The city of Dubai has become one of the world’s vacation hotspots. Beautiful beaches, moderate climate, great venues for entertainment and sporting events as well as excellent restaurants, shopping, and hotels all contribute to the area’s glowing reputation. With the large number of tourists, its no surpise that an influx of American fast food chains have flocked to the city. Luckily, there is so much more to food in Dubai than McDonalds and Starbucks.

Dubai doesn’t really have its own local cuisine. Instead, visitors will be delighted to find a wide variety of world cuisines offered in the various restaurants of Dubai. The city itself is something of a cultural melting pot, so it’s not surprising to find cuisines from Asia, Africa, and Europe served alongside Arabic dishes.

Since Dubai is located on the Persian Gulf, many of the restaurants here specialize in fresh seafood. Simply prepared fish or elaborate recipes involving shellfish and exotic seafoods can be found throughout the city.

Middle Eastern food is popular in Dubai. Restaurants specializing in Lebanese, Syrian, Morrocan, and Iranian or Persian food are easy to find. Diners can also choose from Indian, Chinese, French, Italian, Pakistani, Japanese, and Thai cuisines. The restaurants themselves range from small diners offering shawarma ( thin strips of meat served in a pita with dressing and vegetables) to gourmet restaurants by some of the best chefs in the world. The latter are being attracted to Dubai’s rising reputation as a food city.

As a Muslim country, the sale and consumption of both pork and alcohol are strictly regulated. Only non-Muslims may purchase these items and only in specially-designated areas.