# Best mid range restaurants in Dubai



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

I know where to find excellent top end stuff for birthdays and anniversaries. And I know where to get great budget food - Ravi's, Karama etc but where are the great mid range eateries in Dubai?

There's hundred of ok to good ones, nothing that ever disappoints to be honest. At the same time I can't think of anywhere that's a complete must go to on an average weekend.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Indian: Gazebo, India Palace

Pakistani: Lal Qila

Thai: Lemon Grass, Thai Terrace

Lebanese: Hallab, Reem Badawi

Egyptian: Hadoota Masriya

Moroccan: Moulay Youssef


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Sea Mood in Satwa is excellent for (sustainable) seafood, cheap too.

Smiling BKK in Al Wasl is well worth a visit for Thai food.

Turkish Village on Beach Road was good too.

There's an ace Canadian place on the other end of Beach Road called Maple Leaf Restaurant, it does awesome smoked meat sandwiches, reubens, etc.

If you don't mind braving the crowds to get to Souk Al Bahar, Claw BBQ and Cafe Habana are really good.

Eataly in Dubai Mall is good too although I'd avoid it on weekends.


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## thevillagealchemist (Aug 15, 2013)

The Circle in Media City. Best breakfast in Dubai.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Tom & Serj just round the corner from Ace Hardware on SZR is excellent too if you don't mind being surrounded by dozens of Aussie hipsters.


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## Zexotic (Sep 3, 2011)

Jones the grocer on SZR has very good food. One of the best things to try there would be their wagyu beef burger. Delicious and extremely fresh!


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## telecompro (Apr 4, 2013)

What about outdoor breakfast places that are reasonably priced?


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

More Cafe at G&D Park has outdoor seating. Pretty good breakfasts.

And, of course, Lime Tree Cafe. Good ol' standby. The best is the Jumeirah 1 location with a massive outdoor balcony and terrace. 



telecompro said:


> What about outdoor breakfast places that are reasonably priced?


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

TallyHo said:


> More Cafe at G&D Park has outdoor seating. Pretty good breakfasts.


Vendome Paris round the corner has better breakfasts but no outdoor seating.

If you can be bothered venturing to the far end of the Marina, Nordic Crown Bakery is my favourite breakfast spot at the moment, their eggs benedict with Swedish meatballs is ace as is their coffee. 

Cafe Fraiche in JLT is excellent too for breakfasts (and lunch and dinner), they have a terrace round the back.

JLT's a hive of well priced independent eateries. In addition to Cafe Fraiche, Scafé and Marta's Kitchen are 5 star hotel quality for a fraction of the price.

In addition to those, Barry's Tandoori, Little Bangkok, Nais Italian Kitchen, Allons-y, Innlay Asia, Hanoi, Kitchen of Thai, Wokyo, Mambo Pizza Gourmet, Pompeii, Nofara Cafe are all really good.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

I was intrigued by Nordic as I badly miss Swedish cinnamon buns and guess what? I now know what you look like 

While this place doesn't offer outdoor seating, Crumbs bakery on Sheikh Zayed near Jones the Grocer has fantastic breads and viennoiserie as well as French style pastries. The breakfasts are pretty good. The interiors are a bit twee, though. 



Gavtek said:


> Vendome Paris round the corner has better breakfasts but no outdoor seating.
> 
> If you can be bothered venturing to the far end of the Marina, Nordic Crown Bakery is my favourite breakfast spot at the moment, their eggs benedict with Swedish meatballs is ace as is their coffee.
> 
> ...


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Best place I've found for outdoor seating recently, aside from the cafe in Safa Park, is the area behind the new shops round the corner from Emirates NBD on Al Wasel Road. No cars, a mini lake with a fountain and a kids' play area, not to mention some rather nice eateries. For a really good value brunch, with alcohol, try the restaurant on the right hand side as you enter Ocean View Hotel in JBR. It's around AED 249 including a bubbly wine and some really yummy food and there's an outdoor area. Plus they have live music. This is not to be confused with the Girders' brunch.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

I like Valpiano at Media City for pizza and salads, also Chimes in Barsha, great asian food.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Bussola terrace @ the westin also for pizza and wine


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## Sevenoaks1 (Mar 22, 2012)

Gavtek said:


> Vendome Paris round the corner has better breakfasts but no outdoor seating. If you can be bothered venturing to the far end of the Marina, Nordic Crown Bakery is my favourite breakfast spot at the moment, their eggs benedict with Swedish meatballs is ace as is their coffee. Cafe Fraiche in JLT is excellent too for breakfasts (and lunch and dinner), they have a terrace round the back. JLT's a hive of well priced independent eateries. In addition to Cafe Fraiche, Scafé and Marta's Kitchen are 5 star hotel quality for a fraction of the price. In addition to those, Barry's Tandoori, Little Bangkok, Nais Italian Kitchen, Allons-y, Innlay Asia, Hanoi, Kitchen of Thai, Wokyo, Mambo Pizza Gourmet, Pompeii, Nofara Cafe are all really good.


I agree. JLT has some fabulous restaurants and so reasonably priced. On top of the ones mentioned above, Memsaab Indian in Cluster J ( same as Mcgettigans) is fantastic. There is outside seating as well.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Cheers for the recommendations, noted some of them. I went to Pink Pong in Dubai Mall last night. Not usually a fan of Chinese food but this was delicious. Good service too.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Also, this place is awesome if you can get a table:

A Bucket of Joy at Seafood in a Bucket | Lady & her Sweet Escapes


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## Qalam (Feb 27, 2014)

There are some cafeterias that are mid range and serve great food at great prices. Which ones are good is part of street smarts though


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## safee (Aug 4, 2011)

Mr Rossi said:


> Cheers for the recommendations, noted some of them. I went to Pink Pong in Dubai Mall last night. Not usually a fan of Chinese food but this was delicious. Good service too.


I went to Ping pong today and I was surprised at the quality of food. It was excellent! My 3 year old loved her dimsums as well.


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Mr Rossi said:


> I know where to find excellent top end stuff for birthdays and anniversaries. And I know where to get great budget food - Ravi's, Karama etc but where are the great mid range eateries in Dubai? There's hundred of ok to good ones, nothing that ever disappoints to be honest. At the same time I can't think of anywhere that's a complete must go to on an average weekend.


Fraiche (JLT)

Cravin Cajun (Al Barsha) 

El Nais Italian Kitchen (JLT)


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Gavtek said:


> Vendome Paris round the corner has better breakfasts but no outdoor seating. If you can be bothered venturing to the far end of the Marina, Nordic Crown Bakery is my favourite breakfast spot at the moment, their eggs benedict with Swedish meatballs is ace as is their coffee. Cafe Fraiche in JLT is excellent too for breakfasts (and lunch and dinner), they have a terrace round the back. JLT's a hive of well priced independent eateries. In addition to Cafe Fraiche, Scafé and Marta's Kitchen are 5 star hotel quality for a fraction of the price. In addition to those, Barry's Tandoori, Little Bangkok, Nais Italian Kitchen, Allons-y, Innlay Asia, Hanoi, Kitchen of Thai, Wokyo, Mambo Pizza Gourmet, Pompeii, Nofara Cafe are all really good.


Like Nais, Hanoi and Nofata


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Mr Rossi said:


> Cheers for the recommendations, noted some of them. I went to Pink Pong in Dubai Mall last night. Not usually a fan of Chinese food but this was delicious. Good service too.


The pizza place - Brandizi is good (spelling may be off)


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## ash_ak (Jan 22, 2011)

The best Pakistani /Indian food is at Haandi in barsha, hands down my favorite for quality authentic food. They have home delivery too. It's opposite the Duesseldorf business tower, when you are going to the mall of the Emirates from dubai American school.


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## mac86 (Mar 14, 2013)

Ping Pong is great.

Went to the House of Curry the other week on the Boulevard in Downtown, really impressed with it, excellent curries and very reasonable.


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

Hanoi JLT is sadly an extremely poor relation to the real Hanoi on Khalifa St in AD. Even Hanoi's closest outpost on Reem Island is woeful. Funny how they can transfer their knowledge so far (to Khalifa St) then so tragically mess it up with the UAE


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## klimanjero (Jul 9, 2013)

as a Turkish restaurant, Harput in Al Barsha was good too.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Chimes in Al Barsha. they have mixed south east cuisine


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## Byja (Mar 3, 2013)

Sultan Baba Iskender, Festival City (Turkish)
El Chico, JBR (Mexican)
Indian Palace (think they serve Lebanese food, not sure)
Lemongrass, Lamcy Plaza (Thai)


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

OMG El Chico 

Rosa Mexicana is my favorite for mexican food.


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## geekgirl_5 (Sep 19, 2013)

Shakespeare and Company do lovely breakfasts. The ones on SZR and JBR have an outdoor vibe


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Gavtek said:


> Sea Mood in Satwa is excellent for (sustainable) seafood, cheap.


Hi Gav,
Just walked past Sea Mood yesterday - and its gone!
It used to be very quiet when we went in there but the food was great - they really needed to be in a better western expat part of town!
Now replaced by a really busy Phillipino restaurant called PITA ( the name made us laugh - real Pain in the....)
We also really like Smiling BKK - nice, spicy Thai food in a very eccentric place - son loves using the machine gun to call the waiters!
Cheers
Steve


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## Zexotic (Sep 3, 2011)

Byja said:


> Sultan Baba Iskender, Festival City (Turkish)
> *El Chico, JBR (Mexican)*
> Indian Palace (think they serve Lebanese food, not sure)
> Lemongrass, Lamcy Plaza (Thai)


El Chico is to Mexican as PF Changs is to Chinese.


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## ash_ak (Jan 22, 2011)

Zexotic said:


> El Chico is to Mexican as PF Changs is to Chinese.


There are a lot of people in Dubai, who consider PF Changs as chinese. So just to clarify, PF Changs ain't real chinese, nor is El Chico's real mexican.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

ash_ak said:


> There are a lot of people in Dubai, who consider PF Changs as chinese. So just to clarify, PF Changs ain't real chinese, nor is El Chico's real mexican.


There are even more who don't consider either to be a restaurant 

More like chuck wagons of olden days


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

To be honest I like some of the stuff El Chico serves, Mexican or not


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## tahir29 (Mar 13, 2014)

Try Lemonade at IBN Mall, go on a friday it's a buffet. Quality of food mesmerizing 
Opening soon on SZR!

Let me know your thoughts!!


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