5 great traditional butchers in Dubai

Lean Cuts Butchery
This modern Lebanese butchery prides itself on providing premium quality meats without crazy price tags. The family-owned business was born out of the founders’ struggle to find quality meats within their family’s budget.

So, along with all the popular cuts of beef, lamb and chicken, and Lebanese classics like kibbeh, kofta and marinated lamb chops, Lean Cuts also stocks less popular cuts such as lamb forequarter (cheap, but when cooked slowly is delicious), and lamb bones, which are great for a full-flavoured stock. There’s an impressive barbeque-ready selection, including shawarmas and kebabs in homemade marinades. You can also order pigeon, duck and

Indian mutton as well as free-range chicken. Free delivery in the JLT area.
Where: Cluster B, JLT
Contact: +9714 431 1068

International Cuts

City Butcher
City Butcher’s history dates back to 1875 in Lebanon, when the current shop owner’s ancestors opened a butcher shop in a small village on Mount Lebanon. Fast forward 136 years and the family is still providing family favourites such as kebbeh trays, barbecue skewers and soujouk sausages, along with tasty beef and lamb from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UAE. Their specialties include eye of round (beef steak from the rear leg of the cow), daoud basha (traditional Levantine meatballs) and kibbeh nayyeh (raw lamb and/or beef mixed with bulgar and spices). Hosting is made extra easy with their ready-to-cook barbeque meats and delivery on orders over AED200.
Where: Two Towers, Tecom
Contact: +9714 431 7677

Dine in and Dhop

The Butcher Shop & Grill
A butcher shop round-up wouldn’t be complete without this iconic South African import. Although it’s a restaurant first and foremost, there is a retail component for diners keen to recreate their dishes at home or for any passing shoppers craving the juiciest South African steaks. Their free-range beef steaks are the speciality, and you’ll find them in every form, along with pre-cuts ready to go. But the butchers will be happy to do any cut you’re after.
Where: City Walk, Mirdif City Centre, JBR and Mall of the Emirates
Contact: butchershoparabia.com

Free-Range Gourmet

Prime Gourmet
Grain-fed and free-range Australian and New Zealand beef is this store’s speciality, along with Australian lamb and veal, and gourmet burgers and sausages. They also stock an extensive range of Australian wagyu beef cuts, from chateaubriand, ribeye and fillet mignon to New York strip steaks, stir-fry strips and mince. It is a firm favourite with those in the know: “Prime Gourmet has very good beef,” says Sacha Daniel, Group Operations Manager at Solutions-Leisure Group. “The Australian ribeye in particular,” he added. Prime Gourmet delivers free to anywhere in Dubai on orders of AED300 or more.
Where: Gold & Diamond Park, Sheikh Zayed Road
Contact: +9714 341 5445

Back to Basics

Maqbool Meat
The established choice of Dubai food bloggers, Maqbool Meat sells locally-sourced, extremely good value meat and its friendly staff know their stuff. Artisanal this is not – think back to butcher shops of yesteryear, where cuts would hang from hooks behind the counter. Once you have selected your meat, it is chopped on a large tree stump in the middle of the store among chatty staff.
Where: Hasan Hussain Building, Al Satwa Road
Contact: +9714 331 2005