About
A guide to the best of Dubai — and the UAE
Where to eat, stay and explore — destination by destination, category by category, without the guesswork.
Top in UAE publishes curated guides to the best of Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates — restaurants, Friday brunch, Emirati food, coffee, hotels, beaches, desert safaris, things to do and kosher food. We cover Dubai in depth and the other emirates destination by destination, and we publish new guides continuously.
Why we built it
Dubai opens more restaurants, hotels and attractions every year than most cities do in a decade, and the lists that come up first are usually sponsored roundups or booking-site pages. The problem is never a shortage of options — it is working out which are worth your time.
We wanted guides that name real places, link to their own websites and map pins, say who each one suits, and tell you the practical thing you'd only know if you'd been — when to book, what the dress code is, when it is too hot to go.
Who it's for
- Visitors planning a Dubai trip or a stopover
- Families looking for days the kids will enjoy
- Kosher-keeping travelers who need the certification, not just the menu
- People moving to the UAE who want to know what's worth their time
What's in every guide
The format is deliberately consistent, so once you've read one you know exactly where to look in the next.
- A short answer up top — the shortlist, if you only read one paragraph
- Every entry with its neighborhood, so you can group things by area
- A line on what each place is actually good at
- A price band, so nothing is a surprise
- One practical thing worth knowing before you turn up
- The official website and a Google Maps link, because that's what you'll want next
How a guide comes together
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01
Pick the destination and the category
We work down a list of the questions people actually ask — best restaurants in Dubai, best Friday brunch, best beaches, best things to do in Abu Dhabi — starting with the ones asked most.
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02
Build the shortlist
Every plausible candidate goes on a long list, which then gets cut down hard. A guide of forty places helps nobody. We check every place is open and every link goes to the business itself.
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03
Write it up
What each place is good at, who it's for, and the practical detail that saves you a wasted trip — the closing time, the queue, the thing to order.
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04
Keep it current
Dubai restaurants and attractions open, close and change constantly. Guides get revisited, and each carries the month it was last updated.
A note on dress codes, heat and kosher certification
Mosques, souks and some venues expect modest dress, and summer heat makes midday sightseeing hard — check dress codes and plan outdoor sights for the morning or evening.
Every entry on our kosher guide names its certifying agency and says whether the kitchen is meat or dairy, as it stood when the guide was last updated. If kashrut matters to you, check the current certificate before you eat. We are a guide, not a kashrut authority.
Common questions
What is Top in UAE?
A guide to the best of Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates. We publish curated lists — the best restaurants in Dubai, the best Friday brunches, the best beaches, the best things to do in Abu Dhabi — so you can find the good stuff without wading through a dozen tabs.
Who is it for?
Visitors planning a Dubai trip or stopover, people moving to the UAE, and residents who want a second opinion.
How often are the guides updated?
Continuously. Each list shows the month it was last updated, and we revisit them as places open, close and change. Dubai's restaurant scene turns over fast, so check before you go.
Do you cover kosher food in the UAE?
Yes. Our kosher guide names the certifying agency for every entry and says whether the kitchen is meat or dairy. Certification can change, so confirm the current certificate before you eat.
I run a business in the UAE. How do I get featured?
A limited number of businesses can secure a place in each of next year's guides, written up by us in the same format as every other entry. See feature your business for how it works.
Spotted something wrong?
A closed venue, a detail that's changed, a place we've somehow missed — tell us and we'll take a look.
Get in touch