Best Bets of Dubai

BEST BETS OF DUBAI 
Dubai is a city brimming with a variety of dining and entertainment options. For those looking to close out their stay in the Emirate in style, Michele MacDonald has surveyed both locals and visitors alike for their favorite hits. 

JOHN NICHOLLS, Dubai World Cup Quarantine Center Manager, recommends La Petite Maison restaurant in the Dubai International Financial Center, named Dubai's best eatery in 2012 by Time Out Dubai magazine. “You won't find a better restaurant anywhere,” Nicholls said. “You can choose anything on the menu-it's all top-class” and varies from scrambled duck eggs to whole sea bream baked en papillote. “It also has a great little area where you can eat al fresco. I just have a little warning: do not order the creme brulee if you are on your own; it's huge, so share it with your partner. This place has something for everyone. You can see all the suits from the business district there and all the locals and people of all nationalities.” 

English jockey HARRY BENTLEY, who makes his winter base in the Middle East. “I would think that the Beach Bar & Grill at the One & Only Royal Mirage Dubai resort would be a very good spot to go–that's where I would take friends out for a meal. Their steaks are fantastic.” The Beach Bar & Grill has been described as having “sophisticated Arabian Nights-tinged decor, torch-lit terrace and fabulous ocean views” and also as “one of the most romantic restaurants in Dubai.” Seafood is the house specialty. “I would also recommend a visit to the Dubai Mall; it's a good spot with all the shops–pretty much anything you want, you can find it there,” Bentley said. The mall is billed as the largest in the world and stands at the foot of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and features a huge aquarium, an ice skating rink, a dinosaur exhibit and many other extras. 

FEARGAL COOPER, manager of the Dubai Racing Club quarantine stables: “My personal favorite would be to play a round at the Emirates Golf Club (host of the European Tour-sanctioned Dubai Desert Classic and home of the Majlis course, which has been rated as one of the top 100 courses in the world). The Abu Dhabi Golf Club national course also is very good. In the evening, you can go to the (Alta Badia) bar at the top of the Emirates Towers and look out over the lights of Dubai, and I would have dinner at the Rib Room there. They do a fantastic steak with lovely bread and wine and a brilliant atmosphere and it will cost only a third or fourth of some of the other places in Dubai.” 

MELVIN DAY, senior handicapper with the Dubai Racing Club: “If visitors are coming for a short time, they should try one of those dune safaris out in the desert–they are quite good. You go out to the desert and you'll be entertained with dinner and belly dancers in a Bedouin-style tent. And the men might hate me for saying this, but they have to take the women to the gold souk. You should go in a lot of shops there and haggle for the best prices. And you should take an abra (small water taxi boat) across the Dubai Creek, where you can end up in the souks. That's the real Dubai, so multi-cultural.” Day lives in the Desert Palm equestrian resort that includes three polo fields and he recommends the resort's restaurant Rare, which has won awards as one of Dubai's best steakhouses. 

ADRIAN BEAUMONT of the International Racing Bureau: “I've always liked going to the Madinant Jumeirah area. You can go and have lunch at one of the restaurants (there are over 40 restaurants and bars in the complex, which is designed with traditional Arabian-style architecture and is flanked by picturesque canals traversed by water taxis). Then you can do some shopping at the souk (a traditional-style Arabian bazaar). I love that–it's all really nice and there are some really good restaurants next to the canals and you can eat out by the water or inside if you prefer. The restaurant I like to go to is The Meat Co.; they have high-end steaks and seafood. It's always full so you have to book in advance. I would suggest having a nice meal and then cruising around the souk and buying a few curios to take home.” 

LISA JUNG, former media coordinator for the Dubai Racing Club who recently returned to the UAE after completing graduate studies at Northwestern University: “I recommend Thai Thiptara restaurant in The Palace, downtown Dubai. It's a small, intimate restaurant with windows all around so that you can see The Dubai Fountain (billed as the world's largest fountain show choreographed to music) when it comes on. My friend and I had the pad Thai and green curry and I think it's the best that I've had in Dubai–and I love Thai food so I have tried a lot of places. Now that I'm back, there are so many things I want to do, including Skydive Dubai; there are several different places you do the skydive, including over The Palm island. The pictures are amazing and I imagine it would be so high energy. For those who aren't adrenaline junkies, you can swim with the dolphins at Atlantis. The dolphins even come up to you and give you a kiss. There's also Ferrari World at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, which has the world's fastest roller coaster. I thought my brain was going to detach from my head! That's a lot of fun.”