There are hundreds of thousands of Egyptians in the UAE, and where there are Egyptians there is koshari, ful, taameya and a very specific argument about which place does liver properly. Egyptian food in Dubai is cheap, abundant and almost entirely absent from English-language guides.
Here is where to find it and what to order.
Where Egyptian food lives in Dubai
Follow the residential districts rather than the tourist ones:
- Deira — especially around Al Rigga and Naif. The densest concentration.
- Karama — cheap, busy, and full of small kitchens.
- Bur Dubai — around Al Fahidi and Meena Bazaar.
- Satwa — mixed Levantine and Egyptian, open very late.
- Al Qusais and Al Nahda — heavily Egyptian residential areas, the most authentic and the least visited.
You will not find much of this in Downtown, the Marina or on the Palm. That is the point.
What to order
Koshari — AED 10–20
Rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce, with the vinegar-garlic daqqa and chilli on the side. The national dish and the best value plate in Dubai. A proper portion is enormous.
Ful and taameya — AED 5–15
Breakfast. Slow-cooked fava beans with oil, lemon and cumin, and Egyptian falafel made from fava rather than chickpeas — greener inside, crisper outside. Eaten with baladi bread.
Hawawshi — AED 12–25
Spiced minced meat baked inside bread until the edges crisp. Underrated and hard to stop eating.
Molokhia — AED 20–35
The green, garlicky, faintly viscous soup that divides everyone. Served with rice and usually rabbit or chicken. If you have never had it, this is the thing to try.
Kebda Eskandarani — AED 20–35
Alexandria-style liver, fried hard and fast with chilli, garlic and cumin, in bread. A late-night dish.
Feteer meshaltet — AED 20–40
Layered flaky pastry, sweet or savoury. Shared.
To drink
Sugarcane juice (asab), hibiscus (karkadeh), and tamarind. AED 5–12 and better than anything in a mall.
How to spot the real ones
- Arabic-only signage and menus is a good sign, not a barrier — point and smile.
- A koshari place that only does koshari. Specialists beat generalists here.
- Busy between 22:00 and 01:00. Egyptian dining runs late; an empty room at 11pm is a bad sign.
- Bread arriving without being asked.
What a full day of Egyptian food costs
- Breakfast: ful, taameya and bread — AED 12
- Lunch: a large koshari — AED 15
- Afternoon: sugarcane juice — AED 6
- Dinner: hawawshi and molokhia — AED 45
Under AED 80 for a day of eating properly. See also our guide to eating well in Dubai for under AED 30.
Ramadan
During Ramadan these places close through the day and reopen at sunset, when they are at their absolute best. Iftar in an Egyptian restaurant in Deira is one of the good nights in Dubai.
Practical notes
- Cash is still useful in the smallest places.
- Portions are large. Order less than you think.
- No alcohol in any of these — they are family restaurants.
- Getting there: almost all are near a Green Line Metro station.
Written August 2026. Prices are typical ranges, not quotes. See our editorial policy.
