Lebanese Meze in Dubai: Every Dish You Need to Order and Where to Find Them

The foundation of every Lebanese table. Proper Lebanese hummus bears no resemblance to the supermarket versions you know — it is smooth as silk, warm, and finished with a generous pool of the best olive oil available. At Em Sherif, the hummus (AED 48) is poured tableside with olive oil and dusted with paprika. At Al Safadi, it is plainer but utterly addictive (AED 28). Never skip it.

Tabbouleh is almost all parsley — if your tabbouleh is mostly grain, something has gone wrong. A proper Lebanese tabbouleh is tart, fresh, and herbaceous: finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, just a whisper of fine bulgur wheat, ripe tomatoes, spring onion, lemon juice and olive oil. At Al Beiruti and Em Sherif, the tabbouleh is a revelation for anyone who thought they'd had it before.

Where tabbouleh is about fresh herbs, fattoush is about crunch and contrast. Crispy toasted pieces of Arabic flatbread are tossed with mixed vegetables — cucumber, radish, tomato, spring onion — and dressed with pomegranate molasses and ground sumac. The crunch of the bread against the tartness of the dressing is one of Lebanese food's great pleasures. At Ayamna, the fattoush (AED 58) is elevated to an art form.

Baba ganoush lives and dies by the quality of the roasting. The aubergine must be charred directly over a flame until the skin blackens and the interior collapses into smoky, yielding flesh. Mixed with tahini, lemon and garlic, the result should taste of smoke and depth. Al Nafoorah does an extraordinary version with just enough tahini not to overwhelm the aubergine (AED 45).

The most misunderstood dish on the Lebanese table: kibbeh nayyeh is raw lamb mixed with fine bulgur, onion and seven-spice, served cold with mint leaves and olive oil. Think of it as a Lebanese tartare. At the right restaurant — Em Sherif serves it ceremonially (AED 72), with a waiter kneading the mixture tableside — it is extraordinary. Only order it at establishments you trust implicitly.

Stuffed vine leaves are a pan-Levantine staple, but the Lebanese version is lighter and more fragrant than its Greek or Turkish cousins — less meat, more herbs, more citrus. At Bab El Bahr by Hallab, the warak dawali (AED 42) are served with yoghurt on the side, their rice filling fragrant with cinnamon and allspice. Make sure to request cold, not hot — the cold version is more authentically Lebanese.

Dubai's most under-ordered Lebanese dish. Chicken livers are cooked quickly at high heat with garlic, fresh lemon and pomegranate molasses until they're just pink in the centre and caramelised outside. The result is rich, deeply savoury and slightly acidic — one of the finest hot meze dishes in any cuisine. At Em Sherif, the sawda dajaj (AED 58) is the dish regulars re-order. Always order it. Always.

The fried form of Lebanon's national dish: an oval shell of fine bulgur wheat, crunchy from deep-frying, filled with spiced minced lamb and toasted pine nuts. At Al Nafoorah, a plate of six (AED 68) arrives as golden-brown teardrops, eaten with yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon. The contrast of the crispy shell and the rich filling is one of the great textural pleasures of Lebanese cooking.

These small, intensely spiced lamb sausages cooked in pomegranate molasses until sticky and caramelised are the secret weapon of any Lebanese meze order. Serve them with warm bread to mop up the cooking juices. At Al Beiruti, the makanek (AED 52) is always eaten before any other hot dish arrives — always order a second plate.

Half-moon shaped pastries of crispy short pastry, filled with either spiced minced lamb and pine nuts (meat) or akkawi and halloumi cheese. At Al Safadi, the meat sambousek (AED 38 for four) are as good as anything in the city. Order both fillings if you can — the contrast between the savoury meat and the slightly salty cheese versions is worth exploring.