Special Ostadi

Long-established Iranian Bur Dubai 4 Reviews

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It would be difficult to hold on to a bad mood at Special Ostadi, unless, of course, you were really invested in doing so. Even then, it would be difficult not to smile at the manager’s efforts to track down your homeland’s currency (the venue has pasted bills from almost every nationality on the tabletops and walls). And if your heart wasn’t warmed by the pride the owners take in their establishment (on a recent visit they were eager to point out the various awards and write-ups they had received), then it might just be that you didn’t have a heart at all.

The restaurant – an Iranian dig that has been run by the same family since 1978 – offers meat, meat, and more meat. Carnivores are in luck, as the grill options we sampled were inevitably juicy nuggets, often infused with saffron, or marinated in yoghurt. We did find the menu a bit dizzying, which is why my dining companion and I settled on grilled meat, mix three, as it offered the largest sampling. I favoured the barbecued mutton, which my date eschewed due to a fear of the meat’s purported chewiness. She need not have worried: the morsels were oozing juice, and met my teeth with the utmost of ease. The accompanying shish kebab came out moist and imbued with thyme, garlic and a host of other ingredients, which helped the seemingly simple slab of meat achieve something transcendent.

In spite of its meaty focus, Special Ostadi is not a total exercise in animal flesh, as each platter comes with warm Arabic bread, a yoghurt mixture with tarragon, mint and cucumber, and a tray of assorted vegetables, all of which are sure to lend your meal a certain balance). As I visited the restaurant with a slightly weakened immune system, I opted to start the meal with a bowl of lentil soup, which had a nice garlic undertone and a throat-coating texture that worked well as a surrogate nurse.

The meal came to a mere Dhs58, and though no items on the menu ventured as high as Dhs30, the management still plied me and my companion with many complimentary goodies, including dates and mint tea. In every way imaginable the restaurant offered good value, but it especially excelled in providing a small slice of history in a city where it is often lacking.

The bill (for two)
1x Lentil soup Dhs12
1x Mix grill three Dhs24
1x Joujeh kabab Dhs22
Total (including service) Dhs58

• Previous reviews
  • 30 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 05 July,2006- reviewed by Time Out Dubai

Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.