Daniel
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September 29, 2026
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11 min read
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The best Pakistani restaurant in Dubai for a first-timer is Ravi in Al Satwa, open since 1978. Dinner for two costs AED 50 to 90 at budget spots such as Karachi Darbar and Pak Liyari, where official menus list chicken karahi at AED 12 to 16 and naan at AED 1. Choose by metro station, because the good ones sit far apart across Satwa, Karama, Deira and Al Nahda.
A Pakistani restaurant in Dubai is usually a casual, family-run spot serving charcoal kebabs, karahi curries, nihari and fresh tandoori bread, with halal meat as standard. We checked official menus and listings on 29 September 2026, so every price below comes from the restaurant’s own site or is clearly marked as indicative. If you are new to the city, start with our Dubai travel guide before planning food stops around it.
Use the comparison table to shortlist by area and budget, then read the entries that fit your plans. Prices were checked on 29 September 2026; Karama gives you four of the ten within a short ride of each other.
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Best for | First-time visitors, budget travellers, families, late-night eaters |
| Must-try dishes | Chicken karahi, nihari, seekh kebab, chapli kebab, biryani, daal fry |
| Price range | About AED 12 to 28 per main at budget spots (official menus); naan AED 1 to 2; buffets from about AED 50 pp (indicative) |
| Key areas | Al Satwa, Al Karama, Bur Dubai and Meena Bazaar, Deira and Naif, Al Nahda, Oud Metha, Sheikh Zayed Road, JBR |
| Metro access | Every pick sits near a Red or Green Line station; the last stretch is a short walk, bus or taxi ride |
| VAT | Menus rarely state it; assume listed prices exclude 5% VAT unless the restaurant says otherwise |
Karachi Darbar and Pak Liyari win on price, Ravi on reputation, Lahore Darbar and Des Pardes on hours. Official prices were checked on 29 September 2026; the rest are indicative.
| Restaurant | Area | Nearest metro | What to order | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi Restaurant | Al Satwa | World Trade Centre (Red) | Butter chicken, chapli kebab | AED 26 / AED 12.50 (official) |
| Karachi Darbar | Al Karama | ADCB (Red) | Chicken karahi, nihari | AED 12 / AED 13 (official) |
| Lahore Darbar | Naif, Deira | Baniyas Square (Green) | Chicken karahi, nihari, set deals | AED 17-22 / AED 21 (official) |
| Pak Liyari | Al Nahda 1 | Stadium (Green) | Mutton biryani, karahi | AED 20 / AED 16 (official) |
| Daily Restaurant | Al Karama | BurJuman (Red/Green) | Nihari, biryani | Not published; budget spot |
| Al Ibrahimi Palace | Al Karama | BurJuman (Red/Green) | Buffet, seekh kebab | ~AED 19 (delivery, indicative) |
| Barbecue Delights | JBR | Sobha Realty (Red) | Mixed grill, Peshawari karahi | ~AED 116 (delivery, indicative) |
| Lal Qila | Sheikh Zayed Road | OnPassive (Red) | Mughal buffet, live BBQ | ~AED 50-100 pp (indicative) |
| Student Biryani | Al Karama | ADCB (Red) | Biryani (chicken/mutton) | ~AED 30 (2025, indicative) |
| Des Pardes | Oud Metha | Oud Metha (Green) | Chicken karahi, lassi | ~AED 40 for two (indicative) |
Ravi has served Pakistani food in Al Satwa since 1978 and is the most famous Pakistani restaurant in Dubai. Order butter chicken (AED 26), chapli kebab (AED 12.50) or brain nihari (AED 27).
Listings put hours at 5am to 3am daily. Take the Red Line to World Trade Centre (8-minute walk) and expect a queue after 7pm.
Karachi Darbar‘s Karama One branch sits in the Karama Shopping Complex near Emirates Bank, open 5am to 2:30am daily. The official menu lists chicken karahi at AED 12, nihari at AED 13, quarter tikka at AED 10 and mutton seekh kebab at AED 17.
Breads are AED 1 to 2. Use ADCB station on the Red Line.
Lahore Darbar has cooked Lahori classics on Naif Road in Deira since 1990 and is officially open 24 hours. Official prices: chicken karahi AED 17 to 22, chicken tikka AED 12, beef nalli nihari AED 21.
Deal 3 (AED 32) and Deal 4 (AED 30) bundle a main, kebabs, daal, bread, drink, raita and salad. Take the Green Line to Baniyas Square (13-minute walk); VAT is added separately at checkout.
Pak Liyari‘s confirmed branch is at Al Talal Tower 1, opposite Sahara Center in Al Nahda 1, with a second branch in Meena Bazaar. The official menu lists mutton biryani at AED 20.
Also listed: chicken karahi AED 16, tikka AED 12, daal fry AED 8, nihari AED 14, naan AED 1. Hours are 11am to 11:59pm; Stadium station on the Green Line is 1.6 miles away, so take a bus or taxi.
Daily Restaurant sits behind the Ramee Royal Hotel in Karama, with branches across Dubai, and is known through reviews for nihari, biryani and Bihari kebab.
Daily publishes no official menu or prices, so confirm costs in person. BurJuman interchange is the practical station; come in the morning.
Al Ibrahimi Palace stands opposite BurJuman Centre, a Pakistani buffet restaurant with Indian, Pakistani and continental choices for groups that cannot agree.
No official menu is published; its delivery listing indicates seekh kebab at about AED 18.90 and a BBQ platter at about AED 115.50. BurJuman station is a 5-minute walk.
Barbecue Delights has cooked Pakistani, Afghani and North Indian food over charcoal since August 2004; reviewers praise the Peshawari mutton karahi, Bihari boti and reshmi kebabs.
Branches include The Walk at JBR, Downtown and Oud Metha; no official prices are published, but a delivery listing indicates a mixed grill at about AED 116. For JBR use Sobha Realty on the Red Line.
Lal Qila is a Karachi franchise in Dubai since 2011, serving Mughlai, tandoori and live BBQ (HACCP and ISO 22000 certified, per its site). The draw is a lavish buffet with live cooking stations.
The confirmed Dubai branch is in Al Safa 2 on Sheikh Zayed Road near OnPassive. No official prices are published; third-party listings suggest about AED 50 to 100 per person. Use OnPassive station.
Student Biryani began in Karachi in 1969 and runs UAE branches including Al Karama, Al Barsha and Al Nahda 2. Biryani is the entire point: chicken, mutton, beef and vegetable.
A 2025 listing indicated chicken biryani at about AED 30; no current official prices are published. For Karama use ADCB station.
Des Pardes sits near Lamcy Plaza in Oud Metha; its business-managed listing describes authentic Pakistani cuisine served 24/7. Reviewers rate the chicken karahi and kheema and mention a separate breakfast menu.
No official website or prices exist; a third-party listing suggests about AED 40 for two. The nearest station is Oud Metha on the Green Line.
Pakistani breakfast means nihari, halwa puri, paya, lassi and fresh parathas, but none of the official menus we checked listed halwa puri by name, so ask for the breakfast menu on arrival.
Karachi Darbar opens at 5am daily on its official site (nihari AED 13, keema paratha AED 5), the most reliable early option.
Daily is Karama’s other breakfast institution, known through reviews for nihari, biryani and Bihari kebab. Its site confirms the branch but publishes no hours, so confirm on the day. For non-Pakistani mornings, see our best breakfast places in Dubai.
Lahore Darbar in Deira is officially open 24 hours, and Des Pardes in Oud Metha is listed as 24/7.
Neither publishes official breakfast prices, so budget on the same lines as their dinner menus.
Lahore Darbar is the standout on Naif Road: 24-hour hours, official prices, Baniyas Square 13 minutes away on foot. Deira suits budget stays near the creek; compare areas in our where to stay in Dubai guide.
Karama holds four of the ten: Daily, Karachi Darbar, Al Ibrahimi Palace and Student Biryani. Use ADCB for the central stretch and BurJuman interchange for the northern side. Our Karama Dubai guide covers the neighbourhood in more detail.
Pak Liyari’s second branch sits in Meena Bazaar, an easy food stop during a shopping trip; our Meena Bazaar Dubai guide has verified locations and metro advice. Note that Sind Punjab, sometimes listed as Pakistani, is described by sources as North Indian, so we have not counted it.
Ravi in Al Satwa and Lal Qila on Sheikh Zayed Road are the two Red Line picks (World Trade Centre and OnPassive stations). Satwa is the more atmospheric walk; Sheikh Zayed Road is the easier drive.
Pak Liyari’s main branch is in Al Nahda 1 (Stadium station, then a bus or taxi), Des Pardes sits by Oud Metha station, and Barbecue Delights covers JBR from The Walk near Sobha Realty.
Pakistani food is among the cheapest restaurant food in Dubai. A solo lunch at Karachi Darbar (karahi AED 12, two rotis AED 2) comes to AED 14 before VAT; dinner for two at Pak Liyari (two karahis, four naans, daal fry) totals AED 44.
A family of four could share Lahore Darbar’s Deal 3 (AED 32) and Deal 4 (AED 30) for about AED 62 plus extras. Two warnings: no official menu confirms VAT inclusion, so add 5% mentally, and delivery-app prices often differ from dine-in.
| Restaurant | Station | Line | Last stretch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi | World Trade Centre | Red | 8-minute walk |
| Karachi Darbar | ADCB | Red | Walk or short taxi |
| Student Biryani (Karama) | ADCB | Red | Walk or short taxi |
| Daily | BurJuman | Red/Green | ~0.9 km; verify on the day |
| Al Ibrahimi Palace | BurJuman | Red/Green | 5-minute walk |
| Lahore Darbar | Baniyas Square | Green | 13-minute walk |
| Pak Liyari | Stadium | Green | 1.6 miles; bus or taxi |
| Des Pardes | Oud Metha | Green | Short hop |
| Lal Qila | OnPassive | Red | Short taxi |
| Barbecue Delights (JBR) | Sobha Realty | Red | Walk to The Walk |
Karama is the easiest cluster, with four restaurants near ADCB and BurJuman. Do not walk to Pak Liyari from Stadium in the heat; check the live RTA route on the day, as station names change.
| What you will read | What is accurate |
|---|---|
| “Ravi is open 24 hours” | Unverified; listings say 5am to 3am daily. |
| “Lal Qila is in JBR” | Confirmed branch is on Sheikh Zayed Road near OnPassive; no JBR branch found. |
| “Bundoo Khan in Deira” | Marked closed; the verifiable branch is Al Haaj Bundoo Khan in Oud Metha. |
| “Sind Punjab is a top Pakistani restaurant” | Sources describe it as North Indian and Punjabi, not Pakistani. |
| “Little Lahore, Dubai Marina” | Its listed address is JLT Cluster G, not Dubai Marina. |
| “Karachi Darbar is rated 3.7” | One directory’s figure; treat single-source ratings with care. |
Check the branch before you go. Most names here have several branches, so save the exact one.
Treat menu prices as excluding VAT. No official menu we checked confirms VAT inclusion.
Go early or late. Lunch is quietest; after 7pm expect queues at Ravi and Daily.
Breakfast has its own menu. Ask for it; halwa puri and paya are morning dishes.
Use the metro, then check the last stretch. Confirm the final walk or taxi in a maps app.
Delivery prices differ from dine-in. Indicative delivery figures are context, not guarantees.
For a first visit, go to Ravi in Al Satwa for the history and the kebabs. For the tightest budget, Karachi Darbar in Karama is unbeatable at AED 12 for karahi. For breakfast, start at Daily or Karachi Darbar from 5am; for Deira, choose Lahore Darbar’s 24-hour kitchen.
Biryani cravings point to Pak Liyari or Student Biryani, barbecue night to Barbecue Delights, a family buffet to Lal Qila or Al Ibrahimi Palace. After midnight, your verified options are Lahore Darbar and Des Pardes.
Ravi Restaurant in Al Satwa, open since 1978, is the most famous. Its official menu lists butter chicken at AED 26 and chapli kebab at AED 12.50; take the Red Line to World Trade Centre.
Mains cost about AED 12 to 28 at budget spots, naan AED 1 to 2, and dinner for two runs about AED 50 to 90. Add 5% VAT mentally.
Karachi Darbar in Karama opens at 5am (nihari AED 13); Daily nearby is a breakfast favourite. Lahore Darbar and Des Pardes are 24-hour options.
Lahore Darbar in Deira is officially open 24 hours; Des Pardes in Oud Metha is listed as 24/7. Karachi Darbar runs 5am to 2:30am, Ravi 5am to 3am (listed).
Yes. Halal meat is standard across restaurants in Dubai.
Al Karama, with four of our ten picks near ADCB and BurJuman. Deira and Naif, Bur Dubai and Meena Bazaar, and Oud Metha are the other strong areas.
Written by
Daniel
Daniel is the travel writer behind Go Dubai Now, covering Dubai's attractions, parks, restaurants and practical travel topics. Every guide is researched against official sources — government portals, operator websites and current local listings — and updated regularly so timings, prices and rules stay accurate. His goal is simple: answer the exact questions travelers ask before they go, with no fluff and no outdated information.
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