Al Mallah Dhiyafah — Restaurant in Dubai

I truly believe restaurants don’t need to be fancy or expensive to serve delicious food. This proved to be true when I bit into one of Al Mallah Dhiyafah’s chicken shawarma (AED9). My eyes momentarily closed so I could really savor the delicious chewy pita filled with moist lightly-spiced chicken.

The soft pita was thin enough that the filling’s flavours really came through: nutty tahini with pickles and lettuce for a bit of texture. I immediately started thinking about ordering another one after that first bite… but, thankfully stopped myself as after getting through all the sides was thoroughly stuffed.

Did I regret having the fattoush salad (AED17), when I could have saved room for another meaty log? Not a chance, as the salad was a great way to balance out the otherwise carb and meat heavy meal. Having had fattoush a handful of times, Al Mallah’s is the best with small pieces of chopped lettuce and cucumbers tossed with herbs and really crispy thin fried pita. It was refreshingly citrusy.

I might have skipped the hommos (AED18), which while tasty, was really just well-pureed chickpeas with oil drizzled over top. There wasn’t any other ingredients – tahini, lemon, or even much salt – just a bowl of thick and earthy hummus. There was also a sense of guilt when having another pita as each one was wrapped in a plastic bag – hygienic, but not very environmentally friendly.

If that weren’t enough, there’s even a complimentary plate of pickled vegetables and chilies. They are really salty, so not necessarily the greatest to have plain, but tucked into some pita with the neutral hummus was...

Once upon a time Mallah was the undefeated, undisputed, heavy weight champion of the best Lebanese shawarma in the UAE; This was from the late 1980s until 2001. During those years it would have been almost impossible to find a table during the weekends and the queues were long due to it's popularity. After 2001 the owner either sold the business or made drastic changes including replacing the Lebanese & Syrian staff with Egyptians (not that nationality matters, but doesn't help when you hire staff not familiar with the cuisine). Since then the quality suffered MASSIVELY, to the extent that what was once the perfect Shawarma became something horrible. With all due respect, most of those who still promote Mallah on social channels and write good reviews are not aware of the fact that it's not the same place and they assume it's still the best based on old articles so the hype has for some strange reason kept going with each new influencer promoting the same old-hype. Another reason is that those who are current customers of Mallah are not the same as the old Customers who the majority were from Levant & Gulf countries so their appreciation of what makes a good shawarma is very different unfortunately. If Mallah wants to survive for the next 10 or 15 years they need to shut down, remodel, make a major press release that they are going back to their roots and investing heavily in what made Mallah great in the good old days, then maybe.....maybe they might have a...

I had high expectations from Al Mallah given its reputation and the pricing—AED 9 for a shawarma is definitely above the usual rate in the Satwa area. I ordered two, assuming I’d be getting value for the price. Unfortunately, I was disappointed the moment I received the food. The shawarma was surprisingly small and did not justify the higher cost.

What truly alarmed me was the poor hygiene and food handling practices I witnessed. The staff preparing the food was only wearing one glove on the right hand—which looked torn and dirty—while the left hand was completely bare. Worse, I noticed sweat from his arm coming into contact with the food. This raises serious food safety concerns, as there were no visible measures in place to control the temperature of vegetables and sauces either.

To add to the experience, the service was very poor. When I politely asked for ketchup, I was simply dismissed and told to walk to another door to get it myself. There was no regard for customer service or cleanliness.

Overall, my visit was extremely disappointing. Poor hygiene, lack of food safety protocols, and unprofessional service make it hard to recommend this place to anyone. I hope management seriously considers improving their standards, especially if they wish to continue charging...