Dubai is a city that offers rare opportunities to experience local and ethnic cuisine from almost every region in the world for those who enjoy good food and a great dining experience.

Standards of international cuisine in Dubai are high and the choice is diverse. Top class restaurants in the city’s hotels offer Arabian, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Mexican, Russian, British, German, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Flilpino and Korean cuisine to name just a few.

Hotels offer a remarkably diverse range of food and beverage outlets, partly because they serve not only their own guests but also attract large numbers of local residents. Their restaurants cover everything from coffee shops to fine dining and specialty outlets and the standard of service is on a par with the best in the world. The night-life is equally varied, with many bars, pubs, discos and nightclubs open until the small hours.

Outside the hotels, small eating places are to be found in all parts of the city including Deira, Bur Dubai, Satwa, Jumeirah and Dubai Marina.

While restaurants located outside hotel and club premises are not permitted to serve alcohol, all are air-conditioned, clean and are often culinary adventures in their own right.

International theme restaurants such as TGI Friday’s, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Café and Henry J Bean’s and Fashion Café are also popular.

There are also several other American and Mexican restaurants in the city, while international fast food chains are represented by such names as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Round Table Pizza, Pizza Corner, Harry Ramsden’s, Burger King, Shakey’s, Wimpy, Dunkin’ Donuts and Hardee’s.

Night Life

Dubai has a lively night life. Hotel bars range from sophisticated cocktail lounges to typically informal British and Irish pubs and Western-style lounges. Most of them serve food and many feature pianists, guitarists, duos and bands nightly.

After-dinner revellers can enjoy the latest sounds in a number of hotel nightclubs, each with its own ambience.

For a more exotic experience, there are several excellent Middle Eastern nightclubs featuring Arab singers and dancers.

Elsewhere, talented acts from all over the world provide lively international entertainment at many venues.

Dubai increasingly attracts top names from the world of entertainment. These include popular singers and entertainers from both West and East.

Stage plays from London tour regularly, as do major dance groups from Europe and Asia, while ballet and opera companies from around the world are regular visitors to the emirate.