Special Ostadi in Bur Dubai, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Special Ostadi

South East Asian Ibn Battuta 4 Reviews

Picture 1 of 2

From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2008

This restaurant is unique in Dubai. Not only has it been open for more than 30 years, but in all that time it has been in the hands of the same family.

The food, honed through decades of experience, is typically Iranian – kebab, kebab and more kebab – but is wonderfully delicious. And while you eat you can peruse the paraphernalia that covers the walls.

First to arrive at the table is a large dish of sabzi consisting of fresh tarragon, mint and other herbs, accompanied by cucumber and yoghurt and fresh, warm flatbread. If you feel you need a few more vegetables before tucking into the meaty mains, try the lentil soup, which is thick with chunks of vegetables and meat.

Thirty years of charcoal-grilling expertise goes into the preparation of the kebabs, which are excellent. Dishes such as chicken marinated in saffron, and thyme-scented mutton and goat, consist of meltingly tender and charred meat wrapped in warm bread from the bakery across the road.

Slather on the yoghurt, cucumber and herbs, wrap and eat – this is pure, unadulterated kebab at its finest.

By Jeremy Lawrence