Emirati food

A plate of harees with ghee and cinnamon.

04Experiences

Experience

Emirati cooking is simple and generous, built on rice, wheat, meat, dates and spices. Machboos is rice cooked with meat and spices, and harees is wheat and meat cooked for a long time until smooth; UNESCO added harees to its intangible heritage list in 2023. Among the sweets, luqaimat are fried dough balls sprinkled with sesame and drizzled with date syrup or honey, and khabees is made from breadcrumbs with sugar, cardamom and saffron. Hospitality starts with Arabic coffee and dates, offered on arrival and kept at hand throughout the visit. Arabic coffee joined UNESCO's list in 2024, and the date palm with its knowledge and traditions in 2022. Try the local restaurants in the older districts and ask for Emirati dishes by name, since some menus open with international food. Ask about the dish of the day, too. In the fresh-date season in summer the markets fill with ripe dates, the best souvenir to take home.

2023
Harees on UNESCO's list: 2024
Arabic coffee on UNESCO's list: 2022
Date palm on UNESCO's list