Newly opened Qasr Al Hira Mandi Restaurant is located on the corner of the City Avenue Building (where Raj Bhog Mumbai Se used to be) opposite City Center Deira. It joins Al Marhabani in Umm Suqeim and the Zam Zam branch in Ras Al Khor (taken over from Malik Al Romansiah) as the best-decorated mandi … Continue reading Qasr Al Hira Mandi Restaurant – Deira City Centre Area
Established in 1972, Chicken Tikka Inn is one of Dubai’s oldest, affordable Indian restaurant franchises. This branch on 18A Street behind Nasser Square in Deira is either the original or not far from where the first of their eight Dubai branches first opened. Its interior is spacious and respectably appointed. The food has an old … Continue reading Chicken Tikka Inn – Baniyas
Al Yemen Mandi is one of the better authentic Yemeni mandi restaurants in Dubai. This branch, behind Grand Station in Hor Al Anz is one of two, the other being in the England Cluster of International City. Like many such restaurants, Al Yemeni is split between a family and public section which again is split … Continue reading Al Yemen Mandi – Hor Al Anz
Kerala Castle is a (very) South Indian restaurant in Al Nahda. Located opposite the Sahara Centre on Amman Street, its interior is a simple, yellow-walled affair, central to which is a display of their prep kitchen where a bored-looking staff member feebly attempts to make meter long tea and coffee. When we entered early Saturday … Continue reading Kerala Castle – al-Nahda
Headliners is an Indian American-themed sports bar and restaurant at the ibis Hotel World Trade Centre. Are you hearing this? An Indian American-themed sports bar. Talk about a cultural hodgepodge. But somehow it works. The interior, which looks very much like a cross between The Huddle at City Max and Rock Bottom at the Ramee … Continue reading Headliners – Trade Center Area
Zahrat Al Hayat is a small, basic Pakistani cafeteria in al-Safa. Located behind the Dhi Al Nuwrin Mosque (مسجد ذي النورين – Mosque of the Light) just off Al Wasl road this little hole-in-the-wall eatery may just serve the best Chana Masala this side of Karama, so say British surfer dude brothers Mark and James … Continue reading Zahrat Al Hayat – al-Safa
Lullumma’s is as much an authentic South Indian restaurant as it is a tribute to Chef (and owner) Fathima’s mother who incidentally, this spotlessly clean, neat and tidy eatery in al-Nahda is named after. My food buddy, Arjun and I were there for our weekend South Indian breakfast pigging out session which usually means dosa, … Continue reading Lullumma’s – al-Nahda
Wakha is one of the best Afghan restaurant concepts in Dubai. Well, I used to think it was until I visited their new branch in Al-Nahda. Located on Amman Street opposite the Sahara Centre, this new incarnation follows through on the same design theme of the al-Barsha original, but somehow décor at this one seemed … Continue reading Wakha – al-Nahda
The Kasap, which means The Butcher in Turkish, Arabic, Persian and Dari, is a newly opened Turkish steakhouse in Ibn Battuta Mall. Located where Anatolia (another Turkish eatery) used to be, The Kasap is handsomely decorated…a little like what upmarket delicatessens used to look like in the early part of the century. It’s an airy … Continue reading The Kasap – Jebel Ali Village
I ordered a home delivery from Ijaza Express Café in Arabian Ranches to see if their famous toasted shawarma, known as ‘Hassan Mathar’, is as good without the nostalgia, hype, celebrity and fancy cars which made the original branch in Jumeirah such a Dubai phenomenon. The answer is…well, you didn’t really think I’d give you … Continue reading Ijaza Express Café – Arabian Ranches
