Where to eat in Dubai

Holidays to me are as much about the food as anything else. From my experience, the quality of food in Dubai is generally great. I didn’t have a single bad meal during my visit. Here are my top 3 recommendations.

Zuma – quick and good quality Japanese food at a set price.
Zuma is famous for it’s amazing Japanse food. No matter where you are in the world, you can’t go wrong with Japanese cuisine. Unlike Zuma in London, the Dubai branch offers a business lunch for just £24 (130 AED), The set menu is generous and offers 4 courses in just 45 minutes. The courses were very quick to arrive and the selection was great.

We managed to get a reservation on the day, showed up early and waited by the bar with non-alcoholic drinks, deliciously refreshing pineapple mojito with passion fruit. The Zuma in Dubai is much bigger than the one in London and I much more preferred the modern/brighter interior. The seating was also more comfortable. One little downside here was that there wasn’t any wifi available– as business people or somebody mooching free internet on holiday like myself, it would have been beneficial. In total for 2 drinks, 1 soup, 2 starters, 1 main course each and an extra maki roll to share with service charge, the meal came up to £45 in total per person.

Gate Village 06, Podium Level, Sheikh Zayed Road – Towards DIFC Parking
Phone:+971 4 425 5660

The Cheesecake factory – International, convenient, cheap and cheerful.
The cheesecake factory is conveniently located in Dubai Mall – the world’s largest shopping mall. This place is perfect for those days when you just don’t know that to eat. The cheesecake factory has got all types of cuisines and the price is very reasonable. The menu is so ridiculously long that you wouldn’t know where to start. Luckily Zomato has it online so you can prepare yourself.

Save up the space in your stomach before coming here because the dishes are so huge that I would have gotten full on a starter alone. Do avoid the Mexican part of the menu but knock yourself out of the Thai and American sections. The cheesecake was tasty and could probably feed up to 3 people. The 27 Dirham DIY (do it yourself) Thai Wrap starter was quite possibly my favourite thing I ate in Dubai. Note – alcohol isn’t served.

Dubai Mall
+971 4 419 0225

Turkish Village – breakfast Middle Eastern style.
I can’t find good turkish breakfast in London, so I grabbed the opportunity to have one there. Turkish Village is located in Jumeira. The staff is very friendly and the setting outside is nice and relaxing, under tents.

The menu comes in pictures which was very cute. The dishes look small in the photos shown but are extremely generous. Everything served is very fresh. My personal favourite was the fresh pressed mango juice. We ordered the breakfast platter (big enough to feed 2 easily). The platter came with bread, cheese, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam and honey. They serve free tea as well after your meal which is a nice touch, but what’s a turkish breakfast without turkish coffee?

Jumeirah Beach Rd, Jumeirah 1 (Near Spinneys)
+971 4 344 9955