Unique food spots in Dubai

09/12/2024

If you are visiting Dubai and looking for food/resturant recommendations, I have compiled my top restaurants and food experiences that I enjoyed the most during our time there in Summer 24.

Breakfast

L’ETO (Nakheel Mall)

On our last day, we stumbled across Nakheel Mall at the Palm when looking for somewhere for breakfast. We had just been to Aura Skypool to watch the sunrise (highly recommend also) which was from 6am until 9am. The mall is only a few minutes walk from the building where Aura Skypool is and L’ETO is right near the entrance (there is also a L’ETO in Dubai Mall). The decor is gorgeous and feels very homely, yet chic. The breakfast was one of the best I’ve ever had which was a crossoint eggs Benedict; the classic eggs Benedict but on a crossoint base rather than bread. The banana biscoff milkshake is also a must have if you have a sweet tooth!

Dinner

Pitfire (Time Out Market Food Hall)

Time Out Market is a food hall in Downtown Dubai opposite the Dubai Mall. It is what it says on the tin, a large food hall with several types of cuisines on offer at very reasonable prices. We particularly enjoyed the Italian which is called Pitfire. The Pizza is delicious but the real showstoppers, are the garlic knots! I am not exaggerating when I say they are incredible and reason enough to go back to Dubai. We had to to back the night after to have them again!

KATA (Dubai Mall)

KATA is located in the Dubai Mall on the bottom floor. It’s big windows frame the fountains so getting a window seat for the fountain show is essential. The cusuine at KATA is Japanese with main dishes and also a selection of small plates for sharing. This restaurant is more on the expensive side, but you really get what you pay for with the quality of food (the sliders in particular), the service, decor and view of the fountains. One thing to note, all the drinks are non alcoholic but the mocktails are very tasty.

Snacks/Treats

Parkers (Dubai Mall)

The famous ‘Matilda’ cake can be found at Parkers which is located in Dubai Mall. Parkers is a very unique dining experience as the decor and setting is vibrant, quirky and informal. Due to it’s appeal and being home to the ‘Matilda’ cake, it can get very busy, especially in the evenings, and would require pre booking if you don’t want a long wait time for a table. Because of this, we decided to have the famous cake at lunch time which we are extremely glad we did! The photos do not do the size of the cake justice. It is absolutely huge and after an evening meal, 2 people would struggle to finish it. I would definitely advise to eat it during the day and shate between 2-4 people.

Cold Stone Cremery (Dubai Mall)

Another tasty treat to try in Dubai Mall is the ice cream from Cold Stone Cremery. They have a cafe with seating and also a take away stall which is where we got ours from. They do an array of tasty flavours but what really attracts customers, is how the ice cream is put together. As if performing in a show, the staff juggle the ice cream on the ice cream spades before adding the flavour of choice into the cone and decorating. It is definitely a serving of ice cream that I have never seen before and worth getting for the experience and taste!