Bawabat Baghdad Restaurant

GC:EAT

Bawabat Baghdad Restaurant Jumeirah Street, Umm Suqeim 2, Dubai United Arab Emirates +971 54 998 8959

I will be honest with you, Iraqi food has never been on my radar as something to eat especially when I am in Dubai where you have the choice of literally the whole world’s foods vying for your attention. We had an incredibly busy schedule when we were last there, and you know how it is when you are incredibly tired and you are more than happy to go along with someone who is a local’s choice.

Normally we would go for your standard five star hotel experience which is always very pleasant and the people are great, however this really feels like it is globalized food where you could order dishes from all regions which are fantastically made, however I like to eat in places that specialize in one region from their kitchen. So when we were picked up and told we were going to an Iraqi restaurant, I did think we were going to get something that was like a Cyprus meze plus! (maybe I have been here too long to measure everything against it)

On arriving at the location was that it was not in what could be seen as the tourist area of Dubai and what appeared to me to be a more local oriented area. That’s not to say that this is in any way of lower value, when you walk up to the building it has an impressive exterior, where the doors swing open and you enter a wonderfully designed space that makes you feel at ease.

We had a nice selection of fruit juices to quench the palette, and as ever with places like this I always find it best to let others order a selection of dishes and go with what they know. The food was incredibly fresh, and I was half right with the meze connection. What seems to be a common feature with dishes stretching from Cyprus and the Middle East region is the focus on making dishes and dips, served with the various flavored breads.

We finished off with some very nice Iraqi tea as we moved to the outside area, which after a huge selection of dishes was great to sit and digest in the pleasant evening heat.

It is well worth a visit, as it is something that I would probably not have chosen if it was not for being taken there. However, I will see if I can fit in a return visit when we return in February I will be more than happy.