As soon as one hears the name of this destination all they can think about is its fancy cars, giant buildings, glittering gold, luxurious resorts, and anything and everything related to wealth, comfort, and luxury. Think you would have guessed the destination as well! Yup, it is indeed Dubai – The Pearl of the Gulf & The City of Gold!
This is one of the most incredible places on our planet that is not only rich economically but also culturally and traditionally. All the buildings, man-made islands, underwater resorts are all noteworthy feats of human persistence and innovation.
In this article let’s look at some famous street foods in Dubai to tingle your taste buds. So, let’s start our Gastro Tour with Dubai’s best local Street food items.
Head straight to the streets of Al Karama, Al Barsha, Jumeirah to make your tummy happy. Below are some of the best 10 street food items which you should never miss while in Dubai.
- Shawarma
- Oman Chips Roll
- Nutella and Oman Chips Reggae
- Cheese potato Oman chips
- Chips Sandwich
- Samboosa
- Falafel
- Bun Kebab
- Anda Parotta roll
- Manakish
Now, let’s see what the fuss about these food items is really about and why they are the best.
Best Street Foods in Dubai
1. Shawarma:
A mouth-watering authentic non-vegetarian delicacy, Shawarma, is Dubai’s famous street food. A slice of chicken, lamb, veal, beef, or turkey is rolled in a soft flatbread that is steamed or heated. Fillings like finger chips, fresh vegetables, onions, garlic paste, pickles, and various sauces are added for flavor. This Dubai famous street food Depending on the place you eat, the Shawarma is either spicy or meaty.
Price: Starts from INR 100
Best Places: Farzi Cafe Al Safa St; Grand Station Lebanese Authentic Street Food, Shiraz Night, Al Mallah and many more
2. Oman Chip rolls:
Chips! An all-time childhood favorite snack. A budget street food in Dubai, Oman Chip rolls are plain rolls on which a thick layer of cheese is spread and stuffed with Oman Chips. A perfect picnic snack.
Price: Starts from INR 60
Best places : Freez, Chai Sai cafetaria
3. Nutella and Oman Chips Reggae:
Ever heard of Reggae?? It is a homemade bread made of whole wheat flour, bran, salt, and water. Using water the dough is spread evenly on a hot girdle and cooked till crisp. A thin layer of Nutella is spread on it and crushed Oman chips are spread around. Neatly folded and served, bite into this spicy chocolaty hot crispy Reggae, the best Dubai street food.
Price: Starts from INR 143
Location: Al Labeeb Grocery
4. Cheese potato Omani chips parotta:
The delicious Parotta is a budget street food in Dubai popular among the tourists. Parotta is a flatbread made out of all-purpose flour, water, and salt. A slice of cheese is placed in the center of the parotta and crushed Omani chips and cut boiled potatoes along with some tangy spices are added. The parotta is rolled up and served, a must-have epic dish in Dubai.
Price: Starts from INR 80
Best Place: Abdullah Omar Cafetaria
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5. Chips sandwich:
A one of its kind dish preferred by tourists of all ages, Chip Sandwich, Dubai’s famous street food is unique in taste. Cheese, pieces of samosas, potato fries, and veggies are arranged on a flatbread. Assorted spices are added for flavor. This is covered by another piece of flatbread and the dish is grilled to perfection and rolled in butter paper and served.
Price: Starts from INR 160
Best Place: Al Halawa Cafetaria
6. Samboosa:
Our very own Samosa is popularly known as Samboosa in Dubai. A deep-fried thin triangle-shaped pastry filled with a mixture of beef or meat with vegetables and spices for the biting flavor. A Dubai street food not to be missed.
Price: Starts from INR 300
Best Places: Farzi cafe; Satwa Palace; Al Abra Cafetaria
7. Falafel:
A famous dish in Dubai, Falafel is a deep-fried patty made of chickpea and spices. These falafels are generally served with sauce or wrapped in a roll with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, finger chips, and garlic sauce. one of the best street food in Dubai.
Price: Starts from INR 60
Best places: Parisian Cafetaria; Operation Falafel; My Falafel
8. Bun Kebab:
At Global village, Bun Kebab is the most sought-after Dubai street food. It is a burger-like dish, with a patty as soft as paste sandwiched inside the bun smeared with chutney and topped with an omelet or fried egg, onions, and tomatoes. The patties made of ground beef, mutton, or chicken, boiled with ground lentils, powdered cumin seeds are fried in oil or butter. A dash of ketchup or yogurt chutney makes the dish the best street food in Dubai.
Price: Starts from INR 400
Best Places: Pakistani bun Kabab, Shami Bun Kabab,
9. Anda cheese Parotta roll:
Egg Omelette with cheese wrapped up in parotta, a flatbread with layers made out of all-purpose flour which is chewy. A smear of cream cheese and hot sauce and crushed papery crispy chili potato Omani chips make this a must-eat Dubai famous street food.
Price: Starts from INR 180
Best places: PNR Paratha N’ Rolls, Paratha King, Raju
10. Manakkish:
The Lebanese Pizza made by using a variety of bread with cheese which is cooked in an oven and added with toppings such as meat or vegetables like lettuce onions as well as in preferred oil and assorted spices. An amazing Dubai street food to test your palette!
Price: Starts from INR 300
Best Places: Al Mallah; Al Rigga and many more
Best Food places in Dubai
Some of the best places for street food to overload your taste buds are;
1. Downtown Dubai:
A perfect destination for some awesome international cuisines. The Dubai Downtown streets offer a wide option of open-air dining, cafes, restaurants, food trucks which cannot be missed by tourists visiting Burj Khaleefa.
The Downtown food street is crammed with tourists in the evenings for the delicious mouth-watering street food such as the Costilla taco, Egg and cheese feteer, Souffle Cheese Cake, Falafel, Indian cuisines, and many more.
Surrounded by some of the iconic buildings, the visitors are treated to luxurious living as well as vast eateries making it one of the preferred tourist destinations in the world.
Location: Situated along Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
Timings: Midday to Midnight
Best Food Joints: Maiz Taco Food Truck, Baker and Spice, Zuma, Zaroob
2. Meena Bazar- Bur Dubai:
Experience the most mouth-watering dishes at one of the liveliest oldest places in Dubai. Meena Bazar is not only the busiest shopping place but also one of the best food places in Dubai.
Experience the ravishing street food of the Chinese, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Indian, Persian, Lebanon, Syrian and Arabian at pocket-friendly prices. This place is almost ‘Little India’ for the vast Indian population you can find here. No wonder you will get to gorge on the deep-fried Indian snacks such as samosas, bhajis, Pakoras and the different styles of Biryani and stews. Kebabs and Iranian cuisines are also specialties here.
Location: Close to Khalid Bin Waleed Street, Bur Dubai, Dubai
Timings: 8am-12pm
Best Food Joints: Al Ustad Special Kabab
3. 2nd December street ( formerly Al Diyafah Road):
Thinking where to have street foods in Dubai? Dash to this street tucked away between the beachside suburbs and the skyscrapers for some iconic food joints serving Persian, Indian, Pakistani, Lebanese, and Filipino food. Some of the cheapest yet tasty foods are served at the Afghan Bakery. The place brims with tourists and locals alike after sunset to savor authentic Dubai street food.
The Dubai street food market is famous for hot bread, hummus, fried kebab, fattoush, chocolates, traditional sweets, juices. You name it they serve here. No wonder you can spot hordes of tourists enjoying their favorite food at the various restaurants, cafes, or bakeries.
Location: Jumeirah Street, the cross of 2nd December Street, Dubai
Timings: 10 am- 8pm
Best Food Joints: Al Mallah, Ravi’s kitchen, Pars Iranian Kitchen, Delhi Darbar
4. Satwa:
One of the best street food places in Dubai, Satwa is located near Bur Dubai in a compact neighborhood. The street has a host of coffee shops, cafes, hole in the wall eateries specializing in Persian, Pakistani, Indian, Lebanese, and Filipino cuisines.
This street is popular for Kabyan Filipino cuisine, manakeesh, samoosa, kababs, and many Emirati specialties.
If you are wondering where to have street food in Dubai, then head to Al Satwa where you will find some iconic eateries and hence a popular joint for localities and tourists.
Location: The Satwa District is located at the southernmost of Dubai.
Timings: 10:00 a.m till midnight
Best Food Joints: Pars Iranian Kitchen, Ravi’s, Delhi Darbar, Lebanese shawarma bistros, Al mallah
5. Global Village:
Open for 6 months a year from November to April, Global village is a potpourri of world cuisine in one place. As the name suggests you get authentic street food from chats to hamburgers at the pavilions of countries from all over the world.
One of the best food places in Dubai, Global village is one of the top attractions in Dubai for the food courts and stalls selling textiles and herbs, and artifacts at a very reasonable price. The culture and specialties of the countries participating are to be seen to believe. Samboosa, Shawarma, Luqaimat, skirt burger, Turkish ice cream, Thai pad, and many more.
Experience a unique experience with family!
Location: Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Dubai
Timings: 4 pm to 1 am (Mondays are for families and ladies)
Best Food Joints: Pakistani Joint, Arab Pavilion, Indian pavilion, Thai pavilion
6. Al Karama:
One of the best Dubai street food markets, Al Karama, with over 300 stores not only satisfies your cravings for budgetary shopping but also lures you to grab lip-smacking delicious dishes at amazing prices. Popular as ‘Little Manila ’ since there are a lot of Filipinos settled here you get signatures Filipino street dishes such as deep-fried orange e quails eggs and deep-fried chicken.
Parsi, Lebanese and Indian foods such as chili cheese vada pav, Lebanese Pizza, bakalava are also popular among the tourists
One of the oldest places in Dubai, Al Karama has a number of restaurants and street-side joints offering Dubai’s most delicious street food at pocket-friendly prices.
Location: 18b Street, Next to The He Karama Fish Market, Dubai
Timings: 10am – 10pm
Best Food Joints: The chaat Bazaar, Kebab Bistro, Al Reef Lebanese Bakery
7. Al Mateena and Muraqqat streets – Diera:
Dubai’s downtown area Deira’s best food street Al Mateena and Muraqqat streets is a haven for tourists who are seeking two in one enjoyment. Tucked around the famous Dubai’s gold souk the Dubai downtown streets serve the most lip-smacking food 24*7 after a day of sightseeing at some of the most famous landmarks.
The Al Mateena street is popular among ex-pats and tourists for mutton Peshawari Kadai curry, biriyani, and paratha. The Muraqqat street is popular for tender lamb shawarma and mansouf, a bedouin dish of rice and lamb. Hop into any of the Iraqi kebab joints, Arabic and Iranian eateries, Lebanese bakeries, and sweet shops for saliva drooling dishes available at cheap prices.
Location: Eastern Dubai, in the heart of Deira, Dubai
Timings: Open 24 hours
Best Food Joints: Al Jazeira Streets, Karachi bakery, and Qwaider Al Nabulsi, Ashwaq Cafeteria, Al Abra Cafeteria, Aroos Damascus
8. Sheikh Zayed road:
Sheikh Zayed Street famous for its mind-boggling neck-breaking skyscrapers starting from the Emirate towers to Burj Khalifa, is also famous for the variety of street food it offers especially the Emirati food.
The place is teeming with awe-inspiring food trucks from different parts of the world serving their authentic street food all through the day. If you are on the lookout for the best food places in Dubai then this is ‘The place’ since it is open 24*7 and delicious sumptuous food is served even at midnight. The egg and cheese feteer, Chicken drifter, Jamaican Mosa, Okonomiyaki, beef samosa to name a few are some of the top-notch street foods you should not miss.
Location: Starting from landmark Emirates Towers to the Burj Khalifa
Timings: Open 24 hours
Best Food Joints: Bentota. My Mosa, Zaroob
9. Al Barsha:
The local eateries on Al Barsha are one of the tempting places for extravagant delicacies. Cuisines from Italy, Thai, Lebanon, Iran, Nepal, Philippines, and Indian are served with luscious flavor. The most popular Dubai street food market which serves a blend of Asian cuisine with mid-eastern cuisine is also a melting pot of culture.
When in Al Barsha do not miss the koshari, Kunafa, and Toshka which are exceptionally delicious.
Location: Al Barsha is located in west Dubai
Timings: 24 hours
Best Food Joints: Al Amoor Express, Feras Aldiyafa Sweets, Hannouf, Melt room
10. Jumeirah Beach:
Jumeirah means beautiful and Jumeirah beach is one of the most beautiful places in Dubai and the most sought-after destinations for its luxurious experiences, aquatic adventures at the park and the beach, and of course the multitude of restaurants and eateries.
For an unforgettable experience of dining on multi cuisines do not miss the famous Chebab, Halloumi wrap, Omani chips, Churrasquinho, and Akawi Cheese Manakish. The Emirati traditional dishes are served with innovative twists. You can see the crowd waiting in queues at some of the famous food joints proving that it is definitely one of the best food places in Dubai.
Location: Jumeirah, Dubai
Timings: 24 hours
Best Food Joints: Al Ijaza Cafeteria, Paratha’Ta, Brazil food truck, Umm Suqueim, Hum Yum, Logma
Final thoughts:
Not all experiences have to burn a hole in your pockets. Some are downright simple and joyful. Instead of going to fancy dinners and spending a considerable amount of money and have cuisines which you might get in any other restaurant in any other place; head to the street stalls, hole-in-the-walls, modest eateries, and family-run restaurants that can resemble cafeterias for a local experience and to mingle and eat how the locals do.
PS: The best time would be during the Dubai Street Food Festival (usually falls in February of every year), where the streets are on fire with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and lined with some mouth-watering and delicious food.