Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken is a standout for some diners, with one reviewer comparing it favourably to the version they had in India.
Helal al barsha restaurant dubai marina
Dubai Marina
Helal al barsha restaurant is a budget-focused Indian restaurant in Dubai Marina with a broad menu that also includes Pakistani and Arabic choices. Reviews point to Butter Chicken and the shawarma-and-juice combo as practical picks, though delivery and service can be much less reliable than dining in.
Reputation Score
2.6
★★★☆☆
353 ratings
Source: Google Maps
The Good Stuff
Low Prices
Several reviews describe it as one of the more affordable places around the Marina, including a reported dinner for two at 30 AED.
Wide Choice
The menu covers Indian, Pakistani and Arabic dishes, giving regular diners plenty of options beyond a single cuisine.
Snack Combo
The shawarma and juice combo is specifically recommended as an economical quick snack.
Outdoor Area
The outdoor seating area is a positive feature, although the same review found the restroom below standard.
Grilled Chicken
One long-standing review suggests sticking to grilled chicken, and another found chicken charcoal with parotta acceptable and fairly priced.
What to Eat at Helal al barsha restaurant dubai marina 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 Helal al barsha restaurant dubai marina, 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.
These items at Helal al barsha restaurant dubai marina got the most positive mentions in user reviews. Check them out!
Food 1
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Butter chicken Net +2
“The Butter Chicken was outstanding—honestly, it tasted just like the one I had in India. Rich, flavorful, mildly spicy, and very satisfying.”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The Butter Chicken was outstanding—honestly, it tasted just like the one I had in India. Rich, flavorful, mildly spicy, and very satisfying.”July 2026
“The outdoor area is great and the food prices are reasonable, but the restroom is not up to standard. I especially enjoyed the Butter Chicken it was my favorite dish”November 2025
Honorable mentions (11)
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Beef coconut Net +1
“The beef coconut 15D was great: very tender and very tasty meat.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The beef coconut 15D was great: very tender and very tasty meat.”January 2026
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Butter chicken masala Net +1
“Great restaurant with the most affordable prices in Marina👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Often having our dinners there, my favorites are Mutton biryani, Butter chicken masala and Mixed Grill!😋 Staff very helpful and kind, good location, a lot of indian, pakistani, arabic dishes.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Great restaurant with the most affordable prices in Marina👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Often having our dinners there, my favorites are Mutton biryani, Butter chicken masala and Mixed Grill!😋 Staff very helpful and kind, good location, a lot of indian, pakistani, arabic dishes.”March 2023
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Chicken charcoal Net +1
“Tried Chicken charcoal with parrota. not bad at all. pricing looks fine”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Tried Chicken charcoal with parrota. not bad at all. pricing looks fine”June 2024
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Chicken kurma Net +1
“The chicken kurma was fine and the plain sweet lassi so good I had two!”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The chicken kurma was fine and the plain sweet lassi so good I had two!”January 2026
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Grilled chicken Net +1
“I suggest only grilled chicken.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I suggest only grilled chicken.”November 2024
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Mixed grill Net +1
“Great restaurant with the most affordable prices in Marina👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Often having our dinners there, my favorites are Mutton biryani, Butter chicken masala and Mixed Grill!😋 Staff very helpful and kind, good location, a lot of indian, pakistani, arabic dishes.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Great restaurant with the most affordable prices in Marina👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Often having our dinners there, my favorites are Mutton biryani, Butter chicken masala and Mixed Grill!😋 Staff very helpful and kind, good location, a lot of indian, pakistani, arabic dishes.”March 2023
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Mutton biryani Net +1
“Great restaurant with the most affordable prices in Marina👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Often having our dinners there, my favorites are Mutton biryani, Butter chicken masala and Mixed Grill!😋 Staff very helpful and kind, good location, a lot of indian, pakistani, arabic dishes.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Great restaurant with the most affordable prices in Marina👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Often having our dinners there, my favorites are Mutton biryani, Butter chicken masala and Mixed Grill!😋 Staff very helpful and kind, good location, a lot of indian, pakistani, arabic dishes.”March 2023
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Mutton fry Net +1
“Normal food taste , mutton fry was good but beef chilli is a disaster they need to consider tender of beef and cornflour quantity”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Normal food taste , mutton fry was good but beef chilli is a disaster they need to consider tender of beef and cornflour quantity”February 2025
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Parrota Net +1
“Tried Chicken charcoal with parrota. not bad at all. pricing looks fine”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Tried Chicken charcoal with parrota. not bad at all. pricing looks fine”June 2024
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Schezwan noodles Net +1
“The schezwan noodles is really good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The schezwan noodles is really good.”September 2025
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Spanish burger Net +1
“My favorite is the Spanish burger.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“My favorite is the Spanish burger.”March 2026
Drinks 1
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Plain sweet lassi Net +1
“The chicken kurma was fine and the plain sweet lassi so good I had two!”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The chicken kurma was fine and the plain sweet lassi so good I had two!”January 2026
What to Avoid (16)
Food 15
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Bbq platter Net −1
“BBQ platter has smell coming from mutton/beef. The chicken part was ok”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“BBQ platter has smell coming from mutton/beef. The chicken part was ok”November 2024
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Beef chilli Net −1
“Normal food taste , mutton fry was good but beef chilli is a disaster they need to consider tender of beef and cornflour quantity”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“Normal food taste , mutton fry was good but beef chilli is a disaster they need to consider tender of beef and cornflour quantity”February 2025
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Beef fry Net −1
“I tried three twice and the food taste is really bad, I ordered biryani once and the mix normal rice with some gravy things, and once I tried beef fry .. the taste was like shit, and when I asked the staff, he was like - no one has complained yet, and I was shocked.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I tried three twice and the food taste is really bad, I ordered biryani once and the mix normal rice with some gravy things, and once I tried beef fry .. the taste was like shit, and when I asked the staff, he was like - no one has complained yet, and I was shocked.”February 2026
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Biryani Net −1
“I tried three twice and the food taste is really bad, I ordered biryani once and the mix normal rice with some gravy things, and once I tried beef fry .. the taste was like shit, and when I asked the staff, he was like - no one has complained yet, and I was shocked.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I tried three twice and the food taste is really bad, I ordered biryani once and the mix normal rice with some gravy things, and once I tried beef fry .. the taste was like shit, and when I asked the staff, he was like - no one has complained yet, and I was shocked.”February 2026
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Chapathi Net −1
“after that I order chapathi and mushroom garlic ,really again disappointment chapathi is not hot”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“after that I order chapathi and mushroom garlic ,really again disappointment chapathi is not hot”July 2025
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Chicken black pepper charcoal Net −1
“Last night I ordered chicken black pepper charcoal which was totally good. So I ordered again but unfortunately that was the worst decision of my life. They gave me the rotten chicken which smelled really bad and taste like feet.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“Last night I ordered chicken black pepper charcoal which was totally good. So I ordered again but unfortunately that was the worst decision of my life. They gave me the rotten chicken which smelled really bad and taste like feet.”April 2026
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Chicken curry Net −1
“I had chicken curry and porota and it was rated high. It didn't have much taste.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I had chicken curry and porota and it was rated high. It didn't have much taste.”July 2026
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Fish curry Net −1
“we order food also very bad..waste of money.expire fish use also curry.very bad smell.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“we order food also very bad..waste of money.expire fish use also curry.very bad smell.”September 2025
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Hot porota Net −1
“I asked for hot porota but they gave me dry, unheated porota.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I asked for hot porota but they gave me dry, unheated porota.”July 2026
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Manchow soup Net −1
“Plus we ordered manchow soup which just tasted like boiled veggies in hot water with 0 taste.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“Plus we ordered manchow soup which just tasted like boiled veggies in hot water with 0 taste.”February 2024
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Mushroom garlic Net −1
“after that I order chapathi and mushroom garlic ,really again disappointment chapathi is not hot and mushroom garlic is very bad taste they added more chilli sauce & ketchup taste is very bad”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“after that I order chapathi and mushroom garlic ,really again disappointment chapathi is not hot and mushroom garlic is very bad taste they added more chilli sauce & ketchup taste is very bad”July 2025
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Pakistani chicken karahi Net −1
“I ordered Pakistani Chicken Karahi and Tandoori Roti from this Restaurant. They delivered my food more Than One and a Half hour , when I was calling them to ask the delivery status..the Staff was very arrogant.. hanging call on me without responding properly..Then while Food Arrived and once we Opened...we found its South Indian style Chicken gravy with lots of Curry leaves and tomatoes .... pathetic taste with only 2 small pieces of bone Chicken...All Money wasted...I am not ever ordering food from this Restaurant”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I ordered Pakistani Chicken Karahi and Tandoori Roti from this Restaurant. They delivered my food more Than One and a Half hour , when I was calling them to ask the delivery status..the Staff was very arrogant.. hanging call on me without responding properly..Then while Food Arrived and once we Opened...we found its South Indian style Chicken gravy with lots of Curry leaves and tomatoes .... pathetic taste with only 2 small pieces of bone Chicken...All Money wasted...I am not ever ordering food from this Restaurant”August 2025
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Pakora Net −1
“Pakora is always cold.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“Pakora is always cold.”November 2024
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Porota Net −1
“I had chicken curry and porota and it was rated high. It didn't have much taste.I asked for hot porota but they gave me dry, unheated porota.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“I had chicken curry and porota and it was rated high. It didn't have much taste.I asked for hot porota but they gave me dry, unheated porota.”July 2026
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Vegetable briyani Net −1
“even we ordered vegetable briyani they gave us spoiled one and taste is very bad actually it's about spoil but your staff served us”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“even we ordered vegetable briyani they gave us spoiled one and taste is very bad actually it's about spoil but your staff served us”July 2025
Drinks 1
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Karak tea Net −1
“We ordered karak tea and breakfast, but the delivery took 2 hours. They also forgot to send the karak tea. After we complained, they sent it again, but it was in terrible condition. Also, the tea was completely cold and had spilled all over the bag.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“We ordered karak tea and breakfast, but the delivery took 2 hours. They also forgot to send the karak tea. After we complained, they sent it again, but it was in terrible condition. Also, the tea was completely cold and had spilled all over the bag.”May 2025
Tips for a Better Visit
Avoid Delivery. For time-sensitive meals, dine in or allow a large buffer; one Saturday lunch order reportedly took three hours.
Confirm Orders. Repeat the dish and check it with the server before waiting, as customers have received substitutes such as vegetable pakora for crispy vegetable.
Visit Off-Peak. Allow extra time during busy periods: one review says the queue to place an order can reach at least 10 minutes.
Plan Parking. Parking may be awkward around the branch; check building parking rather than stopping on the footpath.
Check Availability. Do not assume every menu listing is available, particularly Pakistani dishes, which one reviewer said were never available.
Plan the visit
Practical details
138 - 1 Al Sayorah St
Marsa Dubai - Dubai Marina, Dubai
| Mon | 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM |
| Tue | 6:00 AM – 2:30 AM |
| Wed | 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM |
| Thu | 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM |
| Fri | 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM |
| Sat | 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM |
| Sun | 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM |
Common Concerns
Late Delivery
Delivery delays are the clearest recurring problem, with reports ranging from over two hours to three hours.
Rude Service
Multiple diners describe rude or aggressive interactions with counter, cashier and delivery staff, including poor handling of complaints.
Wrong Orders
Customers report receiving different dishes from what they ordered, including vegetable pulao instead of chicken biryani.
Uneven Food
Food quality is inconsistent: reviews range from praised Butter Chicken to complaints about hard rice, spoiled dishes and poor taste.
Poor Hygiene
The hand-wash area has been described as crowded and unhygienic, while another diner reported flies inside.
Customer-reported prices
These are customer-reported mentions, not a current price list. Prices may have changed.
30 AED
dinner for 2
“You can have a nice dinner for 2 only for 30 AED🤩👌🏻 Definitely recommended!💯 But delivery needs improvement)”Google review · March 2023
DXB
LOCAL
LOCAL
The Bottom Line
Helal al barsha restaurant is a low-cost Indian restaurant in Dubai Marina with a notably broad menu. You can come for Butter Chicken, Mixed Grill, chicken charcoal, shawarma, or Pakistani-style dishes, although availability and execution vary. The shawarma-and-juice combo is mentioned as a handy quick snack, while Butter Chicken receives one particularly strong comparison to a meal in India.
Value is the main draw. Reviews describe it as among the more affordable Marina options, with one diner reporting dinner for two at 30 AED. The outdoor area is also a plus, and some customers have found the staff welcoming and the food quick when dining in.
That experience is far from consistent, however: other diners waited 30 minutes just to be noticed, found the restaurant cramped or in need of refurbishment, or had concerns about the washroom and hand-wash area. Delivery is the biggest practical risk. Reports include waits of 45 minutes, two hours and even three hours, alongside missing, substituted or incorrect dishes.
If you visit, ordering in person and checking the dish before waiting is safer. Parking can also be awkward, so use building parking rather than stopping on the footpath.