Things to do in Dubai
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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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Dubai Mall
With around 1200 stores, this is not merely a mall but a small city unto itself, with an Olympic-size ice rink, a huge aquarium, indoor theme parks and 160 food outlets. There’s a strong European label presence here, alongside Galeries Lafayette department store from France, Hamley’s toy store from the UK and the first Bloomingdale’s outside the United States. It’s a ginormous, daylit mall with wide aisles and lots of open spaces, atriums and even a fashion catwalk. The four floors are divided into ‘precincts’ with clusters of product categories: search for high-end designers on Fashion Ave (which has marble floors and silver resting divans), high-street fashions on the…
reviewed
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4x4 Dubai Desert Safari
5 hours (Departs Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
by Viator
Travel by 4x4 across the deserts of Dubai on this exhilarating excursion! Get an adrenaline rush sandboarding on the Dubai desert, enjoy a camel ride and get a…Not LP reviewed
from USD$85.05 -
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Burj Khalifa
Call it impressive or preposterous, there’s no denying that Burj Khalifa is a ground-breaking feat of architecture and engineering. The world’s tallest building pierces the sky at 828m (seven times the height of Big Ben) and opened on 4 January 2010, only six years after excavations began. Up to 13,000 workers toiled day and night, at times putting up a new floor in as little as three days. Inside Dubai’s own ‘Tower of Babel’ is a mix of offices and apartments; at the time of writing, the sleek Armani Hotel was scheduled to open late in 2010. For visitors, the main attraction is the Observation Deck ‘At the Top’ on the 124th floor. From such lofty heights…
reviewed
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XVA Gallery
One of Dubai’s best-loved and most reputable galleries, XVA occupies a warren of rooms in a beautifully restored Bastakia courtyard residence. Curators showcase contemporary paintings, sculptures and art installations from regional and international artists. They also organise the annual Bastakiya Art Fair and art-house movie screenings (November to April). The complex also houses the delightful XVA cafe and boutique hotel.
reviewed
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Buddha Bar
If there are celebs in town, they’ll show up at Buddha Bar, where the dramatic Asian-inspired interiors are decked out with gorgeous chandeliers, a wall of reflective sheer glass, and an enormous Buddha lording over the heathens. The bartenders put on quite a show with their impressive shakes (think Tom Cruise in Cocktail ). Arrive early or prepare to queue; otherwise book dinner for guaranteed admission.
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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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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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Ski Dubai
Skiing in the desert? Puh-leeze! Where else but in Dubai? The city’s most incongruous attraction, Ski Dubai is a faux winter wonderland built right into the gargantuan Mall of the Emirates. It comes complete with ice sculptures, a tiny sledding hill, five ski runs (the longest being 400m) and a Freestyle Zone with jumps and rails. Gulf Arabs especially are fascinated by this snowy display, but they typically restrict themselves to the walk-through Snow Park, passing through a colour-lit igloo filled with carved-ice penguins and dragons, then sledding down a little hill in plastic toboggans. Skiers and boarders are kept separate from the Snow Park and instead whiz down a…
reviewed
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Burj al-Arab
We’re suckers for trivia, so let’s kick off by telling you that the lobby of the Burj al-Arab is so high, the Statue of Liberty would fit quite nicely into it. Or that the sail-shaped building tops out at 321m, just a few metres shorter than the Eiffel Tower. And here’s one more: 1600 sq metres in the hotel are sheathed in gold leaf. OK, that’s enough. In its first decade since opening, the Burj al-Arab has been more than just the iconic symbol of a booming city in the sand; it has challenged preconceived ideas of what an Arab country in the Middle East can achieve. It’s built on an artificial island 280m offshore from the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, to which it is linked by a…
reviewed
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Madinat Jumeirah
A city within a city, the Madinat Jumeirah is a Dubai must-see. There’s plenty to do at this fanciful hotel, shopping and entertainment complex with the Burj al-Arab in the background. Explore the Arabian-style architecture, snoop around the splendid Al-Qsar and Mina A’ Salam hotels, or get lost in the labyrinth of the souvenir-saturated souq. There are some exquisite details throughout, so if you see some stairs, take them – they might lead you to a secreted terrace with a mesmerising vista of the sprawling complex. If you’re a hotel guest, or have a restaurant reservation, you can catch the silent abras cruising along the 4km-long network of Venetian-style…
reviewed
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Global Village
The carnival-like Global Village runs from late November to late February about 13km south of Sheikh Zayed Rd. Think of it as a sort of World Fair for shoppers. Each of the 30-something pavilions showcases a specific nation’s culture and – of course – products. Some favourites: the Afghanistan pavilion for fretwork-bordered stone pendants and beaded-silver earrings; Palestine for traditional cross-stitch kandouras (casual shirt-dresses worn by men and women) and ever-popular cushion covers; Yemen for its authentic khanjars (traditional curved daggers); India for spangly fabrics and slippers; and Kenya for its kitsch bottle-top handbags. Dig the earnest…
reviewed
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Ibn Battuta Mall
The shopping here is only so-so but this mall is still worth a visit for its stunning architecture and design tracing the waystations of 14th-century Arab scholar and traveller Ibn Battuta. It’s divided into six sections, each reflecting a region he visited, including Tunisia, Andalusia and Egypt. The most stunning is the Persia Court, which is crowned by an amazing handpainted dome. The centrepiece of the China Court is a full-size Chinese junk, while in the India Court you can pose with an 8m-high elephant. Surprisingly, there’s nothing kitsch or ‘Disney’ about this place – the craftsmanship and attention to detail are simply stunning. There’s also an exhibit about Ibn…
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.
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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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S*Uce
This is the original store of women-owned S*uce (pronounced ‘sauce’), a pioneer on Dubai’s growing indie fashion boutique scene. Join the style brigade searching for top-tier denim, flirty frocks, sassy accessories, sexy sandals and deluxe tees. Look for such key contemporary designers as Karta, Tsumori Chisato, Vanessa Bruno, Isabella Cappeto, Alice McCall and Philip Lim, as well as local labels such as Essa, Bil Arabi and Sugar Vintage. There’s another branch in Dubai Mall.
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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
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Gazebo
You’ll forgive the unexciting interior when you taste the brilliant North Indian cooking. Standouts on the huge menu include a great tawa lobster masala, with succulent chunks of lobster, black pepper, tomato and rich masala sauce; Banjara Gosht, mutton in masala gravy, rose petals, cashew nuts and tomato; and Gosht Achari, mutton in coriander, tomato and pomegranate. Good value. Note: vegetarians should hop next door to Kamat, its sister restaurant.
reviewed
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Sumibiya
At the first Japanese yakiniku-style restaurant in Dubai, every stone table has a recessed gas grill where you cook your own meat then pair it with a selection of sauces and condiments. Though the Wagyu beef and seafood run high (Dh100+), the set menus of various meat-and-veggie combos are a relative bargain. There’s nothing romantic about the narrow windowless room, but it’s great interactive fun for families or groups of foodie friends.
reviewed
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Magnolia
Dubai’s only high-end vegetarian restaurant, Magnolia overlooks the canals at Madinat Jumeirah, and if you make reservations, you can arrive by abra (water taxi). 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 (organic whenever possible) make up for the pretence and price.
reviewed
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Zuma
One of a new crop of contempo Japanese restaurants, this dramatic bi-level den draws go-go executives for power lunches and the sexy crowd for low-light dinners. Tables are in full view of a massive bamboo sculpture and the two kitchens; one a sushi counter, the other a robata grill. Choice picks include barley miso marinated baby chicken, marinated black cod and salmon teriyaki. Immensely popular Friday brunch, too.
reviewed
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Maria Bonita’s Taco Shop
Location, location, location…is definitely not what lures people to Maria, Dubai’s only authentic Mexican restaurant. It’s the tacos, stupid! And the quesadillas, burritos and other faves brimming with spot-on flavour – spicy, smoky and deep. Okay, so the squawking parrots are a bit much without any cerveza to soften the edges, but it’s fun coming to this neighbourhood-adored snack shack just the same.
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