pyramids, Wafi City 3240000 Summer Palace Dubai Metropolitan Hotel 3430000 Summer Plaza Plaza Hotel 3982222 Sunrise Howard Johnson Hotel 2221111 Tarang Best Western Penninsula Hotel 3939111 Taverna Dubai Marine Beach Club 3460111 Teppanyaki Ramada Hotel 3521010 Thai Bistro Dubai Marine Beach Club 3460111 Thank God It's Thursday Astoria Hotel 534300 Thatchers Dubai Marine Hotel 3520900 The Ashiana Sheraton Dubai Hotel 2281111 The Camel Coffee Shop Renaissance Hotel 2625555 The Curry House Astoria Hotel 3534300 The Fish Bazaar Dubai Metropolitan Hotel 3430000 The Fishmarket Hotel Inter-Continental Dubai 2227171 The Jeema Hatta Fort Hotel 8523211 The Oriental Best Western Penninsula Hotel 3939111 The Pavillion The Imperial Suites Hotel 3515100 The Persian Garden Sheraton Dubai Hotel 2281111 Tivoli St. George Hotel 2251122 Tour de France The Pyramids, Wafi City 3240000 Trader Vic's Holiday Inn Crown Plaza 2311111 Trattoria Pizzeria Al Khaleej Hotel 2211144 Valentino Best Western Penninsula Hotel 3939111 Western Steak House Holiday Inn Corwn Plaza 2311111 Zorba Al Khaleej Palace Hotel 2231000