3 Best Restaurants in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

For a long alfresco lunch in Dubai's cooler months, this location is hard to beat. Tables sit on a large wooden deck over the Dubai creek, with views across to Festival City and the high-rise towers of Downtown Dubai. It's a popular stop-off for golfers between rounds, families on weekends, and friends gathering for sundowners on Thursday nights. The menu isn't too adventurous—a selection of pizzas, salads and grills—but you can enjoy a beer or glass of wine with whatever you choose. Service is relaxed, but it suits the mood as you settle into the creekside atmosphere.

For classy, casual, and long alfresco lunches, it doesn't get better than the front terrace here. Children can play in the wooden fort and playground next door, just far enough to be seen and not heard. With colonial fans swooping up the breeze, aqua water and white sand at your feet, barasti roofing filtering the Arabian sun, and waiters in white linen delivering chilled oysters and rose, you'll find it very, very hard to leave. The sun sets over the sea, and as darkness falls, fire lamps and candles come alive. Food is a mix of simple seafood and great grilled red meat, with the occasional Arab or Oriental twist, but without any fuss.