8 Best Restaurants in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Unless you've accidentally drifted away from the souks or visited the nearby Heritage House, it's very unlikely you'd ever discover Bait Alqadeem on your own. You're going to have to seek this place out if you want a well-priced Arabic meal in authentic atmosphere. The building is historic (1909) like its neighbors, with a large terrace out the front for shisha smokers, an inner courtyard for dining, and majlis with a/c for when it gets too hot. Don't be put off by the odd mannequins or the half Range Rover full of artificial flowers out the front, be welcomed by Emirati smiles and stroll in to taste authentic regag and machboos, barbecued fish in bzar spices and some of the city's best moutabel. No alcohol served.

It's hard to experience genuine Arabic food and ambience in the depths of the Dubai summer, but this sprawling air-conditioned and covered courtyard works a treat. It sits at the center of a modern underground souk, an incongruously classy oasis in the midst of the flamboyant pyramids that make up Wafi Mall. There are marble floors and fonts, trickling water features, roses, shisha pipes, filtered natural light, and enormous authentic Arabic ovens delivering freshly baked khubz bread and kebabs. The menu provides an excellent spectrum of Persian, Gulf and Mediterranean dishes, but it's also a lovely place to sit with a couple of baklava morsels and a Moroccan mint tea. No alcohol served.

The Jumeirah Beach Road is lined with ethnic restaurants—Turkish, Saudi, Lebanese— all inside villas. Most are very good, and Abshar is a favorite of many. They have other branches in Knowledge Village, Media City, and Al Rigga, but none quite match the opulence of this location. The building retains its dimension of a lavish villa, complete with chandeliers and damask curtains, and each room is a different color representing a different region of Iran. Go for authentic sagnak bread out of the traditional oven, jojeh masti kebabs (chicken in yogurt), gormeh sabzi (lamb stew with leafy greens and beans), and kashk o bademjan (roasted eggplant dip, served warm with sweet mint sauce and whey). Service is quiet and efficient, though not what most would call welcoming or particularly friendly, except for Sam in the sweets shop out front. Finish there with traditional Persian cookies, pastries, and mastic ice cream. No alcohol served.

Al Hadheera sits alone in the dunes, just removed from the Bab al Shams resort, and for many, this is the quintessential Arabian dining experience. Find your seating under the stars in stone majlis booths, covered with Persian carpets and camel-hair cushions. Entertainment (e.g., tanoura dancers and oud players) will punctuate your meal, which is taken from a sumptuous spread over many cooking stations, and includes a good cross section of classic dishes from across the greater Arabian region. Alcohol served. Expect a fixed-price for dinner and a show.

For those willing to go out of their comfort zone for a great kebab, Ustad (also known as Ostadi) is definitely worth seeking out. It's a cozy restaurant with insight into everyday life in this part of Old Dubai. Sitting in the same spot for nearly 40 years until 2015, Ustad's patriarch still welcomed diners for lunch specials and mixed grills with an open smile and a "salam alakum." Mohammed al Ansari's passing sent many Dubai residents into mourning, but his spirit lives on in the restaurant now run by his children, who continue to serve great food in an eclectic space filled with souvenirs and trinkets from travelers. No alcohol served.

If you want an inexpensive feed oozing with local flavor, this heaving establishment is the place to go. Authentic Emirati food might be elusive, but the locals themselves admit to a love of Levant cuisine, and Aroos is often where you'll find them. Either sit out on the terrace with the fans or in with the a/c, and order from mezze, including some of the classics dips like hummus, muhummara, and moutabel, and then try sambousek, falafel, and fatayer for some hot nibbles. For mains, dig into their famous kebabs with a side of exotic Arabic salad, then finish up with sticky baklawa or belly-warming umm ali. Just watch your ordering—there is a plethora of tempting options and staff are prone to overestimate needs. No alcohol served.

When Qbara opened in late 2013, it filled an enormous gap in the Dubai restaurant scene. Its superfluous interior fulfilled all the fairy-tale images of the exotic Middle East (complete with spectacular bar), and the kitchen partnered it with some exceptional modern takes on traditional Levant and Persian dishes. Since then, the crowd and the chef have changed, but Qbara remains an iconic space to visit, and the food and drinks continue to push boundaries and guide trends in the city. It's not a cheap night out, but it will be a full one, with predinner drinks, a gourmet meal, light show, a glamorous crowd and late-night live or DJ tunes keeping guests hanging around for more than just a quick feed. Alcohol served.

Emirati food is surprisingly difficult to find in restaurants. It's generally home-cooked comfort food, and not the kind of thing that looks fancy on restaurant china. Seven Sands were the first to take traditional Emirati flavors to a fine dining level, and it's a very welcome addition to the Dubai dining scene. They have worked tradition into a contemporary beach-side weave, with majlis-like nooks, arabesque lamps, and modern geometric patterns, and on the plate, authentic cuisine twisted gently to fit today's tastes and the classy seaside atmosphere. Look for some of the more traditional dishes like fouga, jisheed, and ouzi, or try a lighter selections of salad and mezze, and don't forget dessert; there are some fusion dishes that are both original and exceptional. No alcohol served.