Emirati Food

It’s difficult to find Emirati food in Dubai’s restaurants. It’s considered somewhat bland, and Arabic food here is heavily influenced by Lebanese, Moroccan, Tunisian, and even Iranian cuisine. Meals usually start with meze, Arabic appetizers such as hummus, tabbouleh, baba ghanouj, falafel, and kibbeh (ground meat with spices) served with pita bread and salad. Lamb, beef, and chicken are the favored meats, often accompanied by rice, spices, nuts (especially pistachios), dates, and yogurt.

Muslims are forbidden from eating meat that has not been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rituals (called halal), and they do not eat pork. An authentic Emirati dish is roasted lamb stuffed with rice spiced with cinnamon, almonds, and pistachios. Although they’re Lebanese in origin, shawarmas (lamb or chicken carved from a spit and served in a pita) are also tremendously popular. Seafood is a staple of the Emirati diet, and includes grilled hammour (a grouper fish), chanad (mackerel), and beyah (mullet).

Main dishes may be served with unleavened Arabic bread, freshly baked in clay ovens, followed by fresh fruit such as dates, figs, and lemon and lime, as well as Arabic sweets. Fruit juices are often drunk with the meal, and Arabic coffee is served after. During Ramadan, evening meals are usually enormous buffets. Unless you manage to swing an invitation to an Emirati’s home for dinner, a good area to find cheap, authentic Arabic food is in Bur Dubai or Deira.