Dubai Restaurants

The upper end of the market measures up against the New York and San Francisco dining scenes, as top-tier hotels vie to create authentic cuisine in beautifully styled restaurants. No half measures here. The finest ingredients wing their way around the world to be transformed into culinary tours de force. These restaurants cater to a regular clientele of discerning Western expats with fat tax-free salaries. For them, eating out and entertaining is a natural part of everyday life. Power lunches and dinners are big business and often big budget, meaning prices are high by American standards.

However, you can eat well and quite cheaply if you follow the blue-collar expat workers—hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, Indians, and Pakistanis—to basic, clean, and always friendly eateries for plates full of curry, rice, or noodles.

The restaurant scene here changes almost daily, and it's as image-conscious as a Hollywood starlet posing for the paparazzi. The latest favorites are open kitchens and cooking stations, multicuisine eateries where you can graze on, say, Japanese, Italian, and Lebanese dishes. Also a big hit are tapas-style meals where several small dishes arrive at one time rather than the standard appetizer and entrée.

About the Restaurants

Even though Dubai is a Muslim country, you'll be able to find pork products and alcohol. Alcohol is only available at licensed restaurants and bars, which usually are found in international hotels. But be prepared to hand over a pile of cash, as wine list prices start at about $40 a bottle, beer at $7 a glass, and cocktails at about $12. Fresh fruit juices are a less-expensive and delicious option.

High-class dining spots are scattered throughout the city near international hotels, with a concentration in and around the World Trade Centre and southern Jumeirah Beach. For lower-priced meals, you'll find good options close to the major shopping malls. For low-budget eateries, the districts of Deira and Bur Dubai offer the best range.