The World’s 10 Best Arabic & Middle Eastern Restaurants
Arabic and Middle Eastern dining is a broad, living tradition shaped by the Levant, the Gulf, and neighboring food cultures. Across the region, tables are often built around mezze, flatbreads, grilled meats, legumes, herbs, tahini, olive oil, and bright seasonings such as lemon, garlic, and za'atar. That shared pantry can feel familiar from city to city, while still leaving plenty of room for local identity and family-style hospitality. In the Levant, the style most travelers recognize runs from hummus, falafel, and baba ghanoush to stuffed vegetables, kibbeh, manakish, and abundant salads. Those dishes show up in Lebanese, Jordanian, Palestinian, Syrian, and related kitchens, while restaurants in Gulf cities and diaspora neighborhoods often adapt the same core ideas with regional ingredients, modern plating, or contemporary tasting-menu formats. That range makes the category especially appealing for a guide: some destinations lean traditional and homey, others emphasize contemporary chef-driven interpretations, and many do both at once. A strong roundup can therefore move comfortably from mezze-heavy dining rooms to modern bistros without losing sight of the common thread: generous, shareable food rooted in Arab and Middle Eastern culinary memory.
Orfali Bros Bistro
Dubai, UAE
Orfali Bros Bistro is a popular Arabic restaurant located in Dubai, known for its delicious Middle Eastern cuisine and cozy ambiance. The restaurant offers a wide range of traditional Arabic dishes, including kebabs, mezze, grilled meats, and freshly baked bread. Whether you're craving hummus, falafel, shawarma, or a hearty lamb dish, Orfali Bros Bistro is sure to satisfy your taste buds with authentic flavors and high-quality ingredients. The restaurant's inviting atmosphere and attentive service make it a great spot for enjoying a meal with family and friends.
Em Sherif Restaurant
Lebanon
Em Sherif Restaurant serves Lebanese cuisine on Damascus Street in Beirut’s Monot district. Its approach centres on the country’s culinary traditions, presented through a generous set-menu format that encourages guests to experience a sequence of dishes together. The dining room gives the meal a formal, celebratory setting. The restaurant is part of Mireille Hayek’s wider Em Sherif group, whose separate café, seafood and deli concepts offer different interpretations of Lebanese food. The Beirut restaurant remains the dedicated traditional dining concept, with daily lunch service at its Monot address.
Asil at Rixos JBR
Dubai, UAE
Asil Dubai is a premier Turkish restaurant nestled within the Rixos Premium Dubai hotel, offering a contemporary dining experience infused with authentic Turkish flavors and hospitality. Known for its elegant ambiance and stunning waterfront location overlooking the Dubai skyline and the Arabian Gulf, Asil Dubai presents a sophisticated setting for guests to indulge in traditional Turkish cuisine. The menu showcases a diverse array of dishes, including savory mezze, succulent grills, fresh seafood, and delightful desserts, all crafted with the finest ingredients and inspired by the rich culinary heritage of Turkey. With live entertainment adding to the vibrant atmosphere, Asil Dubai provides an immersive culinary journey and exceptional service, making it a sought-after destination for both locals and visitors seeking an unforgettable Turkish dining experience in Dubai.
Albi
Washington, DC, USA
Albi is a restaurant in Washington, DC, USA.
Zahav
Pennsylvania
Zahav builds a Philadelphia dinner around shared hummus, laffa bread and salatim before moving into mezze and dishes from the grill. The opening spread includes beetroot with tehina, twice-cooked aubergine, Moroccan carrots and other changing vegetable preparations. The menu offers individual choices within a set sequence. Grilled branzino, chicken or mushroom shishlik sit alongside dishes for two, including pomegranate lamb shoulder with amba-braised greens and crisp Persian rice. Desserts such as malabi with rosewater and pistachio continue the menu's regional vocabulary. Wine pairings draw on Israel, Lebanon and other producing countries. Cocktails carry ingredients such as za'atar, schug and cardamom into the glass, while alcohol-free drinks include mint lemonade and grapefruit-za'atar soda.
Shams El Balad
Amman, Jordan
Shams El Balad is a restaurant in Amman, Jordan.
Fusions by Tala
Manama, Bahrain
Fusions by Tala is a restaurant in Manama, Bahrain.
Dar Hamad
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Dar Hamad is a restaurant in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Mayrig Yerevan
Armenia
Mayrig Yerevan brings Western Armenian and Mediterranean cooking to Amiryan Street. Opened in 2018, it extends a restaurant story that began in Beirut in 2003, when founder Alin Kamakyan set out to preserve recipes inherited from her grandmother, who had migrated from Musaler to Lebanon. The name means mother, reflecting the family transmission of recipes at the centre of the concept. Mediterranean ingredients and Silk Road spices shape the food, with contrasts in texture, colour and flavour part of its approach. The Yerevan restaurant connects that diaspora culinary heritage with a setting in Armenia itself.
Erth Restaurant
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Erth Restaurant is a restaurant in Abu Dhabi, UAE.