Dubai isn’t just made up of glamorous malls and skyscrapers.
There is another beautiful, nostalgic part of Dubai that many tourists often overlook. The Old Dubai.
The soul of the Emirates lives here. The souks, the spices, and especially the boats along the creek make it look like you have stepped back in time.
But what we actually came here for was food.
Yes, food in Old Dubai is as sentimental as its alleyways. We spent a weekend in Old Dubai, trying as many different meats and traditional dishes as possible.
We ordered kebabs and slow-cooked curries, Pakistani+Emirati street foods, and many other dishes that every meat lover would love to have in front of them.
So let’s discuss them in detail, shall we?
Starting Our Journey by Crossing the Creek
We started our Old Dubai tour with breakfast. For that, we rode across the Dubai Creek. Hopped we onto a wooden abra, which carried us across for just a few dirhams. We didn’t expect the water and the bustle at Bur Dubai to look so ethereal in the early morning.
By the time we reached Old Dubai, we were starving and ready for our first round of food and drinks.
Street Food Breakfast at Arabian Tea House
Arabian Tea House is one of the most popular breakfast places in Old Dubai. It has been tucked inside the Al Fahidi Historical area since 1997, and looks exactly in place with its small and humble setting.
Since we were starving, we ordered their Liver Breakfast Tray. If you want to try out a juicy and mouthwatering meat dish for breakfast, you have to try this breakfast tray at Arabian Tea House. It had fresh beef liver, served with lots of spices and salad, alongside hummus and tandoor bread.
We paired the spicy breakfast with the perfect drinks, which were Laban Ayran, Turkish coffee, and Karak Iced Tea.
Bedouin Flavors at Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant
For a proper Bedouin experience, we headed to Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant. We wanted to check whether the generous plating and dining experience was actually worth it, as we heard from the raving reviews.
And we weren’t disappointed. Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant is iconic for a reason. The tent-like courtyard, tantalizing live music, and food and bread cooked in plain sight fit like a puzzle piece within the Old Dubai.
For lunch, we ordered some of their best meat dishes to check out what the hype was actually about. The Al Khayma Lamb Madfoon had the juiciest meat and the most aromatic rice we had in our lives. A whole lamb shoulder was marinated and then cooked for 4 hours, topped with fried onions and nuts. Definitely try this whenever you visit Al Khayma.
The second main course that we ordered was the Half Charcoal Chicken, which was infused with traditional Emirati spices and served with fresh bread. We ended our lunch with their special Ferni Emirati Rice Pudding and Umm Ali, which are two different kinds of puddings served with nuts and saffron.
The Street Food of Meena Bazaar
From heritage Emirati kitchens, we headed straight to the busiest neighborhood in Old Dubai: Meena Bazaar, which is a heaven for Indian, Pakistani, and Emirati street food.
The next day, we landed in Pak Darbar Restaurant, which is a very laid-back and popular street food restaurant in Al Karama.
The hosts of this restaurant are known for their great hospitality and customer service. We found Chapli Kebab and Karela, Malai Boti, and Keema Paratha on their menu – all Pakistani specialities. For a budget-friendly snacking session, these street food dishes in Meena Bazaar were unbeatable. The bustling energy of the place, coupled with the mouthwatering aroma and flavors of the food, made our experience even more delicious.
Final Stop: Local House Restaurant
When we first decided to embark on a meat journey through Old Dubai, all of us knew what we actually wanted – camel meat! We saved the best spot for the last. For dinner, we went to Local House Restaurant to try their specialty – the camel dishes.
If you’re trying camel meat for the first time in Dubai, Local House Restaurant is the best spot to go. It has a cozy and unpretentious ambiance, and a long list of camel meat dishes that you can choose from.
Two of our boys ordered camel steak; one went with the camel meat burger, and the other ordered camel biryani for themselves. Spicy and tender camel meat was unlike any of the meat dishes we had in Old Dubai, and made our experience even more memorable.
We ended our dinner with the camel ice cream, which was different from regular ice creams due to its slightly salty and much creamier taste.
Wrapping Up
Old Dubai is a meat lover’s heaven. Every corner has either a Bedouin restaurant, a Pakistani/Indian restaurant, or other stalls serving street food specialities. Over one weekend, we tried chicken, lamb, and camel meat, and had a fun time eating delicious kebabs, biryanis, and madfoon.
If you have only one weekend to eat the best food in Old Dubai, we would highly recommend the restaurants and dishes mentioned above. Skip the glitter of Burj and the Dubai Mall, and have a taste of the heritage that makes up the old part of Dubai.
