New cafés and eateries in Dubai with a difference

Bait Maryam in JLT

With the evolution that occurs in any growing city, Dubai has blossomed into an emirate with plenty of character across many of its neighbourhoods. From JLT and Jumeirah to Barsha and Business Bay, and even DIFC, each of these micro-districts comes with its own identity and a plethora of cafés and small eateries spanning every cuisine under the sun. Many, for want of much over-used term, ‘hidden gems’, are cropping up in these areas, making these covetable and affordable places to visit.

This guide directs you to 9 of these new-ish gems with a difference that have opened in the last year – all homegrown concepts and unlicensed (i.e. not serving booze). If you missed it, here’s a link to my annual guide of favourite restaurants and cafés which lists some of the more established spots.

And if you’d like to read a top 10 Dubai food and restaurants trends report which includes this micro-district movement, here’s something I researched for Dubai Tourism at the start of the year. Click here to read.

Anyhow digressing, voila…in alphabetical order. Any other new quirky joints I may have missed?

• Bait Maryam: a family-run Levantine restaurant in JLT with Palestinian mama (chef Salam Dakkak) in the kitchen. Brimming with original artefacts from the grandmother’s ‘bait’ aka home (read: an Instagrammer’s dream). Ideal for brekkie or lunch. Al fresco seating for the cooler months.
• Cabin: an arty, hipster café and courtyard hidden in the depths of Barsha South territory (villa and school-central) – pictured right. From outside, it literally looks like a cabin dumped on the crater of a moon. The poached eggs with hollandaise, spinach, avocado purée and crisped bresaola on griddled sour dough are top notch. Well priced with good service. You can even buy some art supplies if you are that way inclined 😉
• El Mostacho: Tiny. 13 covers only. All stools. A hole in the wall houses the Mexican kitchen. Isaac Mendoza (ex-La Taqueria in Business Bay and previously Taqado) is back with his brother chef – in partnership with Josh Benson from Bystro. Superb homemade tacos, see below left (AED30-35 for three). Delicious hearty sopa (AED15). Best guac in town (AED15). That’s El Mostacho in JLT. Go. Now.

• Kishmish: not Dubai’s sole Afghan restaurant, but likely the most modern in style, yet still managing to strike authenticity with the food. Excellent Afghan comfort fare interspersed with Iranian influences. Located in Dar Wasl mall which many Emiratis frequent. The bolani (fried pies stuffed with leek and potato); hearty aash soup; mantu (lamb dumplings topped with veggies and yoghurt – above right) and yoghurt-marinated charcoal grilled chicken are must-orders.
• Refresh: here’s where I get my souvlaki (Greek kebab – below left) fix when am feeling home sick. A busy modern café in DIFC’s Marble Walk. The owner-operators are Greek; hence a few Greek dishes have crept into the broader Mediterranean menu, breakfast included. You can opt for a mix of super tender chicken and beef. Hand-cut, triple-cooked fries sprinkled with oregano. Real Greek pitta. And tzatziki. Greek coffee too. Save room for the excellent carrot cake using the owner’s mama’s recipe – easily rivals Lime Tree’s. Well priced with dishes averaging around AED50. Free valet parking too.

• Society: occupying a huge conservatory-style space next to the original Lime Tree café on Jumeirah Beach Road, the menu is equally as mammoth, taking you from breakfast through to lunch and dinner dishes. A vegan (don’t worry I haven’t converted!) dish of baked cauliflower with shaved almonds and a Romesco sauce was delightful and incredibly moreish – pictured right. Sweet tooths will enjoy the bakery selection and decadent cake bar.
• Somewhere: when you want to order every single dish on the menu. A rare occurrence for me. Emirati-owned, jam-packed and oddly named Somewhere is located in Dubai Mall’s plush Fashion Avenue extension. A highly modern spin on Levantine cuisine with a cooking style that reminds me a little of long-gone Q’bara’s. ‘Kibbeh’ balls filled with glorious gooey cheese – top right. Beef shawarma mixed with beetroot rice and drizzled with tahini poured from a coffee pot is another excellent dish.
• Vietnamese Foodies: JLT boasts a new chef-owned Vietnamese restaurant. Think fresh, crunchy and punchy prawn and papaya salad – below left. Plenty of fragrant pho bowls and rice paper rolls if that tickles your palate. Terrace seating overlooking the lake too. Always rammed.

• 21 Grams: what is Balkan food? Actually pretty decent wholesome fare full of punchy flavour. Freshly baked goodies are also integral to the menu, including sublime cheese and meat bureks – pictured right. 21 Grams is a new café-cum-bistro on Jumeirah Beach Road at the Al Thanya intersection (in the Park Regis Boutique Hotel – unlicensed) operated by a Serbian owner and team – photo above right. Its intriguing name relates to the weight of the human soul, the latitude of the Balkan Peninsula, and the area code of the owner’s Serbian hometown (Novi Sad).

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

?GUIDE TO NEW CAFES/ EATERIES IN DUBAI WITH A DIFFERENCE?. With the evolution that occurs in any growing city, Dubai has blossomed into an emirate with plenty of character across many of its neighbourhoods. From JLT and Jumeirah to Barsha and Business Bay, and even DIFC, each of these micro-districts comes with its own identity and a plethora of cafés and small eateries spanning every cuisine under the sun. Many, for want of much over-used term, ‘hidden gems’, are cropping up in these areas, making these covetable and affordable places to visit. This guide (see link in profile) directs you to new gems with a difference that have opened in the last year – all homegrown concepts and unlicensed ?. Any others that fit the bill? ?? #foodiva

A post shared by Award-winning food critic???? (@foodiva) on Jul 29, 2018 at 10:44pm PDT

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