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Kwality
The food is dependable and the service swift at this long-standing Indian restaurant (though the walls need a good scrubbing; sit upstairs). It's hard to go wrong with hearty portions of favourites like chicken makhani (butter chicken) or rogan josh (lamb curry). Good vegetarian options and tandoori too.
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Lemongrass
Though pricey for an independent, Lemongrass's soothing lime-coloured dining room, brightly flavoured cooking, and solicitous service make it one of Dubai's best for Thai. Pad Thai is presented in an omelette wrapper - a nice touch - and curries have marvellous depth of flavour. If you like spicy, say so; the kitchen is shy if you're white. Good for vegetarians. Note: the toilets are shared with the building and not maintained by the restaurant. Pee before you come.
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M's Beef Bistro
The key to running a good steakhouse is developing a solid clientele, the kind who come in at least once a week - M's has a cabinet filled with personal engraved knives for its regular guests. Classics dominate; try the beef carpaccio or beef tartare (prepared tableside). The aged (six-weeks) tenderloin and the fabulous Wagyu are also winners.
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Magnolia
Dubai's only high-end vegetarian restaurant, Magnolia overlooks the canals at the Madinat Jumeirah, and if you make reservations, you can arrive by abra . The so-called 'well-being' cooking takes itself a bit too seriously in its emulation of haute cuisine and lacks resonance on the palate, but the elegant presentations, romantic setting and top-end ingredients make up for the pretence and price - provided you're a vegetarian.
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Manhattan Grill
It is an accomplishment that this stylish eatery manages to feel so very New York in a hotel that has dhow hulls plastered to the ceiling. The food lives up to its stylish surroundings, too, with sensational steaks, juicy and perfectly cooked to order. Sides of mash (a creamy delight) and vegetables compliment them well.
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Maria Bonita's Taco Shop
Maria Bonita's is Dubai's only real Mexican restaurant, and the only one in town that's not Tex-Mex. The burritos could be fatter, but the flavours are spot-on - spicy, smoky and deep. Okay, so the squawking parrots and gimmicky, tableside guacamole service are a bit much without any alcohol on offer to soften the edges, but we love coming here just the same.
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Marrakech
A languid counterpoint to Dubai's go-go scene, Marrakech feels more like a hammam than a high-rise, with key-hole doorways, north-African wall tile and flickering candle lanterns casting moody shadows. The subtle and earthy cooking includes harira, a coriander-spiced lamb soup; the Moroccan signature dish pastilla (pigeon pie); and of course couscous royale and tagine - we recommend the melt-off-the-bone lamb shank with preserved lemon.
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Maya
As soon as you taste the real margaritas here, you know you're in safe hands. This whimsically designed restaurant gives Mexican cuisine the respect it deserves. Try the guacamole prepared fresh at your table, the amazing chilli relleno with seafood, or the humble tortilla soup, so authentic it would make a Mexican grandmother weep.
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Miyako
The coolly minimalist, compact dining room of Dubai's best Japanese eatery narrowly escapes being bland, but feels very Tokyo, with sleek surfaces of stainless steel and glass-enclosed shoji screens.
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More
An industrial-like space with poured concrete floors, More feels like the giant café-restaurants of the West, which explains why European expats flock here in droves for brunch. There's a little of everything on the menu - Thai curries, Italian pastas, good burgers and great eggs Benedict. Portions are huge: one dish is enough. The execution is okay, but not everything works: if it looks experimental, skip it. Save room for homemade ice cream. Free wi-fi.
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Mumtaz Mahal
One of our favourite North Indian eateries, the tandoor specialities, excellent service and in-house Indian band and dancers make for a fun night out. While any of the smoky-flavoured specials that come out of the clay oven are excellent, we especially love the lamb dharba masala.
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Nezesaussi
The confusing name is an amalgam of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and the menu plays on those countries' classics. Standouts include dynamite slow-cooked five-spice pork ribs, giant Monte Cristo sandwiches, and grilled New Zealand lamb. Portions are huge.
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Nina
Floor-to-ceiling purple fabric, sexy red-orange light, and beaded curtains set a seductive backdrop for Nina's dynamic cooking. The chef combines Indian with a touch of Thai, and tempers it with European technique.
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Noodle House
Sheikh Mohammed sometimes lunches at this reliably good, always-packed pan-Asian noodle joint at the base of Emirates Towers.
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Olive House
While this stylish little place has a bit of an identity crisis (is it a bakery, Lebanese restaurant, delicatessen, or pizza place?), the food's uniformly good - as is the coffee. The pizzas are fresh, wonderful wood-fired numbers and the manaeesh (Middle Eastern dough topped with cheese or zaatar or ground meat) are the tastiest around.
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Options
Beaded glass curtains, tufted red-vinyl walls, and glittering crystal chandeliers set a Subcontinent-fancy mood at Indian celeb-chef Sanjeer Kapoors' Options. Though noteworthy for consistency, the kitchen's real excellence lies in the chef's exquisite spicing. Standouts include tandoori citrus-marinated prawns with green cardamom, cream and cashew paste; chicken tikka with saffron gravy and rose petals; and vegetarian slow-cooked black lentils with pomegranate, finished with housemade butter.
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Paul
European expats flock here in droves on Thursday and Friday nights to linger over French pastries and dream of home. By day, it's a good spot to refuel on salade Niçoise and quiche while shopping in the BurJuman Centre.
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Peppercrab
The busy open kitchen and huge fish tanks are almost a tourist attraction in their own right, but the fresh fish and shellfish are the real draw at this smart restaurant. The signature chilli-pepper crab is sublime, but there are plenty of innovative creations on the menu as well.
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Pierchic
Looking for a place to drop a ring into a glass of champagne? Make reservations for access to this stunning seafood house at the end of a long pier jutting out to sea. The best tables line the outdoor decks and provide drop-dead-gorgeous vistas of the Burj Al Arab and the Madinat Jumeirah.
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Pinoy Grill
A friendly and welcoming intro the weird, wonderful world of Filipino cuisine, which borrows from Spanish, Indonesian and French, mixing pungent ingredients, like garlic and chillies, in sweet and savoury combinations not always tastebud-friendly to foreigners. But the menu is in English, and the super-fun staff will guide you.
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Pisces & P2 Brasserie
Stylish and slick Pisces is Dubai's top table for seafood. The chef has a knack for eking out intensely bright flavours from his ingredients; dishes are elegantly light and melt on the palate. We're not too keen on his overdependence on foams and nages, but with talent this good, we can forgive a few idiosyncrasies. The understated dining room echoes the colours of the sea: wear blue-grey Armani and blend right in. (No sneakers.)
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Rangoli
There's not a Westerner in the house at this all-vegetarian Gujarati Indian eatery, with a take-away window on the sidewalk. Inside there's a tiny cafeteria jammed with tables. Fill your tray with rice, daal (lentil broth), potatoes, curry and bread - filling, satisfying, cheap. Afterward, wander the hub of Dubai's Indian community and shop for fabric and spices. NB: tricky to find, but locals will direct you. No credit cards.
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Ravi
Five-star chefs reference this legendary Pakistani cafeteria as their favourite day-off eatery. It ain't fancy - au contraire: expect to share your table with burly men. The kebabs are good, as are the simple curries, biryaniand (especially) fresh-baked bread, best washed down with yoghurt drink. Alas, the meat is tough (think mutton, not lamb): order chicken. No credit cards.
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Rhodes Mezzanine
British cuisine is no longer an oxymoron at Rhodes Mezzanine. Celebrity-chef Gary Rhodes breathes new life into traditional dishes like shepherd's pie, toad in the hole, oxtail, Yorkshire pudding - even roly poly. The emphasis is on freshness of ingredients and bold flavours.
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Royal Orchid
An institution in neighbouring Abu Dhabi, Royal Orchid's Dubai branch is heavier on Thai than Chinese. Though the Peking duck is a standout, we recommend you stick to Thai here, including good build-your-own curry. The food, while tasty, won't win any awards, but the marina views are lovely on a balmy evening.
