Colombian street food is not designed to impress at fancy restaurants. It is designed for the pavement — to be eaten from a paper wrapper at 8am outside a bakery while the city wakes up, or from a plastic tray at a canteen counter where three generations of the same family have been cooking since before you arrived. In Dubai, that energy lives on in the Colombian spots of Al Karama, JLT and Bur Dubai.
This is a guide to eating Colombian on the move — the dishes to seek out, the places to find them, and the logical order to eat your way through the canon in a single morning.
Colombian empanadas — crispy fried corn pastry filled with spiced potatoes, peas and meat, served with ají verde dipping sauce
9 Colombian Street Foods to Eat in Dubai
In rough order of how you'd encounter them across a full Colombian food day — from morning snacks to afternoon treats to evening bites.
Fried corn pastry stuffed with potatoes, peas and ground beef. Served with salsa verde. AED 8–15 each.
MORNING ESSENTIAL
Grilled corn cakes — plain with butter, stuffed with cheese or topped with hogao sauce. AED 18–35.
ALL DAY
Deep-fried cheese dough balls — puffy, golden, slightly crispy outside and soft and stretchy inside. AED 10–18.
BREAKFAST SNACK
Baked cheese bread rolls made with cassava flour and queso — dense, chewy, salty and deeply addictive. AED 12–20.
WITH COFFEE
Sliced fried sausage over crispy french fries with ketchup, mustard and mayo. Simple, comforting, deeply satisfying. AED 25–40.
LUNCH FAVOURITE
Colombian-style chorizo — smaller and spicier than Spanish chorizo, grilled on a stick and served with arepa and hogao. AED 22–35.
GRILL SNACK
Sweet plantain stuffed with cheese, battered and fried until golden. A Colombian snack that has no equivalent anywhere else. AED 20–32.
AFTERNOON SNACK
Colombian shaved ice loaded with fresh tropical fruit, flavoured syrups and sweetened condensed milk. The ultimate summer street treat. AED 22–38.
DESSERT
Strong black Colombian drip coffee served in a small glass — the social glue of the Colombian day, had with every snack. AED 8–15.
ANY TIME
The canteen atmosphere of Colombian street food spots in Al Karama — casual, loud, and absolutely delicious
The Best Colombian Street Food Spots
Three canteens where the street food is genuinely made fresh and the Colombian community eats regularly — the clearest sign of quality you'll find.
El Rincón Colombiano
Al Karama
The anchor of Dubai's Colombian food scene. Open from 7am, with empanadas coming out of the fryer continuously. The arepa con huevo is the single best Colombian breakfast item in the city. The hogao is made daily from slow-cooked tomatoes and onion and it shows — deepl, almost jammy and deeply savoury. Arrive early for freshest empanadas.
Best empanadas in Dubai
Open from 7am
Lunch from AED 45
Sabor de Colombia
JLT
A more polished setting than El Rincón but with the same street food soul. Famous for their pandebono — baked fresh every morning and served still warm at the counter. Also excellent buñuelos and arepa de choclo. The afternoon cholado is the only one in Dubai made properly with real shaved ice rather than crushed cubes. Go between 3pm and 5pm for maximum snack options.
Best pandebono
Cholado available
JLT Cluster I
La Fogata Colombiana
Business Bay
Serves the full spectrum of Colombian street classics with a lunch menu that doubles as a canteen. The aborrajados (battered plantain with cheese) are outstanding. Chorizos santafereños are grilled over charcoal — you can smell them from the street. Good for a working lunch that feels like you've been transported briefly to Bogotá. Cheap, cheerful and deeply satisfying.
Best aborrajados
Charcoal grill
Lunch AED 55–80
A Colombian snack spread — empanadas, arepas, buñuelos and tinto. Budget AED 50–70 per person for a satisfying afternoon feast
The Al Karama Colombian Food Walk
A 4-stop morning itinerary that takes you through the best of Dubai's Colombian street food in under 2 hours. Budget AED 90–130 for the full experience.
1
7:30am — El Rincón Colombiano, Al Karama
Start with arepa con huevo and a tinto. The empanadas are freshest in the first hour. AED 35–45.
2
8:30am — Casa Colombia, Al Karama (2 min walk)
Pick up pandebono and buñuelos straight from the oven. Best eaten warm, standing at the counter with a second coffee. AED 25–35.
3
10:00am — Latin Market, Al Karama (5 min walk)
Browse the Latin American grocery — pick up Harina PAN flour, Colombian hot sauces and bocadillo (guava paste) to take home. Free to browse.
4
11:30am — Tierra Caliente, Al Barsha (20 min drive)
End with aborrajados and a cholado. The only spot in Dubai that does the full Colombian sweet-savoury street food afternoon properly. AED 40–55.
Price Guide: Colombian Street Food in Dubai
| Dish |
Type |
Price (AED) |
Best At |
| Empanada (1 piece) |
Fried snack |
8–15 |
El Rincón Colombiano |
| Arepa Blanca |
Grilled corn cake |
18–25 |
Casa Colombia |
| Arepa de Choclo |
Sweet corn cake |
25–35 |
Sabor de Colombia |
| Buñuelos (3 pcs) |
Cheese puffs |
18–28 |
Sabor de Colombia |
| Pandebono |
Cheese bread |
12–20 |
Sabor de Colombia |
| Salchipapas |
Sausage + fries |
25–40 |
La Fogata Colombiana |
| Aborrajados |
Plantain with cheese |
20–32 |
La Fogata Colombiana |
| Chorizo Santafereño |
Grilled sausage |
22–35 |
La Fogata Colombiana |
| Cholado |
Shaved ice dessert |
22–38 |
Sabor de Colombia |
| Tinto (black coffee) |
Coffee |
8–15 |
All Colombian spots |
More Colombian Food in Dubai
