With the Eid Al Fitr holiday expected to start next week, restaurants across the UAE are wrapping up their limited-time set iftar menus, most available at a fraction of the usual price of the a la carte dishes. Here we round-up seven to sample in the last week of Ramadan, spanning various tastes and preferences.
Keep it classic with Cafe Beirut
The Lebanese restaurant is serving up all the traditional iftar favourites, from dishes to drinks and dessert. Break your fast with dates, dried apricots and olives, followed by a nourishing lentil soup, fresh Fattoush and tabbouleh salads, and classic mezze including hummus, musaka, batata harra and ras asfour with mushroom. The main course is the Lebanese BBQ platter with grilled meat, plus a daily dish such as chicken kabsa or biryani. The restaurant also serves refreshing beverages including jallab, tamer hindi, qamareddine and seasonal favourite Vimto, as well as Ramadan sweets such as kunafa and kaak.
Sunset-10pm; Dh172 per person; Al Murooj Complex Downtown, opposite Dubai Mall; 056 575 0777
Sample a new cuisine at Andaliman
The restaurant at One&Only One Za’abeel serves Indonesian cuisine, and has a four-course iftar menu. The experience begins with shared takjil, with dishes such as papaya sayur masam; bakwan sayur goreng vegetables fritters; and kolak with braised sweet potatoes and banana in coconut and sugar; followed by coconut milk soup.
Sharing-style mains include ayam goreng lengkuas (fried chicken with galangal floss), semur tahu (braised tofu in sweet soya), sate lilit (fish and shrimp lemon grass satay), terong balado (wok-fried aubergine with chilli sambal paste) and coconut rice and crackers. Dessert is an indulgent dadar gulung (coconut pancakes).
Sunset-8pm; Dh265 per person; Za’abeel 1, Dubai; 04 666 1777
One for the vegans from Planet Terra
The plant-based restaurant offers a choice of two starters, plus one main, dessert and a drink, with 10 per cent of the Dh150 cost being donated to healpalestine.org. Menu highlights include millet tabbouleh; pumpkin empanada and hummus with toasted sourdough for appetisers.
For mains, choose between genista (bell pepper stuffed with seasoned rice and button mushrooms served with tomato confit and agria potato) and Rishta (home-made noodle pasta with brown lentils, coriander, crispy onion and pomegranate molasses). Dessert includes walnut katayef with maple syrup or brioche with soya curd, roasted pistachio and rose petals, while drinks are equally creative by way of a beetroot soya milk with maple syrup, rose water, chia seeds and date caviar.
Sunset-10.30pm; Dh150 per person; The Greens and Ibis World Trade Centre Hotel, Dubai; 054 306 6000
Try new restaurant Barbossa
It may be just over a month old, but Latin American restaurant Barbossa has embraced the spirit of the holy month by offering an iftar menu of halal dishes. The meal kicks off with soup followed by avocado hummus and mango salad. Main choices include al pastor baby chicken, LC sizzling fajitas and pan-seared sea bass. A refreshing tamarind cooler beverage is on offer as are desserts such as tres leches and churros.
Sunset-9pm; Dh200 per person; Yas Bay Waterfront, Abu Dhabi; 050 185 8068
Break your fast in the desert at Terra Solis
Located deep in the Dubai desert, Terra Solis by Tomorrowland has switched up its party schedule for an iftar under the stars – both sharing-style for smaller groups (Dh175) and a buffet service (Dh195) for parties of 40 or more guests.
On the menu are delicacies such as stuffed marrow and vine leaves with lamb chops, chicken molokhia with vermicelli rice and hammour sayadieh, as well as classic appetisers such as sumac-flavoured spinach fatayer and meat sambousek with pine seeds.
Terra Solis also has overnight stay packages for Ramadan, starting at Dh900 for tent accommodation and inclusive of iftar.
Sunset-10pm; from Dh175 per person; Dubai Heritage Vision Exit 29, Dubailand; terrasolisdubai.com
Have an award-winning meal at 3 Fils
Part of the Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list and a perennial favourite on Mena's 50 Best, 3 Fils serves East Asian flavours with Middle Eastern influences, plus grill-to-plate dishes from a live kushiyaki station. The set iftar menu features six dishes, including Tai spanner with pea shoot oil and tomato rock; tofu hummus with Wagyu and wonton crisps; and yakitori with tare sauce and baba ganoush. There's also lamen, a handmade noodle dish with octopus and sea fennel, as well as yellowtail with jalapeno miso sauce, topped with coriander oil.
7pm-9pm; Dh325 per person; Jumeirah Fishing Harbour, Dubai; 056 273 0030
Save some dirhams at Jones the Grocer
The artisanal Australian chain has a two-course (Dh79) and three-course (Dh99) meal option for iftar. Dishes include creamy tomato or spiced lentil soups and salads such as chickpea, cauliflower and tahini or saffron pearl couscous.
Mains include a choice among chermoula chicken and jewelled pilau, sea bass with harissa tomatoes and saffron and king prawn risotto. Those opting for the three-course option can choose from desserts such as saffron milk cake and sticky date pudding.
Sunset-10pm; from Dh79 per person; various locations across Abu Dhabi; jonesthegrocer.com
