![\"Bigstock](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/bigstock-Food-Court-In-Dubai-Mall-118709777.jpg?mtime=20161031151542\")
<\/figure>\nWhile we\u2019ve seen Dubai spring up over the past few decades and have probably been paying more attention to the sparkly buildings, the Emirate has always had a strong connection to food. \u00a0Like much of the Middle East, there is a culture of hospitality and spending quality time with friends and family over dishes. Even strangers are welcomed into Arab homes, and regardless of income, guests are always treated to a full spread of treats and Arabic coffee and tea \u2013 obvs!<\/p>\n Food here, brings people together, and is deeply engrained in the way of life. For example, Ramadan, the holiest time of the year, is about self-discipline and abstaining from food and drink, yet Iftars are a big deal. Breaking the fast with dates and milk or water is tradition and family time is everything. The food scene in Dubai completely changes during this period, but restaurants welcome visitors after sundown with special deals and concepts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here Are Nine\u00a0Reasons Dubai Should be:<\/p>\n Well over two thirds of the world\u2019s population live within 8 hours flight from Dubai. Dubai\u2019s airport is one of the busiest in the world and thousands of travellers have stopovers every day \u2013 they need to eat! With so many visitors in and out, on a daily basis, Dubai had to up its food game to impress them, and give them an incentive to return! With huge events like Expo 2020, where 25m visitors are expected, the F&B industry is just gearing up to impress.<\/p>\n There are said to be 9,000 F&B outlets in Dubai, in\u00a02.643m, that equates to one restaurant for every 294 people.\u00a0There are new outlets that pop up every week!\u00a0The turnover is high so just like all the other food capitals, if you ate a different restaurant in Dubai every day, you\u2019d probably never run out of new ones (you\u2019d also have to join a gym or something\u2026)<\/p>\n With over 2.6m residents and over 200 nationalities in Dubai, there has to be variety. Despite its rep for glitz and glamour a majority of F&B outlets are casual dining, meaning everyone can eat out. There is every kind of cuisine possible and the price range is wide. Not to mention the settings. Whether you fancy street food or a cuppa in designer mugs, you\u2019ll be catered to.<\/p>\n The best celeb chefs have appeared at venues all over the emirate and some have even set up their own restaurants. Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Nathan Outlaw to name a few have recognised the need to build a brand in Dubai. If they think it, it must be true! The Taste of Dubai Fest earlier this year, saw a 7 Michelin star chef line-up highlighting the need to make an appearance here. While we don\u2019t yet have Michelin star venues, Dubai is making a splash on the regional food scene, we\u2019re excited about seeing the BBC Good Food Middle East Awards results in little over a week!<\/p>\n So we have the only 7* hotel in the world here. It\u2019s a symbol of the city and has it\u2019s fair share of stunning restaurants.\u00a0You can surround yourself with gold, and even drink it at the Burj Al Arab\u2019s stunning Gold on 27. Almost everything is made of gold and you\u2019ll be treated to unique bites to accompany the fanciest and cleverest cocktails. One of the most Dubai-ish things we\u2019ve ever heard but there\u2019s an example of how Dubai does things a little differently \u2013 there\u2019s this edge to even the food scene that other cities just can\u2019t match.<\/p>\n So from gold and glitz to food trucks\u2026 They pop up randomly all over the place and we\u2019re lucky to have a park dedicated to the upgraded meals on wheels in the form of Last Exit. As well as being somewhere exciting to visit, the food truck idea just adds another dimension to Dubai\u2019s food scene and we loved visiting them all the Dubai Food Festival. They also look super cool\u2026<\/p>\n While the biggest restaurants expand, it\u2019s now unthinkable to leave Dubai off the list of locations. Infamous brands like Hakkasan, Nobu and Burger and Lobster, to name a few, understand the importance and benefits of opening branches in Dubai. Then we have the chains. If you don\u2019t have an outlet here, then are you really even a contender?<\/p>\n Dubai isn\u2019t just about importing brands, it\u2019s also about creating strong brands, that really stand the test of time and the movement of people through our hub of a city. R\u00fcya Dubai born and raised is looking to expand to London. Reem al Bawadi is a household name and could spread to Europe. You\u2019ve got the smaller but just as loved restaurants like Bu Qtair and Ravi\u2019s, which are amazingly affordable and delicious!<\/p>\n Forget all that SS \/ AW stuff, food trends come and go faster than fashion, just minus the pressure to make sure you\u2019re keeping up. Then you have the areas to head to if you\u2019re fancying something specific. JLT is notorious for gorgeous cafs, Satwa for authentic and affordable Asian food, the Marina for shisha and Downtown for pretty much anything else. Also, where as some cities go through one food trend per season, there could be a few happening in Dubai at any one time, for example there is a born again Peruvian \/ Asian trend taking place right now at the same time as a revival and modern twist on Turkish cuisine.\u00a0<\/p>\n So there you have it. Food makes everything better and Dubai hasn\u2019t ignored this during its evolution. With so many people living and travelling through here, food is a way to share cultures and bond. It\u2019s all about diversity and Dubai does it so well, with something for everyone. Always.<\/p>\n <\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although there is no official ‘Food Capital ranking’, there is a general consensus surrounding the best cities for stuffing your face. Cities in America (The Big Apple \u2013 c\u2019mon it\u2019s nickname is even food related!) the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, to mention a few, are well-known food destinations and Dubai is fast becoming another … ","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"acf":{"legacy_meta_tags":"![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-15.29.54_161030_153509.png?mtime=20161030153509\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-15.27.14.png?mtime=20161030152748\")
<\/figure>\nWe take food very seriously and saying a city should be considered a food capital isn\u2019t taken lightly, so let\u2019s back it up\u2026<\/h3>\n
1.\u00a0Location<\/h3>\n
2.\u00a0By our calculations, there is a restaurant for every 294 people in Dubai.\u00a0<\/h3>\n
3.\u00a0Variety & accessibility – we are spoilt for choice<\/h3>\n
![\"Img](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/IMG_6800.JPG?mtime=20161030153633\")
<\/figure>\n4.\u00a0Big name chefs\u00a0<\/h3>\n
![\"Gr\"](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/gr.png?mtime=20161030150907\")
<\/figure>\n5.\u00a0Erm\u2026 can we address the 7* hotel?<\/h3>\n
![\"Gold\"](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/GOLD.png?mtime=20161030151027\")
<\/figure>\n6.\u00a0Spectrum<\/h3>\n
![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-15.28.22.png?mtime=20161030152851\")
<\/figure>\n7.\u00a0Imported talent<\/h3>\n
![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-15.30.32.png?mtime=20161030153120\")
<\/figure>\n8.\u00a0Home-grown talent<\/h3>\n
![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-15.26.00.png?mtime=20161030153430\")
<\/figure>\n9.\u00a0Food zones & trends<\/h3>\n
![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2016\/10\/_blogWide\/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-15.25.38.png?mtime=20161030153716\")
<\/figure>\nDrops Mic<\/h3>\n