Part of: Top 20 Seafood Restaurants in Dubai →
Seafood is a daytime food, and Dubai has finally caught on. The best seafood lunches in Dubai for 2026 span an overwater fine-dining set menu, a beach shack serving fried hammour out of foil, and an oyster bar that pours its best value before 4pm. Lunch is when the light is on the water, the set menus are cheaper, and the tables that are impossible at dinner suddenly open up. Here are eight midday seafood meals worth leaving the desk for — all places we've eaten at and photographed ourselves.
Eight seafood lunches worth leaving the desk for
Ranked on the strength of the daytime offer specifically — set lunches, lighter portions and rooms that are better with sunlight on the water.
#1 Pierchic
The romantic overwater institution is even better by day, when the lunch set menu makes the Burj Al Arab view almost affordable. The seafood platter is the order; the walk down the jetty is the memory.
What to order the seafood platter (AED 595 for two) or the two-course lunch set (around AED 165pp).
Best for: a special-occasion lunch with the best view in the city.
Skip if: you want casual — this is jackets-and-bookings territory.
#2 The Maine
The New England-style oyster house is at its best at lunch, when the oyster happy hour and the lobster roll do their finest value work. Dark wood, cold shellfish, easy afternoons.
What to order the lobster roll (AED 120) and a half-dozen oysters (from AED 18 each).
Best for: a long, indulgent weekday lunch.
Skip if: you don't eat shellfish — it's the whole point here.
#3 Bu Qtair
Dubai's most beloved fish shack is a lunchtime ritual: pick your fish, it's fried in a secret masala, and you eat it with your hands at a plastic table by the beach. Nothing in the city is more honest.
What to order the fried hammour with rice and the masala prawns (around AED 65 all in).
Best for: a no-frills, all-flavour lunch by the sea.
Skip if: you want air-conditioning and a wine list.
#4 Fish Beach Taverna
A breezy Greek taverna where you pick your whole fish by weight and it comes off the grill simply dressed. The waterside tables at Souk Madinat make it a proper midday escape.
What to order the whole sea bass by weight and a spread of cold mezze.
Best for: a sunny, Mediterranean-style long lunch.
Skip if: you're in a hurry — this is a sit-and-stay meal.
#5 Boca
DIFC's sustainability-led Spanish favourite turns out some of the best octopus in town and a business lunch that the finance crowd swears by. Local-sourced where it can be, and proud of it.
What to order the grilled octopus (AED 95) and the daily set lunch.
Best for: a smart DIFC lunch that won't take all afternoon.
Skip if: you want a beach view — this is a city room.
#6 Shimmers
About as close to the water as a Dubai lunch gets, Shimmers grills Mediterranean-leaning seafood on the Jumeirah sand with the Burj Al Arab on the horizon. Casual, breezy and made for daytime.
What to order the grilled jumbo prawns (AED 110) and a mixed seafood grill.
Best for: a beach-day lunch with your toes near the sand.
Skip if: it's a windy day — the terrace takes the breeze.
#7 Bordo Mavi
Turkish Aegean cooking with a long meze table and beautifully grilled fish. The cold meze alone make a lunch, and the sea bass is handled with a light, confident touch.
What to order the grilled sea bass and a cold meze selection (AED 35–55 each).
Best for: a leisurely Aegean-style lunch with a group.
Skip if: you want a quick bite — meze is a marathon, not a sprint.
#8 Ege
Another strong Aegean option, calmer than Bordo Mavi and just as capable with a grill. The octopus is tender and smoky, and the lunchtime room is blissfully unhurried.
What to order the grilled octopus (AED 80) and the sea-bass fillet.
Best for: a calm, grown-up lunch away from the crowds.
Skip if: you want buzz and a scene.
Pierchic, The Maine and Boca all run weekday business-lunch menus that are a fraction of the dinner spend — Pierchic's two-course set hovers around AED 165 against AED 400-plus à la carte. Book the first seating; the overwater tables at Pierchic go to whoever reserves earliest.
How to do a Dubai seafood lunch well
Lunch is quietly the best time to eat seafood in Dubai, and not only because of the light on the water. The set-lunch menus at the high-end rooms — Pierchic, Boca, The Maine — are a fraction of the dinner spend for largely the same kitchen, which makes the city's most aspirational seafood tables briefly affordable. If there's a restaurant you've wanted to try, lunch is how you try it without the dinner ransom.
The spread here runs from one extreme to the other, and that's the point. A AED 65 plate of fried hammour at Bu Qtair and a AED 595 platter at Pierchic are both seafood lunches done right; they just answer different questions. Decide first whether you want an occasion or a feed, and the choice narrows quickly.
Book the early seating in the cooler months (roughly October to April), when the terrace tables — Pierchic's overwater deck, Shimmers' beachfront, Fish Beach Taverna's marina edge — are the whole reason to come. In high summer, the same venues are better enjoyed from their indoor rooms, and the set lunches stay just as good.
See also in this cluster
More from our Top 20 Seafood Restaurants in Dubai hub — closely related guides worth a look:
Where this fits on the wider map
For the full picture, browse the Dubai seafood cuisine guide, our budget seafood picks, and the best restaurants in Dubai.
Full reviews & related reading: Dubai seafood guide · Budget seafood
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best seafood lunch in Dubai?
Pierchic's overwater lunch set at Madinat Jumeirah tops the occasion list, with The Maine's lobster roll and oysters leading the casual brasserie pick. For value, Bu Qtair's fried hammour is unbeatable at around AED 65.
Where can I get a cheap seafood lunch in Dubai?
Bu Qtair, the Jumeirah beach fish shack, serves fried hammour and masala prawns for roughly AED 65 a head — the best cheap seafood lunch in the city.
Which seafood restaurants have a business lunch in Dubai?
Boca in DIFC and The Maine both run weekday business-lunch menus, and Pierchic's two-course set lunch (around AED 165) is far cheaper than its dinner à la carte.
Where can I eat seafood with a sea view at lunch in Dubai?
Pierchic (overwater at Madinat Jumeirah), Shimmers (on the Jumeirah sand) and Fish Beach Taverna (Souk Madinat marina) all serve seafood lunches with water views.
Is the seafood in Dubai halal?
Yes — seafood served at Dubai restaurants is halal, and most venues here are halal-certified. Alcohol availability varies by venue licence.