Dubai Restaurant Tips by Escadora7 Top 5 Page for this destination

Bake Inn Cafe: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, AND a Bakery!

The Bake Inn Cafe consists of a bakery and a restaurant, both designed in "mexican casa" style. Walking in, you will first notice the large glass counter, displaying a huge variety of baked goods, including bread, cakes, and all sorts of goodies.

On the other side is the restaurant, with a cozy and inviting European-style atmosphere and friendly (mostly Filipino and Indian) staff. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (mostly continental European foods), as well as Croissants, Pizza, and Fatayers.

Overall the restaurant is very inviting, cozy, and clean, with friendly service, and good food.

Favorite Dish: We had cream of chicken soup and lentil soup, and shared the fish-platter. The food was excellent and plenty for 2.

Address: Bank Street, Bur Dubai

Comparison: about average

Directions: The Bake Inn Cafe is on Bank Street in Bur Dubai, opposite the Abn Amro Bank, and next to the Four Point Sheraton.

Other Contact: bakeincafe@emirates.net

Phone: 04/396-6696

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Bakery

Shamiana: Best Butter Chicken in Dubai

Shamiana is the Hindi word for a wedding tent where food is served.

This is not really a restaurant, but it is a fast-food place in the Bur Juman food court. You go up to the counter, place your order, and when your number is called you go and pick up the food on a tray, served on plastic plate with plastic utensils.

Not quite the exquisitely fine dining of a top restaurant, but the food is delicious.
Besides the Bur Juman, Shamiana is also at the following locations:

Deira City Centre
Dubai Knowledge Village
Al Reef Mall
Ibn Battuta Mall

Favorite Dish: Butter Chicken. No - it's not really chicken soaked in butter, but it is chicken in a buttery curry sauce. Served with Naan and rice, this is simply delicious.

Address: Bur Juman Food Court

Comparison: least expensive

Directions: top floor of Bur Juman in the food court

Phone: 04-3518803

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Indian

Al Reef Bakery: Zataar - A taste of Lebanon

Al Reef is a lebanese bakery and fast food restaurant. It's a great place to go for a midnight snack after bar-hopping (open 24 hours). You order at the counter, when they call you, you pick up your food, and then you get settled in the orange plastic-chairs. Bright light will guarantee that any romance that might have built up throughout the evening will be destroyed. BUT - the food is good. Unless that is of course, you do what I did: let Ash order for you. YIKES!!!!

Favorite Dish: Zataar - a typical lebanese flat-bread, piled up with goodies, folded, and then baked. Our friends ordered meat-filled, which was delicious; hot with cheese melting all over the place (mouth watering from the thought of it). For us, Ash, the local expert, ordered authentic lebanese food; it was, well - WEIRD! (see picture)

Address: Karama, Dubai

Comparison: least expensive

Directions: Za’abeel Street near Karama Post office

Phone: 04 396 1980

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 3

Theme: Middle Eastern

Goodies in Wafi: A taste of the Middle East

Goodies is a Lebanese restaurant and foodcourt right inside the Wafi Mall. You can either dine in the rooftop terrace restaurant, or buy middle eastern delicacies such as fresh fruits, cheese, meats, hummus, spices, etc.

What impressed us the most was their extensive olive-bar - numerous varieties of olives. Also, there are counters and counters of sweets and bakeries.

Favorite Dish: Olives from the olive bar. Even if you don't like olives - just looking at the variety makes your mouth water.

Address: Wafi Mall

Comparison: about average

Directions: First floor Wafi Mall; Store # 172; Across from Elements cafe.

Rating: 4

Theme: Middle Eastern

Website: http://www.waficity.com

Fareast Seafood Market (Regent Palace Hotel): Pick a Fish!

The Fareast Seafood Market is anything BUT a market. Upscale and elegant, it is located on the second floor of the Regent Palace Hotel in Bur Dubai. What's different about this seafood-restaurant is that you choose your food not from a menu - your waiter/waitress will pick you up from your table and escort you to the fish-bar. There the choices begin: first you pick which fish you will eat (if you are like us without much knowledge about fish, you'll just point and say "That one!"), then you decide how you want your fish prepared (fried, grilled, broiled, etc.). Next you go to the vegetable-bar and pick your veggies straight into a neat little shopping basket. Lastly you decide on the side dishes (rice, noodles, etc.) and how you'd like those prepared. Your waiter/waitress then escorts you back to your table, and brings your pickings to the kitchen for preparation.

While you wait for your food, you get served a huge bowl of French Fries - watch out not to spoil your appetite with those things, since they are extremely filling...but also very tempting. :-)

The restaurant itself is elegant, with a waterfall and a small "stream" containing live goldfish (No, you cannot order these for dinner!). You have to cross the stream using a small wooden bridge to get to the fish bar.

Favorite Dish: The food was well prepared. We had fish-soup, followed by squid and red snapper with vegetables and glass noodles. All the dishes were extremely tasty.

An absolute MUST is the fruit-flavored ice-tea.

Address: Inside the Regent Palace Hotel

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: The Regent Palace Hotel is located in Bur Dubai across the street from Burjuman shopping center.

Phone: +971 4 396 3888

Price: US$31-40

Rating: 5

Theme: Seafood

Elements at Wafi: Sit back and relax!

At first glance we didn't even realize it was a restaurant, but rather thought it was an art store. Paintings all over the walls and floor right by the entrance. What intrigued us to venture further into the place were the couches, which gave it sort of a living-room atmosphere. Upon entering, we found that the restaurant winds all the way around the back, and then outside. We decided to take a table on the terrace outside (tented and airconditioned) amidst a forray of plants, and decorated with more paintings. All the art on display (paintings, lamps, statues, decorations, etc.) is for sale.

If you like to relax after your meal, you can have your coffee and smoke the sheesha. This is definitely a haven of relaxation from the hustling and bustling of the Wafi Mall. The food is good, and the ambiance is great!

Favorite Dish: Really can't remember what we ate, but we certainly had a great time at the place.

Address: Wafi Mall

Comparison: about average

Directions: Inside Wafi Mall; 1st floor between Jumbo Electronics and Makeup Forever.

Phone: +971 4 324 4555

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Other

Website: http://www.waficity.com

London Tower Bridge Cafe: Coffee-break in Lamcy's!

As the name implies, the cafe is built like the London Tower Bridge, suspended in the air, connecting the 3rd floor shopping areas. It's a fun place to have coffee or a snack, to relax from strenous shopping, or to simply sit and watch the hustling and bustling of Lamcy's Plaza, overlooking everything from high up.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as cakes, ice-cream, and baked goods.

Favorite Dish: We just stopped by for an afternoon break and ordered a hot chocolate and a milk-shake, so we really can't comment on the quality of food. What was more fun for us was watching the busy mall - the cafe's location is great!

Address: 3rd floor inside of Lamcy's shopping mall

Comparison: about average

Directions: Oud Metha; Dubai;

Phone: 04/305-9401

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Coffeehouse

Website: http://www.lamcyplaza.com

Happy Corn: CORN - nothing but corn!

This is not a restaurant, but more like a snack-shack/foodcart. The "Happy Corn"-foodstalls are in many of the malls and other public places and offer a quick snack for starving shoppers. Here is how it works:

The corn is cooked in big kettles at the cornstands. You place the order according to your taste - flavor choices are:
- Chilli
- Bar-B-Q
- Curry
- Cheese
- Garlic & Salt
- Lemon
- Chicken
- Tomato

The corn is removed from the kettle into a mixing-bowl, butter and flavor-powder are added, stirred up, and served in 3 different sizes. Enjoy!

Favorite Dish: We tried the corn with cheese-flavor. Tasted a little like maccaroni & cheese, but was tasteful nevertheless.

Address: in most malls and public areas

Comparison: least expensive

Other Contact: happyyummi@hotmail.com

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Street Vendor

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Bur Dubai: Relax at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

The coffee bean and tea leaf was the first place Ash and I ever went for breakfast together, so it is special for us. But even if you don't have romantic memories attached to it, the place is really nice for a relaxed breakfast, afternoon tea, or a snack in the evening.

Opening Hours Sat-Thur 7-1am; Fri 10-1am

Favorite Dish: Ash had (quote) "toast and eggs and stuff" with hot chocolate. I had hot Chai Latte and a lox-bagel.

Address: Bank Street, Bur Dubai, Dubai

Comparison: about average

Directions: This Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is on Bank street about a block away from Burjuman. It is located right next door to Tche Tche. Since Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a worldwide chain, there are several other locations in Dubai and all over...

Phone: 04 345 5666

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Coffeehouse

Starbucks Dubai: If you miss your Starbucks coffee....

Starbucks is EVERYWHERE - so if you can't survive without your daily dose of coffein - well they are all over Dubai. The coffeeshops look just like all the others around the globe, and offers the same coffees and bakeries.

Address: Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road / City Center

Comparison: about average

Directions: in the center of Bur Dubai on Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road;

inside City Center Shopping Mall in Deira

Phone: 04-294-8442

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 3

Theme: Coffeehouse