For casual meals in Dubai, you can often walk in to family restaurants, especially on weekdays. However, it is still worth booking ahead for popular restaurants, hotel buffets, weekend brunches, or venues with play areas. This helps avoid long waits, especially if you are dining with young children.
The Best Casual Dining Spots in Dubai for Families
Experience casual family restaurants in Dubai for buffet breakfasts, sharing plates, kids’ favourites, play areas, and relaxed meals with children.
Plan your trip to Dubai
Looking for affordable, casual dining in Dubai that works for the whole family? This is your guide to easy meals in relaxed settings, from buffet breakfasts and sharing plates to children’s play areas and familiar dishes for kids.
Discover our top picks of the best casual restaurants in Dubai for relaxed family dining without the fuss of a formal meal.
HangOut Cafe
Address: Novotel Bur Dubai, Dubai Healthcare City, Umm Hurair 2.
HangOut Café at Novotel Bur Dubai is a great spot to enjoy delicious dishes in a bright and airy indoor space, or outside on the shady terrace. Kids can watch the skilled chefs prepare food in an open show kitchen.
Breakfast options range from Belgian waffles and a continental spread to traditional Arabic and Indian breakfasts. The Indian breakfast includes idli, a savoury rice cake, sambar (lentil stew) with a tomato coconut chutney, and eggs your way. Pair it with freshly squeezed juice, coffee, or karak chai.
There's also a dedicated kids' menu with mac and cheese, fish and chips, pizza bites, and fruit salad for easy meal options.
Tala Restaurant
Address: Novotel Deira Creekside, Port Saeed 28 Street, Deira.
If you are looking for a varied dining experience, enjoy a meal at Tala Restaurant which is located at Novotel Deira Creekside Dubai. The menu favours locally grown produce and features keto bowls, fresh salads, sandwiches and wraps.
Notable main courses include Asian glazed sea bass, grilled jumbo prawns, Thai green chicken curry, Indonesian nasi goreng, and an Arabic mixed grill. Pasta dishes include arrabbiata, pesto bolognese, and Napolitano and kids can enjoy chicken nuggets, mini burgers, or pizzas from the kids’ corner.
Dampa Seafood Grill
Address: Centurion Star Tower, Street 9C, Baniyas Road, Port Saeed, Deira.
Dampa Seafood Grill is a Filipino gem. Everything is served kamayan-style, which means the food is piled onto banana leaves and eaten with your hands. The signature "Dump-a-Seafeast" platter is loaded with crab, mussels, clams, and shrimp in a Cajun sauce, and the whole table digs in together.
For young or fussy eaters, the crispy giant squid and cheesy lobster thermidor are safer options. Ask for disposable gloves if the little ones aren't ready to go full hands-in.
Mama'esh
Address: Multiple locations including Business Bay, Al Manara, DIFC, Dubai Investment Park, and The Meadows.
Mama'esh is an easy choice with many branches across Dubai for a relaxed family meal. Most locations offer indoor and outdoor seating, and the casual setting makes it simple to stop in with children.
Order a few wood-fired manakish and fatayer for everyone to share at the table. Young ones may prefer the cheese fatayer, scrambled egg panini, or Nutella cookies, while adults can try the musakhan chicken roll and chilli minced meat fatayer for extra flavour. Za'atar flatbreads start from AED 9 for a filling option without overspending.
Arabian Tea House
Address: Al Fahidi Street, Bastakiya, Bur Dubai (opposite Musalla Post Office).
Arabian Tea House, set in a heritage courtyard in the Al Fahidi historic district, has been serving authentic Emirati cuisine since 1997. Children have their own menu, including breakfast trays with scrambled eggs, balaleet, yogurt and fresh juice, and lunch trays with chicken biryani, or meat kofta.
You can also try harees, machboos, the famous camel burger, or a simple plate of falafel and hummus followed by luqaimat for something sweet. Book ahead, especially for breakfast, as it fills up quickly.
Reform Social & Grill
Address: The Lakes, Emirates Living District, Dubai.
Reform Social & Grill was named the most family-friendly restaurant in Dubai in 2025. The outdoor play zone has slides, climbing frames, and green lawns, so children can burn off energy while you finish eating. On Saturdays, the Family Fete Brunch runs every Saturday afternoon with arts and crafts, a magician, face painting, and a bouncy castle, and kids under six eat free.
The menu is classic British gastropub: fish and chips, Sunday roasts, a Full English breakfast, and pizzas hot out of the oven. Kids can also grab ice cream from the on-site parlour.
Zaroob
Address: Shop 1, Ground Floor, Jumeirah Tower Building, SZR.
Zaroob is a Levantine street food restaurant that is open around the clock at its Sheikh Zayed Road and Motor City branches. If your family lands on a late flight and everyone is hungry at midnight, the full menu is running 24/7. Order a few mini manakish, a mixed shawarma platter, and a round of fresh juice to keep everyone happy.
The mini bites menu is built for smaller appetites: mini pizzas, mini hot dog bites, and mini lahm baajine come in packs of three. For the table, falafel, hummus and a fresh vegetables platter make easy starters, and Nutella saj or kunafa sorts out dessert.
Kailash Parbat
Address: Al Seef Street, Al Seef, Umm Hurair, Bur Dubai.
Kailash Parbat at Al Seef is located right along the Creek and near an outdoor kids' play area suited for families with young children. Kids can play while you order from a fully vegetarian menu spanning Indian chaats, South Indian dosas, North Indian curries, and Indo-Chinese stir-fries. If anyone in the family is vegetarian, the entire menu has you covered.
Try pani puri or a KP Chaat Platter for the table, then move on to paneer tikka, chole bhatura, or a crispy masala dosa. On weekends, the all-you-can-eat breakfast is excellent value, covering dosas, parathas, poha, fruit, and chai.
Time Out Market
Address: Level 3, Souk Al Bahar, Downtown Dubai.
Time Out Market at Souk Al Bahar has seventeen kitchens under one roof. Each family member can easily pick their own stall, and everyone meets back at a communal table. Children can grab pizza from Pitfire or ice cream from Scoopi while you try Thai street food from Café Isan or Levantine home cooking from Three by Eva.
Enjoy the market on a weekday lunch when it’s less crowded. The outdoor terrace has views of Burj Khalifa fountain show, but weekend evenings can get loud and busy, which suits older children but can overwhelm younger ones. The market is card-only, so no need for cash.
Tips for casual family dining in Dubai
- Eat earlier in the evening: To get the most out of casual dining in Dubai try and avoid the weekend rush. Most spots tend to be less crowded from Monday to Wednesday. By choosing to eat dinner earlier between 6pm and 8pm, you can also avoid the long queues.
- Order dishes to share: Arabic, Lebanese, and Indian restaurants often work well for families because breads, dips, grills, curries, and rice dishes are easy to order for the table.
- Look for family offers: Some restaurants run “kids eat free” deals during school holidays or summer promotions. Check the restaurant’s website or social pages before you go.
- Make lunch your main meal: Many casual restaurants offer lunch specials, which can help you try a popular spot without spending as much as you would at dinner.
- Keep dining apps and rewards handy: Apps like the Entertainer can help with restaurant deals, while Talabat and Deliveroo are useful for nights when everyone is too tired to go back out. ALL Accor Loyalty Programme members can also earn or redeem Reward points at participating Accor hotel restaurants and bars.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Dubai is very easy for vegetarian dining, especially at Indian, Middle Eastern, and international casual restaurants. You’ll usually find options such as hummus, falafel, grilled halloumi, vegetable curries, paneer dishes, breads, salads, and rice dishes that work well for family sharing.
Casual dining in Dubai can suit a range of budgets. Hotel restaurants and entertainment venues may cost more, while neighbourhood cafés, Indian restaurants, Middle Eastern bakeries, and food halls can be more affordable. Sharing dishes and choosing lunch over dinner can also help manage the bill.
Many family-friendly restaurants, hotel cafés, and mall dining venues in Dubai can accommodate prams and may offer highchairs. Smaller neighbourhood restaurants may have less space, so it is worth calling ahead if you need easy pram access, highchairs, or room for a larger family group.
Street food in Dubai is generally safe and well-regulated. The Dubai Municipality enforces strict food hygiene standards across all food outlets, including street vendors and cafeterias. Stick to busy spots with high turnover for the freshest food, and carry bottled water for younger children.
