The Best Lunch and Dinner Spots at Dubai Mall

This is a branch of one of Dubai’s most popular city café chains, which started 10 years ago as a small home bakery founded by Emirati Hind Al Mulla. Today, it is likely the busiest spot in the Dubai Mall, with lines often forming during lunch hours and on weekends. The menu offers classic European fusion and comfort food, including sandwiches, salads, poke bowls, main dishes with sides, and desserts. There are also outstanding signature pastries available for pre-order. This is undoubtedly one of the Mall’s top casual restaurants, offering an all-day dining format: you can visit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We highly recommend it.

One of the top restaurants on the Mall’s Fashion Avenue is the work of chef Izu Ani, who is also behind some of the city’s leading eateries, including the esteemed Greek restaurant Gaia and Alaya, a Middle Eastern dining spot in the DIFC. The menu features classic dishes from a traditional French brasserie, such as escargots à la Bourguignonne, Niçoise salad, pasta, a wide selection of classic steaks, and nostalgic sides like ratatouille and gratin dauphinois. The restaurant opens at 9:30 am and also serves excellent breakfasts and delightful desserts. If you plan to visit for dinner, it’s best to reserve a table in advance.

A specialty coffee shop with an impressive kitchen, this is one of Dubai Mall’s best spots for breakfast or a quick midday coffee break. The recently updated menu features an outstanding shakshuka with burrata and goat cheese, milk brioche toast with eggs Benedict and mushrooms, a great selection of breads and pastries, homemade beverages, and excellent coffee. Another advantage is its pleasant minimalist interior and relaxing atmosphere; Hoof is rarely overcrowded, even on weekends. It’s an ideal place to unwind with a cup of espresso.

One of Dubai’s largest locations of this international Chinese cuisine restaurant chain is one of Dubai Mall’s best spots for a quick weekday lunch. Long lines at the door are common here on weekends during lunch hours, with wait times for a table reaching 40-50 minutes. However, the service here is exceptionally fast, and the signature xiao long bao dumplings arrive as swiftly as they did fifty years ago at the street stand in Taipei, where Din Tai Fung’s journey began. Today, all of the chain’s restaurants offer an extensive selection of homestyle and slightly Westernized Asian comfort food, including classic sweet and sour chicken and smashed cucumbers. For dinner at this location, try to get a table on the outdoor terrace for a view of Souk Al Bahar market and the dancing fountains show.

The favorite café for Emiratis is located on the ground floor of the Mall’s Fashion Avenue. It is the city’s top location for the renowned chain of pastry shops managed by the French celebrity pastry chef Yann Couvreur. To avoid long waits, visit on weekdays during the first half of the day, as on weekends, all tables tend to be occupied from morning until the Mall closes at night. Menu highlights include the famous vanilla mille-feuille and the delicate Merveille pastry, made with chocolate mousse, hazelnut praline, and meringue, adorned with Couvreur’s signature fox shapes, which have become the brand’s talisman. For the drinks, be sure to try the matcha latte and iced chocolate.