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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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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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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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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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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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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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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El-Reda
The weekend papers love to rave about this restaurant in a restored 120-year-old Arab mansion, and for once it's justified. The views of the basilica (stunning from the rooftop terrace), the food (friendly owner Daher Zeidani makes only what he likes and that's traditional Nazareth dishes with a Mediterranean twist) and the atmosphere (occasional live music and poetry) make this one of the better restaurants in the north of Israel.
reviewed
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Vinaigrette
This stylish but affordable restaurant is located on the top floor of the AlQasr, and in keeping with the hotel’s boutique theme, offers gourmet sushi and salads – build your own salad and sushi combo, or let the house choose for you. Mellow jazz complements the superb views over the city, making it a great place for a light dinner before hitting the dance floor downstairs at Nai.
reviewed
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Green Island
Spread across the water in the form of little chalets on stilts (complete with glass floor panels that reveal the fish and the water beneath), this is the place to come if you're after a final splurge or a romantic revival. The menu is a fusion of Arab, Asian and Continental cuisines. Try the locally loved rock lobster bisque, or go for the all-out 'seafood platter Green Island'.
reviewed
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Fakhr el-Din
The highly recommended Lebanese food and elegant, classy setting in a 1950s villa make this a great place for a minisplurge. In addition to the extensive à la carte selections of hot and cold mezze and meaty mains, there's also a good set menu (minimum four people), which is good value. Alcohol is served. It's about two blocks behind the Iraqi Embassy in Jebel Amman.
reviewed
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Manta Ray
Spectacularly set on the beach, Manta Ray combines a five-star seafood menu, attentive service and Mediterranean views. Pick a few dishes off the mezze platter (we liked the goat cheese and the eggplant) and then enjoy a main course of roasted scallops, sea bass fillet, grilled shrimp or a juicy steak. It's also a great place for breakfast.
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…
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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Karam Beirut
Outpost of the famous Beirut restaurant, Karam’s extensive menu showcases everything you’ll find in Lebanon, including its most ambitious dishes – even lamb’s brain – all meticulously presented. There are six types of kibbeh (raw lamb), stellar mezze including a velvety hummus, and creative kebabs, one flavoured with pistachio and white cheese. The room’s look is decidedly upmarket (comb your hair), but a wall of windows overlooking Ski Dubai adds levity (call ahead for a window table; bring a sweater). Full bar. Note: service is erratic and the kitchen sends everything at once; order piecemeal.
reviewed
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Burj Al-Hamam
This circular restaurant at the end of a pier is like a piece of punctuation along the corniche - but don't let the rather unattractive steel exterior put you off. This is a great place to sample delicious Middle Eastern fare in a thoroughly convivial atmosphere among loudly chatting local families.
There is an inner and outer core to the restaurant with 280 degrees open to the sea - that's if you can glimpse it above the heaps of primary-coloured cushions and through the haze of peach-flavoured sheesha (around KD3). Try the kheshkhash (spiced mince meat with onions and parsley) priced at a very reasonable price.
reviewed