Emirati cuisine guide: we talk about the prices of food in Dubai, what to try, about Ramadan food features and alcohol prohibitions. We advise you how to save money.
Personal experience of the editors of Tripguide-uae.com. We spent 4 full days in Dubai and spent 300 dirhams ($80) on food for two. That is $10 per day per person. Very little! We tried new dishes of Middle Eastern cuisine, ate delicious Indian and Bangladeshi food, had a bite of shawarma a couple of times (well, as without it in the East!) And once bought ready-made food in a supermarket. All were satisfied.
What to try in Dubai
Emirati cuisine has absorbed the traditions of the Middle Eastern, Bedouin, Persian and Asian cuisine. If you want to taste national food, look for establishments labeled emirati cuisine. According to reviews, tourists like Emirati restaurants Al Fanar and Seven Sands.
We recommend trying in Dubai:
- Fried fish with spices.
- Briki – pies stuffed with fish, shrimp and meat.
- Balalit is a popular breakfast dish of sweet and salty noodles with scrambled eggs.
- Kheris – boiled wheat with meat.
- Ferid – meat stew with potatoes and vegetables.
- Guzi – lamb meat with nuts and raisins.
- Al-madruba – boiled heavily salted fish.
- Biryani is rice with chicken or lamb.
- Desserts with dates.
- Chebab – unleavened pancakes with sweet syrup or cheese.
- Pistachio baklava.
- Street food: masala dosa, manakish, barbary.
Prices for food in cafes and restaurants in Dubai – 2022
Let’s see how much it costs to eat in Dubai.
If you want to save money , go to restaurants in the Bur Dubai and Deira areas. You can have breakfast there for 15-25 AED per person. Lunch or dinner for two in a non-touristic cafe costs only 40-50 AED for two.
Low prices for food in Dubai in national restaurants of Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisine. A hearty meal will cost 10-20 AED. Lebanese restaurants in Dubai are recommended by expats because they offer the best combination of quality and price. Main meals start at AED 30 and drinks start at AED 12. You can also eat inexpensively at the chain of budget restaurants Golden fork.
Also, pay attention to business lunches – they cost from 15 to 30 AED. Great way to save money!
In ordinary restaurants, the average check for lunch or dinner per person is about 80-150 AED. For this money, they will bring you an appetizer, main course, dessert and coffee. Here are the prices for food in cafes and restaurants in Dubai in 2022: kebab costs AED 35-55, al-madruba – AED 17, fried shark – AED 70, brik – AED 25-32, and coffee or tea – AED 20.
The bill in prestigious restaurants starts from 250 AED and goes over 1000 AED. Read about the best restaurants below.
If you want to try the national cuisine and get an unusual experience at the same time, go on a desert safari, where you will be fed a Bedouin dinner. There is exactly the same safari with a group. Another unusual option is to dine on an Arabian boat and watch the lights of Dubai in the evening.
The best restaurants in Dubai
Dubai is associated with luxury. If you want to feel the flavor of a fashionable resort, just take a look at these expensive restaurants.
At.Mosphere is an iconic restaurant on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa . From the windows you can see the whole of Dubai! Book a table in advance and be prepared to pay a deposit.
Al Mahara is one of the most prestigious restaurants in Dubai and specializes in seafood. The restaurant is located on the first floor of the famous skyscraper Burj Al Arab. The feature of the restaurant is a huge floor-to-ceiling aquarium. For the pleasure of having dinner here, be prepared to pay from 900 AED.
Al Sarab Rooftop Lounge is an oriental restaurant for those who want to eat with a view of the desert. There is live music and the chefs prepare delicious Lebanese, Mediterranean and Asian cuisine.
The Gold On 27 bar is also located in the Burj Al Arab. Come here to eat and enjoy the city view from the 27th floor. The name of the bar was given for a reason – designer interiors are decorated with gold leaf. Prices are appropriate – cocktails cost from 100 AED.
Drink prices
The most important drink in Dubai is plain water. It sells for 1 AED for a 0.33 liter bottle. Why so expensive? All water in the city is imported. Freshly squeezed juices cost from 21 AED per 0.5 liter. The cafe offers an excellent cappuccino made from selected Arabica beans for 12 AED.
How about alcohol? Muslim traditions forbid alcoholic beverages. This rule does not apply to tourists, but drinking alcohol in public places is subject to a rather large fine of 5000 AED. Drinking in Dubai is only allowed at home, in a hotel room or bar.
Strong spirits are expensive and are sold in special shops. Alcohol prices in Dubai in 2022: 0.5 liters of local beer costs 25-45 AED, and 0.33 liters of imported beer costs 30-45 AED. A bottle of wine can be bought for 45-100 AED.
Fast food in Dubai
If you want to get acquainted with the national cuisine, start with what is cooked on the streets. It is noteworthy that there are almost no Emirati dishes left in Dubai fast food. Everything that is traded in Dubai has Middle Eastern or Levantine roots.
Prices for street food in Dubai in 2022 are low. According to tourists, the cheapest, most delicious and hearty lunch is shawarma. It costs only 5-8 AED. Dish number 2 – manakish. This traditional Arabic flatbread is stuffed with pickled cheese, sesame seeds and spices. It costs 14 AED.
Many people like deep-fried balls of crushed chickpeas – falafel. On the streets, small balls are sold in pita bread or lettuce with sesame sauce for 25 AED.
A whole pizza can be bought for 35-45 AED, and Indian pancakes with fillings – masala dosa – only 5 AED. Grilled chicken costs AED 17-22, and barbary sesame tortilla is AED 1.4.
Food prices in Dubai stores
The most affordable food prices in Dubai are in Coop Union, Shaklan, Carrefour, Safest Way, Organic Foods and Cafe, Lulu Hypermarket and Baqer Mohebi supermarkets. Most of them sell products from local farmers. Shoppers like the stores of the Emirates Cooperative Society chain, which is simply called Co-op in the city.
In the markets, food is a little cheaper than in supermarkets. You won’t get much benefit, but it’s worth going to the market. You will feel the colorful atmosphere of the oriental bazaar, bargain and get vivid impressions. By the way, we advise you to feel the oriental flavor on this tour of the Old Town .
If you want to save on food, follow the promotions in major stores in Dubai. Shoppers are offered discounts on the products of the day and organize profitable sales on weekends. Pay close attention to the announcements at the entrance.
Every supermarket has a prepared food section. Prices for such products in Dubai in 2022 are low: a bun – 1.4 AED, mini pizza – 2 AED, samsa – 2.4 AED, lamb skewers – from 2.6 AED, soups – from 4.2 AED, boiled rice – 20 AED per 1 kg. Warm up your food in the microwave, and a hearty meal is ready!
What you need to know
Almost all food prepared in the city is halal. Only in some areas, dishes with pork are made especially for foreigners.
Special rules exist for traveling to Dubai for Ramadan. This is a Muslim holiday, during which it is forbidden to eat any food from morning until sunset. All resort restaurants are closed during the day during the month. But in the evening, a real feast begins in Dubai.
There is a strict dress code for cafes and restaurants – in Dubai it is not customary to come to dinner in beachwear.
Tipping in the UAE is 10-15% of the bill. If the check does not indicate accruals, give the waiter the required amount in cash.
Tourism Specialist in the UAE. Higher professional education. Paperwork and booking tours in the UAE. Professional management of clients at all stages of the journey – from the application to the return.
