Open 12 noon to 3.30pm, and from 7pm to 11.30pm, Major Credit Cards are accepted, Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs.50/-

Green neon lit eatery that specialises in food from a handful of southern Indian States Andhra Pradhesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as well as from Punjab in the north. Hindi pop music quietly circulates around the room from wall mounted speakers, and food is eaten on large leaves rather than plates.

Majority people go for Dhs.7 thalis,menu caries average Dhs.10 tag. Tandoori dishes, mutton dishes, punjabi items,vegetable pilao, Garlic nan breads can be included in your try.

Open daily 9am-2pm,4.30pm-11pm.Credit cards not accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs30.

Little more than a window onto a kitchen on the corner of the Choithram supermarket building on Rolla Road,Mithaas is one of Dubai's finest puri houses.Specialities include the orgasmic pani puri-bite-sized crisp bread filled with explosively spiced green lentils;sev puri,similar,with added tomato,and dhai patata puri with added potato,youghurt and,er,other outrageously delicious stuff,each at Dhs5 for six pieces.There are a million and one other delights,including incredible sweets such as gulab jamun (Dhs1.50 a piece)and rasagulla (Dhs1.50 a piece).If the single table inside is free,grab it and ask Ramesh to set you on a culinary journey.If not,just perch outside and watch the world go by

Open 12noon-2am Sat-Thur.1pm-2am Friday.Credit cards not accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs30.

On Taza's toilet walls there are framed sketches of chickens pottering around in their natural habitat.If we're not mistaken,in some of these drawings the birds are actually smiling.Also,in the centre of the restaurant,there's and image of a chicken spectacularly rendered in glass as though it were a peacock.If you're less than keen on DFC(Dubai Fried Chicken)across the road due to its cannibalistic vibe-the colonel in their logo has been replaced by a chicken licking its lips-then Taza's prettification of the chicken form won't make your eating mission any more comfortable.Despite such decor faux pas,the food's pretty good-the BBQ chicken is highly tasty,flattened symmetrically and zinging with a lemon tang.The chicken kofta comes on a bed of addictively peppery rice and the Arabic bread arrives hot and puffy straight from the oven.A swift and satisfying fast-food experience.

Open 7.30am-3.30pm,7.30pm-12.30am daily.All major Credit cards not accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs30.

Next door to Naif Road police station,Delhi Darbar is the classic Indian cheap eat.Without wanting to spark an international incident,it could even have the edge over Karachi Darbar,Karama.It's definitely slightly more upmarket,and boy,do the prices reflect this:delicious vegetable dishes such as palak paneer and malai kofta come in at a whacking Dhs7.50 and mutton kadai at Dhs9.50.Even with naan and rice,you're unlikely to hit the Dhs20 mark.The mutton dishes are little over-oily but the chicken tikka masala(Dhs13.50)rivals the Fairmont Hotel's version,which costs four times as much.The dahl is intriguing full of all sorts of beans and lentils,including a tiny black variety that pop in your mouth.

Open 4am-12midnight daily.Credit cards not accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs60.

High on the cheap eats hit-list,Karachi Darbar serves up big meals and even bigger bargains to its clientele of expat connoisseurs.While its house-of-neon approach to restaurant design is far from subtle,the food,a mix of Indian,pakistani and Chinese,is among the best in the area.Aside from green salad and raita (youghurt with green chilli,onion and tomato),starters are done away with to concentrate on the mains,which run from Dhs6 Pakistani mutton korma and Dhs8,veg-strewn Kashmiri pulao to hotter Dhs7 mutton biriyani,rich Dhs12 mughlai chicken and Dhs18 Singapore fried rice.Our favourites include Dhs12 chicken pepper fry,preferably followed by a diet-stalling Dhs4 'Cham Cham' sweet -two sugary sponge balls smothered in honey

Open 12noon-12midnight Sat-Thurs,1pm-12midnight Fridays.All major credit cards accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs80.

Like most fast food restaurants that deal principally in poultry, Nando's like to worship chickens before putting them on your plate and asking you to eat them. You'll sit behind mock-stained glass chickens, next to schoolchild drawings of the birds, while, bafflingly, a notice on the menu proclaims 'At Nando's we love vegetarians, all of our chickens are vegetarians'. Perhaps they're missing the point. After brilliantly fiery olives set your taste buds in motion, you should grab a chicken espetada -chunks of juicy, brown-edged, peri-peri chicken on  skewer hanging from something resembling a contraption at a Victorian dental surgery over a bed of roasted vegetables. It's delicious. We also like the chicken breast burger, which has a natural, rather that processed feel, and comes in a crispy, fresh bun. The fries too, are just about perfect. To the sound of trumpeted Iberian balladry, at a South African-owned, Mozambiquean/Portuguese fast food chain, you will become converts too, worshipping at the altar of the, feathered bird.

Barbecued meat is the house aroma at Awtar.The scent of smoking wood and flame-grilled lamb hits you the moment you enter and combines with the gentle 'tssss'of fat dripping onto hot coals to work your hunger to fever pitch in seconds.The decor is reminiscent of an ultra-lavish bedouin tent,heavy on the swathes of lush fabric and vibrantly-coloured glass lanterns.Opulence and Arabic style are the order of the day,spiralling out from the gold -rimmed glasses to the extravagantly decorated ceiling.Within seconds you'll be best with fresh almonds,mountains of salad and hot bread,which you should match them with a cunning selection of mezze.Crowd the table with impeccable plates of moutabel,deepfried  cheese,white bean salad and spicy sausages,and back them up with some amazingly moreish chicken livers in sassy lemon-infused sauce.Mains are a festival of meat-get properly stuck into shish taouk,tender pink lamb chops and robust kebabs.Simple,tasty dishes done as well as anywhere we have tried them in Dubai and backed up with elegant,interested service:excellent

Open  9.30am-12midnight Sat-Thurs,9.30am-11.30an,1.30pm-12midnight Fri.Credit cards not accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs50.

A glowing Christmas tree of a terrace gives way onto this snug little Filipino caff,constantly filled with the cheerful racket of happily-munching regulars.Order at will from the authentic menus-go adventurous with palabok,beef mami,pitchi-pitchi or arrozcaldo or stay safe with Dhs5 worth of vegetable springrolls,five snappy fingers with a pot of dunking sauce.For mains,you can either take on the daily specials or tuck into a couple of classics.One perennial favourite is the sotanghon guisado-a deep bowl of turmeric-tinged mini-noodles laced with shrimps and cabbge,and perked up with wedges of lemon.Punters also go mad for the Dhs18 beef on sizzlers,a spitting dishful of peppers,carrots and button mushrooms backed up with what feels like a whole side of beef.When it comes to drinks,there's no competition-we strongly advise you to grab a large glass of gulaman,a sweet rose-pink concoction filled with polystyrene balls of sago,a deeply intriguing textural experience.

Open 12noon-2am daily.Credit cards not accepted.Average price of meal for two with soft drinks Dhs30.

Halfway down Roll Road,opposite the grand Ibrahim Al Khalil mosque,Caspian Special has some of the best fish in town.For Dhs20 on the nose you get hammour and basmati rice cooked to perfection,free chicken and vegetable soup It's also worth considering the speciality Iranian Zereshk meat and chicken for Dhs 17 and the black pepper and mint buttermilk,another Iranian delight,Charming English-speaking staff make this a pleasant experience.

Open 12.30pm-11.30pm daily.All major credit cards accepted.Average price of meal for two people including soft drinks Dhs200-300.

Bastakiah Nights perches atop a traditional open-roofed building in the heart of old Dubai,and its diners are seated at low tables overlooking the atmospheric torch-lit courtyard below.A walk to the parapet,meanwhile,reveals the glinting vista of the pristine white of a mosque,which adds a poignant interruption to your meal with the call to prayer.Choose from the set menu,beginning with a cream of barley soup swirled with cream and mint,and complemented by warm slivers of  sesame seeded flatbread.A Herculean pile of starter dishes will follow,presented with near-geometric beauty:perfect hoops of smoky moutable,herb-flecked labneh and hummos sit by a rigid square of sharply-minted tabouleh and fat vine leaves that could have been positioned with a protractor.Mixed grill mains comprise chicken,barbecued with lemon and saffron,and delicious massati lamb loin.If you've got enough room for dessert,tuck into two mercifully small and expertly bruleed creme caramels presided over by a teetering tower of fresh fruit slices,Arabian sweets,and dates.Bastakiah Nights is a quite beautiful and unique eatery,whose only real fault is its superhuman expectations of how much the average human can consume.

Open 7pm-11.30pm Tues-Sun,closed Mon.All major credit cards accepted.Average price of meal for two with glass of house wine Dhs300-400.

The staff at Tagine operate at the lethargic pace set by the house band,snapping into motion rach time a stretch of gorgeous oud dawdling evolves into a vigorous jam session.Still,it's a pleasure to go to a hotel restaurant where the smiles aren't fake,so you can forgive them the occasional lapse in service. Your North African sojourn will begin with some deliciously ample olives which outperform their doughy accomplice,a portion of tough,chewy white bread,which requires improving by a dish of unrepentantly chilli-heavy harissa.The charmoula sauce accompanying the lamb's brain starter tastes similar to this curry paste,but is slightly milder,thinner ,and features added coriander and garlic.The pigeon pastilla,a filo pastry parcel of bird,almonds, eggs and lots of sugar,is rather small considering the price (Dhs60)and more eggy than it is pigeony.Main courses,however,are excellent.The magnificently syrupy sauce in the chicken tagine,tinged with rosewater and loaded with almonds and apricots,seeps its way into the seams of the dish's tender chicken chunks.The couscous royal is equally good,with spicy sausages,succulent pieces of chicken and lamb,and flavoursome stalks of boiled vegetables.Desserts are a little disappointing :the letchine is little more than an orange sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon,a Dhs30 dish which must take 15 seconds to peel and prepare.Skip the so-so starters and puddings and enjoy a simple dinner at Tagine-delicious main courses followed by a long tea-drinking session,with time to soak up the delightful atmosphere.