Emirati flavours
Majboos is praised for being perfectly cooked and full of authentic flavour.
Al Fanar
Dubai Festival City
Al Fanar is a Middle Eastern restaurant in Dubai Festival City serving traditional Emirati cooking in a rustic interior inspired by 1960s Dubai. Reviews point to a culturally immersive meal, with standouts such as Majboos and baby shark with rice, plus traditional breakfast for earlier visits.
Reputation Score
4.6
★★★★★
8,647 ratings
Source: Google Maps
The Good Stuff
Heritage setting
The traditional interior gives diners a sense of old UAE life inside a modern Dubai setting.
Generous portions
Portions can be large enough to share with family or friends.
Helpful service
Reviews describe the team as warm and attentive, with staff helping guests feel comfortable throughout the meal.
Distinctive dishes
Baby shark with rice is an unusual menu choice that reviewers found surprisingly tasty.
Traditional breakfast
Breakfast is a well-liked reason to visit, alongside the restaurant’s Emirati dishes.
What to Eat at Al Fanar How we choose these items We use AI to find praise and criticism of specific foods and drinks in a selection of Google reviews. For Al Fanar, this list is based on 50 reviews, not every review of the restaurant. The score is positive reviews minus negative reviews. For example, two positive reviews and one negative review give +1. Each review counts once per item; neutral comments do not change the score. A zero score is not a positive recommendation. “Only neutral feedback” means there are no positive or negative votes. “Mixed feedback” means equal numbers of positive and negative votes. The quotes are examples of what people said, not every comment we counted. We use different reviews where we can. We normally show up to 10 foods and 5 drinks with non-negative scores. Items with the same score stay together. If a tied group would go past the limit, that group and the lower non-negative scores go into Honorable mentions. If an overflowing positive top tie would leave the list empty, we show up to 10 items from that tie and keep the rest in Honorable mentions. Foods and drinks with a negative score are under What to Avoid. Use this as a guide to what reviewers liked, not a guarantee that you will like it too.
Foods and drinks mentioned in reviews of Al Fanar, ranked by positive reviews minus negative reviews. Zero-score items have no net positive feedback; their labels distinguish neutral-only from mixed feedback.
Food 2
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Chicken machboos Net +2
“I had Chicken Machbous, legaimat, and lemonade with mint for my drink.”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I had Chicken Machbous, legaimat, and lemonade with mint for my drink.”February 2026
“Then we went for Chicken Machboos and Mutton Salona super rich, full of flavor, and seriously delicious.”March 2026
-
Fish kofta Net +2
“Ordered fish kofta (good), mix grill (meat was really chewy and some chicken was undercooked) and grilled sea beam (okay but some parts inside were not cooked at all and outside a bit burnt).”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Ordered fish kofta (good), mix grill (meat was really chewy and some chicken was undercooked) and grilled sea beam (okay but some parts inside were not cooked at all and outside a bit burnt).”October 2025
“Very good dining space love the food fish kofta is always my fave and the fish machboos fresh sea bass 👍🏻😊.”April 2026
Honorable mentions (18)
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Al fanar salad Net +1
“Al fanar salad - yummy”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Al fanar salad - yummy”April 2026
-
Baby shark Net +1
“For the food I first thought the dish was regular fish maybe with turmeric to make it yellow. I checked the menu again and realized it was baby shark. Well it tastes like fish 🙈😅 and you will keep wanting more. It is even better with the fish sauce on the side.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“For the food I first thought the dish was regular fish maybe with turmeric to make it yellow. I checked the menu again and realized it was baby shark. Well it tastes like fish 🙈😅 and you will keep wanting more. It is even better with the fish sauce on the side.”June 2026
-
Baby shark with rice Net +1
“Baby shark with rice - amazing. Exotic dish for me but yummy and barely smells.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Baby shark with rice - amazing. Exotic dish for me but yummy and barely smells.”April 2026
-
Biryani rice and chicken Net +1
“The biryani rice and chicken and grilled squids we had were amazingly tasty, full of flavour.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The biryani rice and chicken and grilled squids we had were amazingly tasty, full of flavour.”October 2025
-
Fish and rice Net +1
“Amazing food, loved the fish and rice, it was very different. Also enjoyed the lamb and rice so much flavor in everything meat cooked so good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Amazing food, loved the fish and rice, it was very different. Also enjoyed the lamb and rice so much flavor in everything meat cooked so good.”December 2025
-
Fish kafta Net +1
“I try the Emirati food, pleasant but not exceptional. The sombousa and the fish kafta were really good. I was a bit disappointed by the rice machboos with the lamb, the rice was not as perfume and tasty as expected”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I try the Emirati food, pleasant but not exceptional. The sombousa and the fish kafta were really good. I was a bit disappointed by the rice machboos with the lamb, the rice was not as perfume and tasty as expected”November 2025
-
Fish machboos Net +1
“Very good dining space love the food fish kofta is always my fave and the fish machboos fresh sea bass 👍🏻😊.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Very good dining space love the food fish kofta is always my fave and the fish machboos fresh sea bass 👍🏻😊.”April 2026
-
Grilled shrimp Net +1
“The appetizers were on point, grilled shrimp and the traditional fried fish cutlet were so damn tasty.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The appetizers were on point, grilled shrimp and the traditional fried fish cutlet were so damn tasty.”March 2026
-
Grilled squids Net +1
“The biryani rice and chicken and grilled squids we had were amazingly tasty, full of flavour.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The biryani rice and chicken and grilled squids we had were amazingly tasty, full of flavour.”October 2025
-
Lamb and rice Net +1
“Amazing food, loved the fish and rice, it was very different. Also enjoyed the lamb and rice so much flavor in everything meat cooked so good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Amazing food, loved the fish and rice, it was very different. Also enjoyed the lamb and rice so much flavor in everything meat cooked so good.”December 2025
-
Mutton machboos Net +1
“Mutton machboos - meat is soft and easily off the bones. Not smelly like other muttons.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Mutton machboos - meat is soft and easily off the bones. Not smelly like other muttons.”April 2026
-
Mutton salona Net +1
“Then we went for Chicken Machboos and Mutton Salona super rich, full of flavor, and seriously delicious.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Then we went for Chicken Machboos and Mutton Salona super rich, full of flavor, and seriously delicious.”March 2026
-
Mutton stew with rice Net +1
“The spicing was quite balanced. I went for mutton stew with rice and it was amazing.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The spicing was quite balanced. I went for mutton stew with rice and it was amazing.”July 2025
-
Pistachio donuts Net +1
“We had a mixed grill to share as well as the pistachio donuts. They were lovely. Our server Charles was very friendly!”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We had a mixed grill to share as well as the pistachio donuts. They were lovely. Our server Charles was very friendly!”July 2026
-
Sizzling date pudding Net +1
“nice food and service of Mani. we ate the mixed grill 2person set and it had a bit of everything. sizzling date pudding was yumm.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“nice food and service of Mani. we ate the mixed grill 2person set and it had a bit of everything. sizzling date pudding was yumm.”January 2026
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Sombousa Net +1
“I try the Emirati food, pleasant but not exceptional. The sombousa and the fish kafta were really good. I was a bit disappointed by the rice machboos with the lamb, the rice was not as perfume and tasty as expected”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I try the Emirati food, pleasant but not exceptional. The sombousa and the fish kafta were really good. I was a bit disappointed by the rice machboos with the lamb, the rice was not as perfume and tasty as expected”November 2025
-
Traditional fried fish cutlet Net +1
“The appetizers were on point, grilled shrimp and the traditional fried fish cutlet were so damn tasty.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The appetizers were on point, grilled shrimp and the traditional fried fish cutlet were so damn tasty.”March 2026
-
Mixed grill Net 0
Mixed feedback
“We had a mixed grill to share as well as the pistachio donuts. They were lovely. Our server Charles was very friendly!”
Positive 1Negative 1
Review excerpts
“We had a mixed grill to share as well as the pistachio donuts. They were lovely. Our server Charles was very friendly!”July 2026
Drinks 2
-
Arabic coffee with dates Net +1
“Absolutely magical place! ❤️I enjoyed an Arabic coffee with dates. A perfect decor and ambiance! The service as well! Congratulations and thanks! I was enchanted! ❤️❤️❤️❤️💯💯👏👍🌹”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Absolutely magical place! ❤️I enjoyed an Arabic coffee with dates. A perfect decor and ambiance! The service as well! Congratulations and thanks! I was enchanted! ❤️❤️❤️❤️💯💯👏👍🌹”November 2025
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Lemonade with mint Net +1
“I had Chicken Machbous, legaimat, and lemonade with mint for my drink. It was amazing that I drank lemonade with mint, and Legaimat was fun because it was like donuts sold in my country.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I had Chicken Machbous, legaimat, and lemonade with mint for my drink. It was amazing that I drank lemonade with mint, and Legaimat was fun because it was like donuts sold in my country.”February 2026
What to Avoid (2)
Food 2
-
Grilled sea beam Net −1
“Ordered fish kofta (good), mix grill (meat was really chewy and some chicken was undercooked) and grilled sea beam (okay but some parts inside were not cooked at all and outside a bit burnt).”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“Ordered fish kofta (good), mix grill (meat was really chewy and some chicken was undercooked) and grilled sea beam (okay but some parts inside were not cooked at all and outside a bit burnt).”October 2025
-
Rice machboos with the lamb Net −1
“I try the Emirati food, pleasant but not exceptional. The sombousa and the fish kafta were really good. I was a bit disappointed by the rice machboos with the lamb, the rice was not as perfume and tasty as expected”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I try the Emirati food, pleasant but not exceptional. The sombousa and the fish kafta were really good. I was a bit disappointed by the rice machboos with the lamb, the rice was not as perfume and tasty as expected”November 2025
Tips for a Better Visit
Share seafood. Ask about baby shark with rice for two; one reviewer preferred it to ordering fish, squid and prawns separately.
Use guidance. If Emirati food is unfamiliar, ask the team to explain the extensive menu before ordering.
Try outdoors. If available, an outdoor table can add views of the Dubai Festival Mall water and fire show.
Consider breakfast. For a morning visit, consider the traditional Arabic breakfast, which reviewers describe as a returning favourite.
Plan the visit
Practical details
Ground Floor, Dubai Festival City Mall, Near P.F.Chang's, Canal Walk
Al Kheeran - Dubai Festival City, Dubai
| Mon | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Tue | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Wed | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Thu | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Fri | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Sat | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Sun | 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
Common Concerns
Higher pricing
One reviewer felt the prices were high relative to the portion sizes.
Family noise
The dining room can become noisy when children are present, which may reduce the relaxed feel.
Uneven cooking
One visit reported undercooked chicken, while some grilled sea bream was undercooked inside and burnt outside.
DXB
LOCAL
LOCAL
The Bottom Line
Al Fanar is a traditional Emirati restaurant in Dubai Festival City, built around the feeling of old UAE life rather than a generic mall dining room. You can come for dishes such as Majboos, chicken or mutton machboos, fish kofta and baby shark with rice. Traditional Arabic breakfast is another well-reviewed option.
The setting is a major part of the visit: customers describe a warm, cultural atmosphere that feels nostalgic, with one outdoor table offering views of the Dubai Festival Mall water and fire show. The portions are often described as generous, and some dishes are suitable for sharing. If you are new to Emirati food, ask the team to explain the broad menu so you do not over-order.
There are a couple of practical cautions. One reviewer found the pricing high for the portion sizes, while another said children could make the room noisy. A separate visit reported undercooked chicken and unevenly cooked sea bream, so it is worth checking your grilled dishes when they arrive.
Overall, the reviews make Al Fanar a useful introduction to Emirati food, especially when the heritage-style setting matters as much as the meal.