The Dubai food scene is on steroids. It seems like every week there’s a new spot taking it to the next level with innovative and unique dishes. So, it is easy for the tourist to miss out on potentially what is the best foods in the city. The best food in any city will be found in the local neighbourhoods, the ones that have been around for decades and the ones frequented by the locals. This is generally the case with most if not all cities around the world. Finding these gems can be difficult in a city like Dubai. Al Ustad Special Kebab (formerly known as Special Ustaadi) is one of those absolute special gems (no pun intended).
Al Ustad Special Kebab is a family-run restaurant that is one of the oldest restaurants in Dubai as they were established in 1978. Not many restaurants in Dubai can claim to be around for 4 decades. Ask any local for their top 5 Dubai restaurants and it is extremely likely that this restaurant will be on that list. What’s so special about them I hear you ask? Two things: the food and the pictures.
The Food
Essentially an Iranian kebab house, they obviously specialise in kebabs. Apart from the usual Iranian classics like koobideh and jujeh, these guys are famous for their yoghurt-marinated chicken and mutton kebabs. These are an absolute must try here. Very unique flavours and quite probably kebabs that taste like nothing you would have tasted before. Their saffron rice is also a must to accompany the kebabs as is with any Iranian place, right? If you’re feeling a little adventurous, go for their crispy rice, which is an Iranian staple. They have individual dishes as well as meals for a set number of people – ideal to sample a number of their kebabs with a group of people.
The Pictures
As soon as you enter, you’ll notice that the walls are full of photographs. These aren’t any old photographs; they’re photos of famous people who have dined at the restaurant. And when I say famous, I don’t mean your modern day love island celebrity, I mean royalty. Royalty in regards to Hollywood, royalty in regards to Bollywood, royalty in regards to sports, royalty in regards to YouTube and royalty in regards to royalty itself. Take a look around you and see who you spot on the walls. Some of the faces we spotted were Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Cristiano Ronaldo, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Mark Wiens, the food ranger, Chris Rock and Jackie Chan! This is to name just a few. Apparently, there are over 8000 pictures! And for some of them there are numerous pictures taken throughout the years, showing it must be good for them to keep on returning. This is real people. They are not coming for a man to throw salt on their food; they are coming for THE FOOD!
Our experience
The restaurant is located right next to the Al Fahidi District or Bur Dubai. So, it can easily be combined with a day out of exploring the old Dubai or market shopping. This is what we did and it provided for a great lunch break.
There’s a main section and a family section. The family section is for females and families. I liked this touch as it adds to the comfort level when taking the family out. As soon as you enter, you are seated promptly and given a menu. There is a more ‘complex’ menu, but most just order from the “for 1, for 2, for 4” menu. We were two, so we ordered the mix kebabs for two and of course the saffron rice. It was out in no time – can’t fault the service and pace to be fair. Did the food live up to the hype? On this occasion, I have to say we were kind of left a little underwhelmed. I think we were expecting to be blown away, but it just did not do so. I want to be making excuses for them though as their cult following and history clearly speaks for itself and its quality. But I’ve just had better Iranian food in London if I’m being entirely honest. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad at all. And I’d certainly go again, but with the reputation that it has we were expecting to be swept away from our feet. We just weren’t. I’d like to think they are better than what we experienced (which was a good Iranian kebab experience). Or is this a place where you need to be famous to taste the real deal?
Getting There:
Google Location Link: click here
