Restaurants in Middle East
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Ravi
Cabbies to five-star chefs flock to this legendary Pakistani eatery where you eat like a prince and pay like a pauper. Loosen that belt for heaping helpings of kick-ass curries, succulent grilled meats, perky dal (lentils) and fresh, buttery naan. There’s a family room and a cafeteria, but it’s worth waiting for an outside table to watch Satwa on parade.
reviewed
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D'Arcy's Kitchen
Next to the Omani Heritage Gallery, this friendly and award-winning establishment serves Western favourites at reasonable prices and is open when most other cafés are taking a siesta. An English breakfast will set you up well for a 'constitutional' along the nearby beach.
reviewed
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Taj Mahal
In the hotel of the same name, the Taj has a reputation for serving the best Indian food in Iran. The curries here are mouth-watering and there is a good range of vegetarian options. Pity about the location.
reviewed
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Yord Cultural Complex
In an enormous colourful yord (tent) about 8km northwest of town, this complex not only offers the chance to enjoy some fine Iranian-nomad food, but also to experience the Qashqa’i culture. The warm atmosphere, colourful costumes, live music and delicious food afford a dreamy escape from modern life into a Qashqa’i tented embrace. Yord is almost impossible to reach by public transport, so ask your hotel to write the name in Farsi and get a taxi (about IR25,000); it is also worth paying the taxi to wait for you (about IR70,000 total) as taxis out here are rare indeed.
reviewed
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Khargeen Café
With a choice of open-air, majlis-style dining or a cosy, indoor coffee-and-a-chat, this café-cum-coffeehouse has spilt into a courtyard of lighted trees to make a wonderfully relaxed, atmospheric and Arabian experience. With hubbly-bubblies croaking, fountains splashing, kebabs sizzling and people propped on a variety of cushions and throws, this could almost be part of a Bedouin caravan. Try the hibiscus or cacao drinks or the avocado milkshake.
reviewed
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Focaccio Bar
The combination of good food at reasonable prices has made this one of the most popular restaurants in town. The speciality of course is focaccia, baked fresh in the taboun (clay oven) and eaten on a sunny patio. A variety of toppings is available and portions are large and reasonably priced; try the Bulgarian cheese and olive spread (32NIS). The menu also includes a nice 350g entrecôte steak, deep-fried calamari and fried mushroom dishes.
reviewed
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Ananda Vegetarian Restaurant & Coffee Shop
Way up in north Tehran the Ananda is a gem if you’re a vegetarian, and delightful even if you’re not. Run in association with the Iranian Society of Vegetarians, there’s no chance of finding rogue bits of meat here and the food is both delicious and cheap. We can recommend the Ananda lasagne (IR35,000) and Ananda calzone (IR33,000), the freshly made salad (no plastic wrap!) and the service and setting.
reviewed
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Hashem Restaurant
A legendary place that overflows into the alley, Hashem is incredibly popular with locals for felafel, hummus and fuul (fava-bean paste). A filling meal with bread and mint tea costs around JD1. As one reader extolled: ‘nothing but bread, hummus, fuul and felafel, but everything is fresh and dirt cheap. We love this place!’
reviewed
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Sezzam
This restaurant is so huge, it almost surpasses the sight of skiers and snowboarders heading down the slopes of the adjacent Ski Dubai. With global cuisine labelled under the Flame, Bake or Steam monikers, it's really a food court with style - and a great break on a shopping excursion at this massive mall.
reviewed
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Tannoureen Restaurant
Worth the trek for good Lebanese food, especially mezzes (try the spinach and pine-nut pie) and salads, but it also does a wide selection of Western dishes, grills and fish. Reserve a table in the bright and airy conservatory. The restaurant is easily missed - look for the green wall.
reviewed
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Akbar Mashti Bastani
Akbar Mashti became famous for his ice cream in the 1950s and today his son continues to sell what he modestly describes as ‘the most famous ice cream in Iran and the world’. Try the pistachio bastani (IR7000) and you’ll probably agree.
reviewed
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Karachi Darbar
A favourite of guest workers and expats with an eye for a biryani bargain, Karachi Darbar keeps ’em well fed with a huge menu of Pakistani, Indian and Chinese specialities – but stick to the Pakistani. Fear not: it’ll be good. No credit cards.
reviewed
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Greg Coffee
Decorated with kettles and jars of spices and coffee beans, Greg might remind you of your mom's kitchen back home. Aside from the homy feel, you get excellent coffee and brownies, while laptop users can access the free wi-fi.
reviewed
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Lebanese Flower
Abu Dhabi's most popular Lebanese restaurant does delicious mixed grill meats and delicious garlicky chicken shwarmas . They also sell fabulous Lebanese sweets and pastries.
reviewed
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Babette
Waffles and coffee are the specialities of this popular student hang-out, which is just big enough to fit half a dozen standing patrons.
reviewed
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Al-Boom
Located in the hull of a boat, this inventive restaurant takes some beating - particularly as this isn't just any old boat; this is Mohammedi II, built in Culicut, India in 1979. A replica of the largest dhow ever built (Mohammedi I, 1915), it took three years to construct from teak wood and 2.5 tonnes of copper, and was completed with 8.8 tonnes of handmade iron nails.
Not that one spares much thought for the 35,000 days of labour that was invested in one of the most characterful cargo holds in the history of boat building: when ensconced in the curving hull, under a ship's lantern hung from the beams, the attention is much more carefully focused on the set-piece of gril…
reviewed
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Fatoush
Set up like a medieval Arabic house, complete with burgundy cushions, nargileh (water pipes) and candle lamps, Fatoush is an atmospheric and popular restaurant serving a fusion of Western and Middle Eastern cuisine. It's named after a kind of salad eaten by poor people of the Levant - a Middle Eastern version of peasant pie - but there is much more to the menu than fatoush.
Try the aroos al-wadi (pride of the valley), baked bread topped with minced calf meat, or tasty seafood dishes. You can dine inside a cavernous underground chamber or, in pleasant weather, it's just as nice to eat under the olive trees on the street-side patio.
reviewed
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Reem al-Bawadi
Reem al-Bawadi is a huge restaurant complex popular with tour groups and Jordanian families. It's a bit far from the centre but is a good option if you want to try some upper-end Jordanian and Lebanese food. Menu includes a wide range of mezze and grills, giving you a chance to explore beyond the normal felafel and hummus dishes. You can eat on brass tables in the cavernous main halls or in Bedouin tents, either way the live music gets things going.
The Reem has a traditional bread oven and is perhaps better for couples. If you're headed to Tawaheen al-Hawa, look for the windmill symbol on the wall as there's no English sign.
reviewed
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Almaz by Momo
Though it lacks the celeb factor of Momo’s London flagship, high-energy Almaz draws party-hearty Emiratis who guzzle nonalcoholic champagne by the bottleful. Hardly any Westerners come here for dinner for the very reason Emiratis do: there’s no booze. Don’t be deterred. The moody-dark dining room, with its dizzying zelaeg -tile floor, feels like a cool Kasbah Lounge. Tender-sweet pigeon pastilla has great depth of flavour. The succulent Almaz lamb tagine melts off the bone. And the honey-sweet Moroccan pastries go down easy with the nose-tickling cinnamon tea.
reviewed
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Asado
Meat lovers will be in bovine heaven at this cheerful, lusty steakhouse. Choose your quality cut of tenderloin, veal chop, rib eye or sirloin from a tray brought to your table by servers clad gaucho-style. While it’s being cooked to order, sit back and savour the delicious bread, the views of Burj Khalifa (sit on the terrace) and the sultry tunes from the live band. All meats are served with a selection of delicious sauces, salts and mustards. A sommelier stands by to help you pick the perfect bottle from what is purportedly the biggest selection of Argentine wines in the Middle East.
reviewed
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Asha’s
Namesake of Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle, Asha’s packs a see-and-be-seen crowd of rich Indian expats into its sexy, low-light, tandoori-orange dining room, with ethnic-fusion dance music playing in the background. The menu focuses on contemporary northwest Indian fare, which translates into such palate-teasers as spicy-ginger-garlic marinated prawns and muscat gosht (tomato-and-butter-braised spicy lamb) – both Asha’s personal recipes. It’s a fabulous place to party; if the tots are tagging along, they’ve even got their own play area.
reviewed
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Vu’s
As the name implies, the views are stellar from this formal white-tablecloth dining room popular with the Rolex crowd celebrating the inking of a deal. That said, given the state of the economy, this place has certainly seen buzzier times, especially at night when it’s so quiet you’ll want to speak in a hushed voice. The current chef is heavily into culinary alchemy, weaving dishes from seemingly incongruous ingredients. A recent menu featured slow-roasted pork belly paired with pan-fried scallops. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.
reviewed
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Mezzaluna
If you're looking for that 'somewhere special' but don't want to lose sight of the country you are in, then you can't do better than the atmospheric and sophisticated Mezzaluna. Occupying a stylish Bahraini courtyard house, the high-ceilinged restaurant has a live Latin band (on Fridays) and jazz music at other times. It offers a Mediterranean menu with imported cheeses from France and an excellent wine list.
The Algerian fillet mignon is a melt-in-the-mouth classic. Book to avoid disappointment.
reviewed
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Gilac
The ambience, décor, music and food presentation at Gilac are more reminiscent of Europe than Iran. But the delicious food is wonderfully Caspian. It’s a favourite of vegetarians, with the mirza ghasemi (IR22,000), borani bademjan (IR25,000) and dokhtar-e luce (‘spoilt girl’, IR27,000) starters all delicious; in combination, they’d happily make a meal on their own. The fish and veal dishes are also excellent.
reviewed
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Bombay
It’s worth a detour deep into Deira for Bombay’s orthodox North Indian cooking. Come hungry and start with the kebab sampler (mutton, chicken, fish) then move on to mint-marinated fish cooked tandoori style, or a cardamom-rich saag gosht (lamb and spinach). There’s lots for vegetarians. The French-style service by tuxedo-clad waiters is a surprise at this price, but we’re not arguing. We’re just happy they serve beer.
reviewed
