In the press
What they've written about us
Since we opened in 2011, newspapers, magazines and guides have written about Al Fanar. Here is what we have found, with a link to each original.
Listed in
- MICHELIN Guide Dubai Al Fanar Al Seef is part of the MICHELIN Guide's 2026 restaurant selection.
- Visit Dubai Listed by Dubai's official tourism guide among the city's Emirati restaurants.
- Visit Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi's official tourism guide recommends our Yas Mall branch for Emirati food.
2026
Citywide calendar of experiences announced for Eid in Dubai
Dubai's official Eid 2026 calendar includes “Eid Morning the Emirati Way” and an Eid lahm tray at Al Fanar.
10 of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in Dubai to visit ASAP
Named among Dubai's best Middle Eastern restaurants and called “a reliable introduction to Emirati comfort food”.
8 traditional iftars in Dubai to try during Ramadan
Al Fanar's iftar among the traditional Ramadan iftars to try in the city.
7 top places to try incredible Emirati food in Abu Dhabi
“A fabulous throwback to the good old days”: our Yas Mall and Al Ain branches, with recipes passed down through generations.
Dubai's Ramadan 2026 calendar: Fireworks, drone shows to light up skies post iftar
Dubai's Ramadan 2026 calendar lists our Festival City set menu and an iftar in an Emirati private dining room at Al Barsha.
2025
Must try restaurants in Abu Dhabi this week
Our Yas Mall branch next to Ferrari World: 1960s décor and Emirati dishes that feel like home.
The best restaurants and cafes in Al Ain
Our Al Ain branch, “the go-to spot to dive into Emirati culture in the Garden City”, from chebab to chicken machboos and aseeda al tamor.
2024
The challenge of Al Fanar, a long-established UAE restaurant from Dubai: reviving traditional cuisine and running a business
Sohail Al Marzouqi on keeping traditional Emirati cooking alive while running a growing restaurant group.
Where to go in Dubai to experience authentic Emirati food
Al Fanar's Dubai branches, with our seafood tray as the dish to try.
Dubai: Have you visited these Emirati restaurants in the city?
“A nostalgic trip back to 1960s Dubai”: the courtyard, the décor, the breakfast platter and luqaimat.
Eat like a local: 7 of the best Emirati restaurants in Dubai
Among Dubai's best Emirati restaurants: 1960s Dubai, a courtyard and a mini-museum of UAE heritage.
2023
Head to these spots for the best of Emirati cuisine
Our Festival City branch, its 1960s setting and breads like regag, khameer and chebab.
تغيير اسم واجهة الرياض إلى واجهة روشن!
Our Riyadh branch at Roshn Front among the places to eat there, with its shrimp and maleh biryani.
Bezar Spice: The Flavourful Ingredient Used Across Traditional Emirati Dishes
The MICHELIN Guide's article on bezar spice names Al Fanar, a MICHELIN-selected restaurant, as the place in Dubai to taste it, down to the spicy saloona.
2022
Visiting Expo City Dubai? Here's all the cafes and restaurants open
Our Expo City branch, part of the MICHELIN Guide 2022, and a mini-museum of local culture.
The best places to dine at Expo City Dubai
Among the best places to eat at Expo City: the restaurant that “put Emirati cuisine on the map”.
Student abroad talks about missing the magic of food in Dubai
Founder Hashem Al Marzouqi on why he opened Al Fanar in 2011 and recreating 1960s Dubai through food.
مطاعم إماراتية.. مشاركة شهية في «دبي للمأكولات»
Al Fanar among the Emirati restaurants taking part in the Dubai Food Festival.
Indulge in an intimate iftar meal hosted by the chefs behind Al Fanar
A small, chef-hosted Ramadan iftar by the Al Fanar team at Time Out Market Dubai.
From samboosa to souks: A 50 Best insider guide to eating in Abu Dhabi
The 50 Best guide to Abu Dhabi picks our Yas Mall branch for traditional Emirati food, with machboos laham as the must-try.
2021
A Taste of Dubai History: Traditional Emirati Food at Al Fanar
A video feature on our family recipes, the branches designed as mini museums, and eating the Emirati way.
Al Fanar at Time Out Market Dubai
Al Fanar's menu at Time Out Market Dubai, from sea bass machboos to luqaimat.
Al Fanar Seafood Market
A review of our Al Barsha Pond Park branch: the machboos, the grilled squid and the back patio.
The Grilling: Al Fanar's Hashem Al Marzouqi
Our founder answers Time Out's questions on traditional Emirati dishes.
2020
Lighting up London with Emirati food
A visit to our London branch, then the first restaurant in the city serving Emirati food.
هاشم المرزوقي.. مشروعات تحيي تراث ومطبخ الإمارات
A video profile of Hashem Al Marzouqi and his projects reviving Emirati heritage and cooking.
Al Fanar Restaurant and Cafe
Time Out Abu Dhabi's page for our Yas Mall branch.
2019
Emirati cuisine is having its day in the sun
The inflight magazine on how Al Fanar set out in 2011 to keep Emirati food and culture alive.
Five Emirati restaurants to try in the UAE
One of five Emirati restaurants to try, for home-style dishes in a 1960s merchant's home.
Al Fanar Restaurant & Cafe
Time Out London on our Gloucester Road branch, inspired by 1960s Dubai, from breakfast to grills and biryanis.
A little piece of the Emirates comes to London as restaurant Al Fanar opens its doors
Our first branch outside the UAE opens in London, fitted out with materials shipped from Dubai.
Expansion Tale of Al Fanar Restaurant
An academic case study of how Al Fanar grew, presented at the IEOM 2019 conference.
2018
What do you know about Emirati food?
Sohail Al Marzouqi on dates, breads and the everyday ingredients at the heart of Emirati cooking.
2015
التاريخ الإماراتي على طبق في مطعم ومقهى “الفنر”
Emirati history on a plate: where to find authentic Emirati cooking, answered at Al Fanar.
2014
إماراتي أصيل في مطعم ومقهى الفنر
Emirati breakfast in a heritage setting at Al Fanar.
المطبخ الإماراتي عشية رأس السنة في مطعم الفنر
Emirati cooking at Al Fanar for New Year's Eve.
Delicious food news in the UAE this week
Al Fanar expands to Jumeirah Town Centre on Beach Road, after Festival City and Abu Dhabi.
«الفنر».. مطعم ومتحف مصغر للتراث الإماراتي
Al Fanar as a restaurant and a small museum of Emirati heritage, for residents and visitors alike.
Homegrown Emirati restaurant gets second UAE venue
After Dubai, Al Fanar opens its second branch, in Abu Dhabi's Venetian Village.
سلطان بن طحنون يفتتح مطعم “الفنر” في أبوظبي
Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun opens Al Fanar in Abu Dhabi.
Emirati restaurant Al Fanar opens at Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi
Our second location opens in the Venetian Village at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, recreating an old UAE neighbourhood.
2012
Shining a light
A traditional Emirati meal in a charming setting at our Festival City branch, food guests compared to home cooking.
2011
What's for dinner? A taste of Emirati cuisine
Our first months at Festival City: a pearl trader's home and a menu built to introduce Emirati food.
«الفنر».. ضيافة إماراتية في أجواء «الزمن الجميل»
The year we opened: Emirati hospitality in the setting of the old days.
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