Finding genuinely Emirati food takes a little effort, because roughly nine in ten residents come from somewhere else and the restaurant scene reflects that — Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Lebanese and Iranian cooking dominate. The local kitchen is quieter, built around rice, slow-cooked meat, dried limes and dates.
The main dishes
- Machboos — the national dish. Rice cooked with meat or fish, onion, and loomi: a lime dried until it turns black, which gives the whole pot a sour, slightly smoky depth you will not find anywhere else.
- Harees — wheat and meat beaten together for hours into a smooth, savoury porridge. Plain-looking and deeply comforting; it appears everywhere during Ramadan.
- Thareed — a meat and vegetable stew ladled over thin regag bread until it softens.
- Balaleet — sweet vermicelli with saffron and cardamom, served under a thin savoury omelette. A breakfast that ought to make no sense and works completely.
- Chebab — saffron-and-cardamom pancakes, usually with date syrup and cream cheese.
Luqaimat
Small balls of dough, deep-fried until the outside cracks and the inside stays hollow, then drizzled with date syrup and sesame. They appear at every celebration and every Ramadan table, and they are the one dessert worth going out of your way for.
Coffee, and how to end it politely
Gahwa — Arabic coffee — is lightly roasted, spiced with cardamom and often saffron, and poured from a long-spouted dallah into small handleless cups. It arrives with dates, whose sweetness is meant to balance the bitterness.
The etiquette matters. The cup is filled only a third, and your host will keep refilling it. When you have had enough, tilt and shake the cup gently side to side as you hand it back. Saying "no thank you" without the shake will get you another cup. Arabic coffee culture was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2015.
Karak
Karak chai — black tea boiled hard with evaporated milk, sugar and cardamom — costs one or two dirhams from roadside cafeterias and is the genuine everyday drink of the country. Drivers stop for it at all hours. Do not judge a place by its appearance; the best karak comes from small counters with plastic chairs.
Dates and camel milk
The UAE has tens of millions of date palms. Khalas is soft and caramel-like, Fard darker and firmer. Dates are offered to every guest, and refusing outright is impolite — take one.
Camel milk is sold in every supermarket; it is saltier than cow's milk and slightly tangy. It also comes as ice cream and as chocolate, which is the easiest way to try it.
Practical notes
- For real Emirati cooking try Al Fanar or Aseelah, or better, book a meal at the cultural centre in Al Fahidi where Emirati hosts eat with you and answer questions.
- Alcohol is served only in licensed hotels, bars and clubs — not in ordinary restaurants. Drinking in public or being drunk in public is an offence.
- During Ramadan, eating, drinking and smoking in public during daylight is not done, including by visitors. Many restaurants screen their windows; hotel venues stay open. Iftar at sunset is worth experiencing.
- Friday brunch is an institution — a long, lavish buffet in hotels, and the one meal locals will tell every visitor to book.