Al Ustad Special Kabab

Décor of world clocks, banknotes and photos of famous diners

A glowing blue sign marks the door. Inside, the canteen-style room has barely changed in decades: clocks show the time in cities around the world, glass-topped tables display banknotes from many countries, and the walls are covered with photographs of famous diners alongside the late founder, collected over four decades.

Dishes to order, from kebab khas to joojeh kebab

Every meal starts with free fresh herbs, vegetables and mint yoghurt. The menu is Iranian grills: skewers of minced and whole lamb and chicken, served with saffron rice, flatbread and grilled tomatoes. The house signature is kebab khas, yoghurt-marinated barbecued chicken. Saffron chicken joojeh kebab and khorak Bahraini, a lemony house dish, are the other names regulars give.

Quietest times to go and takeaway

Weekend evenings bring families, so off-peak hours are quieter. Takeaway is available. After eating, Al Fahidi and the creekside abra stations are a short walk away.

Founder Mohammad Ali Ansari and the family who run it

Mohammad Ali Ansari came to Dubai from Iran in 1941 at the age of nine and opened the restaurant in 1978. His wife cooked the first dishes at home, among them mutton yoghurt, kebabs and fried fish, and the business began with three workers; it now employs 36. Ansari refused to open a second branch, which he thought greedy, and that principle is printed on the doors. He died in 2015 at 83, and his sons Majeed and Abbas carry on. One member of the 1978 staff still drops in for a few hours a day, and the photos on the walls include the founder with his sons and with famous guests.

Sources: Gulf News: Dubai's oldest Iranian restaurant at 47. Facts checked November 2026.