The Bhukkad Cafe - Karama (Now at Al Seef)

Name: The Bhukkad Cafe - Karama (Now at Al Seef)
Address: Shamma Building - Shop No. 6 - opposite Aster Clinic, Al Karama, Dubai, AE
Telephone: +97145534711

Al Karama

Modern Indian restaurant 04 553 4711

The Bhukkad Cafe is a modern Indian restaurant serving desi street food and quick bites, now relocated from Al Karama to Al Seef. It is worth considering for its colourful, retro Bollywood-style interiors and dishes such as cutting chai and pani puri, though food quality and pricing have varied across reviews.

Reputation Score

3.9

★★★★☆

2,429 ratings

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The Good Stuff

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Quirky interiors

Colourful retro-Bollywood décor, wall quotes and creative seating make the café especially photo-friendly.

Waterfront setting

The Al Seef location adds outdoor seating and a riverside backdrop, particularly appealing after an evening walk.

Let's go!

What to Eat at The Bhukkad Cafe - Karama (Now at Al Seef)

Foods and drinks mentioned in reviews of The Bhukkad Cafe - Karama (Now at Al Seef), ranked by positive reviews minus negative reviews. Zero-score items have no net positive feedback; their labels distinguish neutral-only from mixed feedback.

Food 10

Bombay franky Net +1

“Taste of the food, simply amazing, especially grilled sandwich and Bombay franky.”
Brownie freak shake Net +1

“1)Brownie freak shake (recommended) : juding by the size , I have had freak shakes bigger than they offered but i guess it should be enough for 2 people, brownie and cream were just flawless here and milkshake was soothing too , definitely one of their best freak shakes.”
Chaumean & chilli chicken Net +1

“7. Chaumean & Chilli Chicken- served in a cocktail glass. It was also awesome.”
Cheeseburst vada pav Net +1

“1) cheeseburst Vada pav (recommended): 2 vada pavs with grated cheese was just flawless , the stuffing of the vada pavs were perfect and hence it tasted great.”
Chicken chilly with pav Net +1

“Great food. Different kind of fusions. Pizza puri one of them. Chicken chilly with pav. Awesome atmosphere.”
Chile chawal Net +1

“Order gravy momos, Chile chawal, tikki and chai. The food was good.”
Chole bature Net +1

“4)Chole bature : nothing creative here , just the classic chole batura with dark brown chole and soft baturas.”
Frankie with chicken Net +1

“Me and my wife had Pav Bhaji, Mithi Bhai’s Mumbai sandwich and Frankie with chicken. Oh and the Rasmalai Shake! Loved it! All of them tasted great!”
Gol gappe Net +1

“We savored the Masala maggie, veg sandwich, gol gappe, and the aromatic masala karak tea - each bite a journey through the vibrant streets.”
Gravy momos Net +1

“Order gravy momos, Chile chawal, tikki and chai. The food was good.”

Honorable mentions (19)

Grilled sandwich Net +1

“Taste of the food, simply amazing, especially grilled sandwich and Bombay franky.”
Keema & akuri pav Net +1

“Quite a variety on the menu to enjoy your favourite Street food & more & We ordered the Keema & Akuri Pav that is served in the nostalgic Indian Tiffin Box. . Portions easily sharable & was totally enjoyable.”
Masala maggie Net +1

“We savored the Masala maggie, veg sandwich, gol gappe, and the aromatic masala karak tea - each bite a journey through the vibrant streets.”
Mini vada pavs Net +1

“4. Mini Vada Pavs - My personal favorite”
Paan vanilla ice cream Net +1

“15. Paan Vanilla Ice Cream- this can also be a highligh. It was so full of paan flavour.”
Paani puri Net +1

“Best was paani puri and Mehbooba drink a must try drink but some flavors not available so we got coffee flavors it was good too!!”
Pakoras Net +1

“Also tried their Pakoras which were super super YUM, Hot & Crispy & was a treat along with their Tea.”
Pizza bites Net +1

“But this time Farzana completely gave us a different experience. She was not only courteous but also suggested options like pizza bites and cola float which were really yum!”
Pizza on puri Net +1

“3)pizza on Puri (recommended) : presentation was great with around six pieces of overload cheese and vegetables on a Sev Puri based Puri's' , honestly a very creative idea as it tasted good.”
Pizza puri Net +1

“Great food. Different kind of fusions. Pizza puri one of them. Chicken chilly with pav. Awesome atmosphere.”
Pull out pav Net +1

“6. Pull Out Pav- this was also very nice. This was like a pizza in bun.”
Schezwan vadapav Net +1

“I will highly suggest one should try schezwan vadapav. Great service guys...”
Vadapav Net +1

“I am not a person who will try typical dish like vadapav in different style as I always get bad experience, but here they made my day.”
Veg sandwich Net +1

“We savored the Masala maggie, veg sandwich, gol gappe, and the aromatic masala karak tea - each bite a journey through the vibrant streets.”
Wadapav Net +1

“Cutting chai with wadapav was great.”
Watermelon kala-katta Net +1

“1) watermelon kala-katta (recommended): served in a bong , just made a whole new experience for me . The drink is literally what name states , truly amazing combination of watermelon juice and kala khatta.”
Kheema pav Net 0

Mixed feedback

“10. Keema Pav- the tradional indian late night food. Wqs very tasty.”
Chole battura Net 0

Only neutral feedback

“We had chole battura, which were average. Battaure were thick. Chole was good.”
Indian ocean Net 0

Only neutral feedback

“2) Indian ocean : this drink was also served in a bong , it felt like a mojito but a sour tasting drink.”

Drinks 1

Cutting chai Net +2

“Concluding the evening with a refreshing cutting chai served in kullhad.”

Honorable mentions (8)

Bun maska and chai Net +1

“While the food was okay, not particularly great, the presentation was awesome. My favorite dish out of everything we ordered was the "bun maska and chai."”
Cola float Net +1

“But this time Farzana completely gave us a different experience. She was not only courteous but also suggested options like pizza bites and cola float which were really yum!”
Ginger tea Net +1

“The tea was fantastic. We had a karak، a ginger tea and a saffron tea.”
Karak Net +1

“The tea was fantastic. We had a karak، a ginger tea and a saffron tea.”
Masala karak tea Net +1

“We savored the Masala maggie, veg sandwich, gol gappe, and the aromatic masala karak tea - each bite a journey through the vibrant streets.”
Mehbooba drink Net +1

“Best was paani puri and Mehbooba drink a must try drink but some flavors not available so we got coffee flavors it was good too!!”
Rasmalai shake Net +1

“Me and my wife had Pav Bhaji, Mithi Bhai’s Mumbai sandwich and Frankie with chicken. Oh and the Rasmalai Shake! Loved it! All of them tasted great!”
Saffron tea Net +1

“The tea was fantastic. We had a karak، a ginger tea and a saffron tea.”

What to Avoid (21)

Food 18

Aloo tikki burger Net −1

“2)Aloo tikki burger : Aloo tikki burger wasnt that great as it comes with burger and fries with a poor value for money.”
Anda gotala Net −1

“Anda gotala totally tasteless, bhel was not fresh at all. Qeema pao very flat taste.”
Bhel Net −1

“Anda gotala totally tasteless, bhel was not fresh at all. Qeema pao very flat taste.”
Biryani Net −1

“But food wasn’t tasty at all and was full of oil especially the biryani wasn’t good full of oil and chicken the rice was less.”
Butter chicken Net −1

“To my experience this was the Worst Butter Chicken I ever ate.”
Chat platter Net −1

“Extremely disappointed with their chat platter. Visited after watching their promotional reels. Chaat was way too bland. No flavours whatsoever.”
Chicken maggi Net −1

“• The chicken maggi was just about eatable but definitely not like the one we enjoyed at Silicon Central.”
Chile bhature Net −1

“This time we were highly disappointed with the food , ordered chilly chicken, Chowmein, Chile bhature. The bhatures were flat and not fluffy the way you want the puris to be, the chicken was just sautéed with lots of sauces and was more ketchupy, chowmein was just about ok .”
Chilly chicken Net −1

“This time we were highly disappointed with the food , ordered chilly chicken, Chowmein, Chile bhature. The bhatures were flat and not fluffy the way you want the puris to be, the chicken was just sautéed with lots of sauces and was more ketchupy, chowmein was just about ok .”
Chowmein Net −1

“This time we were highly disappointed with the food , ordered chilly chicken, Chowmein, Chile bhature. The bhatures were flat and not fluffy the way you want the puris to be, the chicken was just sautéed with lots of sauces and was more ketchupy, chowmein was just about ok .”
Dahi poori Net −1

“We ordered pani poori, dahi poori, chicken maggi, and cutting chai, and unfortunately, none of it met even basic expectations.”
Dupki poori Net −1

“Since when does dupki poori have flattened cold bhature that are dripping and soaked in oil.”
Kolkata style chilli chicken with paw Net −1

“I felt that kolkata Bengali vibes specially the colourful hand painted kettles serving fresh milk tea in mud cups.we ordered different foods including kolkata style chilli chicken with paw.”
Lonavla maggi Net −1

“Wanted to relish a lonavla Maggi but ate one with more cabbage than noodles.”
Maska bun Net −1

“Invited some friends due to so much hype and paid 300 Aed bill for tea, water, maska bun which was dry without butter.”
Pani poori Net −1

“We ordered pani poori, dahi poori, chicken maggi, and cutting chai, and unfortunately, none of it met even basic expectations.”
Pav french toast Net −1

“We ordered their so called pav french toast for my kid. You can check out the picture and guess what kinda review they deserve. French toast the recipe is so simple that my 5 year boy knows it- egg, milk, sugar and some essence dipped in your pav or bread and toast it with butter or oil (now you have the recipe for free 😉) Haha they just serve us sukkah pav with Nutella chocolate and they call it the most softer and gooey french toast 🤣.”
Special gulab jamun paratha Net −1

“And the Worst of all is the " Special Gulab Jamun Paratha" . Total Disaster and absoluteShit. Thuuu.🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤢🤢🤢🤢”

Drinks 3

Aam panna drink Net −1

“Only things that were not on point were aam panna drink it was like just flavoured drink.”
Chai Net −1

“For the simplest chai and parle g biscuit they charge bomb around 15 to 20 k .”
Fresh milk tea Net −1

“I felt that kolkata Bengali vibes specially the colourful hand painted kettles serving fresh milk tea in mud cups.we ordered different foods including kolkata style chilli chicken with paw.”

Tips for a Better Visit

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Ask for spice. If you do not enjoy heat, tell the server when ordering; one review found the food noticeably spicy.

Try the chai. Cutting chai is one of the clearest repeat recommendations, with a reviewer describing it as unusually strong and good.

Plan the visit

Practical details

Shamma Building - Shop No. 6 - opposite Aster Clinic

Al Karama - Sheikh Hamdan Colony, Dubai

04 553 4711

Get directions

Common Concerns

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Inconsistent food

Food quality varies sharply by visit: reviewers reported bland or stale chaat, cold dishes, oily items and uneven preparation.

High pricing

Multiple reviews felt the portions and quality did not justify the prices compared with nearby chaat places.

Customer-reported prices

These are customer-reported mentions, not a current price list. Prices may have changed.

36 aed

pav french toast

“The price for this 2 dry pieces pav and some Nutella is 36 aed 🙄🙄🙄 - I mean like you must be really joking”

Google review · February 2024

DXB
LOCAL

The Bottom Line

The Bhukkad Cafe is a modern Indian street-food restaurant that has moved from Al Karama to Al Seef. The draw is the combination of playful desi dishes and a highly decorated setting: reviews mention cutting chai, pani puri, pav bhaji, Keema Pav and Maggi, while the interiors bring in retro Bollywood touches, colourful wall art and creative seating. The new location adds a waterfront atmosphere and outdoor seating.

There is plenty to explore, but the experience is not completely consistent. Some diners enjoyed the food, presentation and friendly service, while others received bland chaat, cold dishes, oily food or poorly executed items. Cutting chai is one of the safest bets from the reviews, and pani puri has also been singled out positively, but individual dishes clearly vary by visit.

Pricing is a recurring concern. One group paid AED 110 for pani poori, dahi poori, chicken Maggi and cutting chai, while another paid 36 aed for two dry pieces of pav with Nutella marketed as pav French toast. Check the menu before ordering, ask for lower spice if needed, and avoid peak times if you want faster service.

Earlier Al Karama reviews also mention difficult parking and hygiene concerns, so expectations should focus on the atmosphere as much as the food.