28 Dubai iftars you have to try

Fume Downtown Dubai
They have warned the iftar menu is so heavily loaded with delicious dishes they’ve reinforced the tables to withstand the weight. We don’t think they actually have, but the set menu does sound generous and combines Fumé favourites with traditional dishes. Choose “fumezze” to start (Fumé and mezze, get it?); hummus, labneh, muhammara, olives with pita, fried eggplant, the usual. For hot starters, there’s a cumin-scented lentil or smoked lamb harira soup. We like the sound of the Fumé Mashawi mains; lamb kofta, chops, slow-braised shoulder, chicken tawook and beef medallions. There’s also a daily catch and lots of desserts including the “F Um Ali” (does that work?) with honey and labneh ice cream.
Where: Downtown Dubai
Price: AED139 per person
Contact: +9714 456 8784

3in1
Vida Downtown’s 3in1 restaurant is promising a peaceful and chic iftar with modern Arabic dishes enjoyed on the 3in1 terrace. There’s a set menu with mains that are served to the table. You’ll get traditional favourites like lamb ouzi, hammour, vegetable saloona stew and mixed grilled meat. Finish off with delicious desserts and a big contented sigh.
Where: Vida Downtown Dubai
Price: AED160 per person, 50 percent off on shisha
Contact: +9714 888 3444

Siraj
Newly opened and a new edition to the iftar circuit from Souk Al Bahar this year. All the necessary details are covered: sprinkles of rose water, freshly baked bread and freshly brewed Arabic coffee all against a backdrop of Arabic-inspired décor and spectacular views of the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountains. Choose Arabian cuisine with a twist thanks to a mash-up of culinary delights from the Gulf and the Levant region from a set menu prepared by executive chef Ahmed Al Fakir and served to your table. Expect cold and hot appetisers such as baba ghanoush, muhammara and chicken musakhan, traditional mains like meat ouzi, butter chicken and kibbeh labneh and a chef’s selection of desserts. And gallons of Vimto, of course.
Where: Souk Al Bahar
Price: AED190 per person
Contact: +9714 457 4063

Aubaine
When a French restaurant promises “stylish flavour” consider us intrigued – can flavour be stylish? – Aubaine’s iftar dishes from its Arabesque menu are inspired by traditional cuisine from the region with plenty of Aubaine’s “Je ne sais quoi” added in. The set menu includes dates and yoghurt, harira soup and a fattoush salad to start. For the mains, there’s lamb, chicken or fish dishes or freshly prepared gnocchi. The Aubaine kitchen takes pride in their desserts and they have come up with a sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream and dates. Think, “neither trickily modern nor lazily traditional”, served in a casual, shabby-chic setting.
Where: The Dubai Mall
Price: AED149 per person
Contact: +9714 501 6970

Kris Kros
For a slight change of gear, head here for a mix of Mediterranean, American and Asian food. In one meal you will get New York, China and Lebanon all wrapped up in one sitting. Enjoy an edited Mediterranean selection, classic Lebanese dishes and then maybe some Tex-Mex delights. Or keep things light with edamame, onion soup, crab salad and the heavenly spicy chicken curry from the Asian station. Mocktails like the “Coconut Island” and the “Thyme Lemonade” are must tries.
Where: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, Downtown
Price: AED100 per person.
Contact: +9714 453 9994

The Pavilion
This popular little creative hub will be offering a sunset menu until midnight with a unique spin on Arabic cuisine like mezze and mixed meat hot off the grill will be served with refreshing detox juices, milkshakes, iced tea and iced coffee on the outdoor terrace (or indoors if you prefer) with a stunning view of the Burj Khalifa or the stunning vertical garden.
Where: Downtown Dubai
Price: Special Ramadan offers start at AED60
Contact: +9714 447 7025

Play Restaurant and Lounge
We can thank Chef Reif Othman for the new Arabesque inspired menu for Ramadan with brand new dishes that embrace seasonal changes and stay true to Play’s luxe experimental approach. This is food rooted in tradition but cooked in a modern way. In fact, the dishes come straight from the restaurants Research and Development Kitchen where a team of 40 chefs helped come up the new creations. Highlights include kibbeh with Wagyu and truffle yoghurt, hummus crustacean and crispy pita, warm quinoa with harissa and tensi ebi and, for dessert, sticky date pudding. Look out for an exciting entrée exclusive to the restaurant; stracciatella (the inside of buratta cheese), served with curried couscous, basil oil and tomato jelly.
Where: H Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road
Price: A la carte
Contact: +9714 453 5279

Feast
Feast restaurant will host an iftar at the Sheraton Grand this year, and expect exactly that – one big feast. Stroll around the buffet and take in the Indian section, with corn pulao, lamb biryani, bhuna ghosht and Malabar fish curry. The Arabic section has traditional lamb, chicken and seafood dishes, salads and lamb ouzi. There’s also pasta (truffled mac and cheese anyone?), kebabs, stir fries and a whole stack of desserts. After fasting all day you really will get your night time fill here. Just expect to be rolled out the other side.
Location: Sheikh Zayed Road
Price: AED199 per person
Contact: +9714 503 4300

The Royal China
Take a break from mezze with this award-winning Chinese restaurant, which is offering an á la carte or set menu packed with delicious Chinese dishes such as organic chicken sautéed in malt caramel (we know) and light spicy sauce or fillet of baby lamb sautéed in dried chili. Book one of the big round tables in the restaurant or better still, make the most of the private dining rooms. Perfect for those who would like an evening surrounded by a select crowd.
Where: DIFC
Price: A la carte
Contact: +9714 354 5543

The Shangri-La Hotel
The Shangri-La on Sheikh Zayed Road has what they’re calling a “festively appointed ballroom” as the venue for their family iftar. In it, you can enjoy a wide selection of delicious Middle Eastern specialities all month long, including traditional dishes such as lamb ouzi, chicken tagine, kibbeh bil laban, shish barak, freekeh, hot and cold mezzes and Arabic sweets and desserts. If you’d like a more laid back setting, Dunes Café in the hotel is also putting on an iftar, similar just on a smaller scale to the big ballroom set up.
Where: Sheikh Zayed Road
Price: AED150 per person (first week), AED175 second week onwards
Contact: +9714 450 2703

Four Points by Sheraton
The family-friendly setting of the Eatery hosts iftar here, offering up an authentic buffet from sunset each evening with all the Middle Eastern specialities, hot and cold mezzes, slow roasted lamb ouzi with oriental rice and a variety of Arabic sweets and desserts.
Where: Sheikh Zayed Road
Price: AED120 per person
Contact: +971 56 414 2213

Signature by Sanjeev Kapoor
Located in the heart of Bur Dubai, close to the Gold Souq, the Dubai Museum and Dubai Creek, this hotel is entrenched in Dubai’s cultural quarter and on top of that is offering a very special iftar experience at its famed restaurant Signature by Sanjeev Kapoor. A four-course meal of Indian classics presented with an Arabesque twist. Enjoy favourites like rumani paneer, mutton shami kebab or sumac spiked grilled fish. Or perhaps you’d prefer to go for the kabuli channa gosht, chicken biryani and the lalla mussa dhal, because who doesn’t like dhal?  Finish on a sweet note with mahalabia, phirnee and chenna angoori before moving on to shisha and juices.
Where: Melia Dubai, Bur Dubai
Price: AED149 per person
Contact: +9714 386 8111

Ashiana by Vineet
The iftar experience here is being called “Happy Homes of India” and mixes tradition with modern cooking techniques. The concept is sharing with Chef Vineet Bhatia’s dishes like nariyal mirch machli, chettinad prawns, and lamb chops masala to be enjoyed with your nearest and dearest. Chef Vineet is known for skilfully intertwining flavours from different regions of the East and we can’t wait to try one of his signature mains Lucknow-style lamb, which is slow cooked and marinated for two days and served with dhal maharani and the achari murgh.
Location: Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers
Price: From AED45
Contact: +9714 207 1733

Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa, Bur Dubai
Enjoy an iftar of Arabic, Indian and Pakistani specialities prepared by the multi-ethnic and multi-talented chefs at Al Khaimah Hall, a Ramadan tent for the Holy Month that presents a generous buffet and live cooking stations. The pakora station is worth a look on its own, serving up piping hot onion pakora, chilli pakora, falafel and spinach fatayer. Complete your meal with delicious desserts like basboosa, um ali, badam kheer, and jelabi. Excellent food, a warm atmosphere and all right in the heart of Bur Dubai.
Where: Bur Dubai
Price: AED85 per person.
Contact: +9714 351 9111

Blue Orange Restaurant
This place does a brunch buffet on point every week, so it is likely to be an impressive iftar experience with all the traditional Arabic dishes you could carry with plenty of other culinary surprises to keep things interesting.
Where: The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, Jumeirah Beach Road
Price: AED185 per person
Contact: +9714 511 7139

Al Maeda
A traditional iftar buffet serves up live cooking stations and the most popular Levantine and North Africa dishes. There’s also live entertainment, board games and shisha on the terrace. Expect a selection of signature dishes like Moroccan tagine, a delicious lentil soup and sweet, milky Um Ali for dessert. You can also admire the work of Emirati artist and photographer Ahmed Al Muhairi who is exhibiting here all month. Guests can take part in a raffle draw to win a Mussandam Dhow Cruise for two with every AED100 spent. Good luck!
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai, The Walk, JBR
Price: AED139 per person
Contact: +9714 453 3333

The Address Dubai Marina
If you want the magic of Ramadan nights void of the sand and sweat the desert kicks out, the constellation ballroom is the place to head. The 400-seat room will house a grand iftar buffet of Arabic and international dishes, sweets and Ramadan juices. Pile your plate high while listening to a traditional oud player. The hotel has made sure it will be memorable, like literally you can capture your best bits of the evening through their interactive live stream by using #RamadanSawa.
Where: Next to Marina Mall
Price: AED210 per person
Contact: +9714 436 7777

Eggspectation
The most popular weekend breakfast spot in JBR is offering a specially created healthy set menu everyday of Ramadan with a 15 percent discount on groups of more than 10 people. The menu will be served from sunset and will consist of quinoa tabbouleh or mixed green salad and soup of the day, a choice between quinoa chicken and seafood paella, beef stroganoff with jewelled rice or grilled chicken suprême with rosemary-infused rice and as for dessert; s’mores mini pancake or chocolate French toast. It’s a solid choice for a low key Tuesday night iftar and it’s great value, too.
Where: The Beach, JBR
Price: AED80 per person
Contact: +9714 430 7252

Grand Millennium
Tecom’s finest will be flocking to the “Venetian style” Atrium restaurant this year with its high ceilings and Italian-inspired architecture working as a stunning backdrop to a traditional Arabic iftar buffet. Expect a delicious variety of Mediterranean and international dishes, live cooking stations, and Arabic beverages and desserts, all with a soundtrack of live music.
Where: Tecom
Price: AED129 per person
Contact: +9714 429 9999

Mövenpick Hotel JLT
Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers is embracing Ramadan with a lavish buffet – with the usual live cooking stations, ouzi carving stations, shawarma and saj stations, as well as Mediterranean delicacies and more desserts than you can shake a date at. A main draw here is all diners will have the chance to win a trip to Jordan for two with three nights’ accommodation inclusive of breakfast at Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea thrown in.
Where: JLT
Price: AED130 per person
Contact: +9714 438 0000

The Address Montgomerie Dubai
Nestled right in the middle of Emirates Hills, this new hotel is ready to host your iftar on the regular. Enjoy the iftar on the lawn with amazing views of the surrounding gold course safe (and cool) inside one of their glass tents.
Where: Emirates Hills
Price: AED170 per person
Contact: +9714 888 3444

Ramada Plaza Jumeirah Beach
Shores restaurant will offer a very laid-back and casual iftar with a diverse selection of traditional gastronomic treats (head straight to the shawarma station) and Ramadan juices set under the stars and to the soft sounds of an oud player. Discounts for large groups.
Where: JBR
Price: AED139 per person
Contact: +9714 439 8888

Zheng He’s
To celebrate the month of Ramadan contemporary restaurant Zheng He’ gives you a special Iftar menu made up of authentic Chinese cuisine and eye popping presentation.
Where: Jumeirah Mina A’Salam
Price: A la carte
Contact: +9714 432 3232

The Four Seasons
This lavish hotel on Jumeirah Beach Road is inviting guests to dine on the Four Seasons’ Ramadan Table. In the spirit of giving and sharing, the hotel is embarking on an international “dish exchange” between 15 of the chain’s properties. Each hotel gives one of its sister properties two specialty dishes to serve to their guests. For example, Moroccan seafood briouates, sweet puff pastries stuffed with delicious fruits de mer come courtesy of Four Seasons Casablanca, and will be served on tables in Four Seasons Beirut, while in return Casablanca and Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach property will serve “Sultan’s Delight”, a Turkish lamb stew served on a bed of creamy roasted eggplant from the Four Seasons Istanbul. Diners can also tuck into the Egyptian classic stuffed pigeon with oriental rice at the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island.
Where: Jumeirah Beach Road
Price: AED225 per person
Contact: +9714 270 7777

Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate
Take a trip around the globe under “The Gate” with a buffet made up of Indian, Italian, Arabic and Asian cuisine while surrounded by Al Bahou’s stunning 88 Arabic lanterns. Those with a sweet tooth can indulge in sweets such as umm ali, qatayef, mohalabia and madlouka.
Where: Ibn Battuta
Price: AED170 per person
Contact: +9714 444 5613

PierChic
This Ramadan, the award-winning restaurant set over the waters of the Arabian Gulf with the amazing views has created a special menu of seafood-inspired dishes with authentic Arabic touches. Arrive at the foot of the pier at sunset and you will be picked up in Pierchic’s new rickshaws before tucking into a feast of special Arabian mezze, including Pierchic‘s own fattoush made with baby squid and cuttlefish ink, grilled tiger prawns with sumac, garlic toum and lime and baba ghanoush with pomegranate and brown shrimp. For mains, tuck into a mixed seafood grill, served with seafood machboos, chermoula and tahini, followed by a dessert tasting platter, featuring baklava, Turkish delight, Pierchic croissants, umm ali and fruit skewers and sticky date and toffee pudding. From start to finish this will feel like a huge celebrated treat.
Where: Al Qasr at Madinat Jumeirah
Price: AED270 per person
Contact: +9714 366 6705