Dubai Food Festival 2027: Dates Not Announced, What Runs Instead

Four food options to plan around while the festival is unannounced

#1

Citywide; more than 100 restaurants in 2026 Trying several restaurants at a set price

Dubai Restaurant Week

Set lunch and dinner menus in restaurants across the city. In 2026 it began on 1 May and was extended to 31 May, with a two-course lunch at AED 125 and a three-course dinner at AED 250, booked through Careem DineOut, according to Gulf News. The 2027 dates are not announced. When you book, confirm whether the price is per person and what it includes.

#2

Sunset Beach, Jumeirah; 10 to 27 December 2026 Families and a casual evening by the sea

Beach Canteen at Sunset Beach

Visit Dubai lists the Beach Canteen at Sunset Beach Jumeirah from 10 to 27 December 2026 as a free event, with food and fun by the sea. No menu or hours are published yet. Khaleej Times described an earlier edition as a free canteen with a food piazza, a kids' zone, cooking workshops and live cooking. The beach faces the Burj Al Arab, so go before sunset.

#3

Al Fahidi, Al Seef and the Creek souks Spices, street food and heritage in one morning

An Old Dubai food walk

Our walking tour, from $35, goes through Al Fahidi, Al Seef, an abra ride across the Creek and the Spice and Gold Souks, with Arabic coffee or tea, dates and water. The $55 option adds street-food tastings. It lasts 3-4 hours. It is not a festival, but it is an easy way to taste the city when no festival is running.

#4

Cafes and restaurants across Dubai A cheap, quick taste of local flavours

Emirati sweets and coffee

Luqaimat are sweet fried dough balls, and karak is spiced milk tea. Both are easy to find at festival stalls and in cafes. Our Emirati food guide lists nine dishes to try and where to find them, and the street food guide gives prices. The photo is illustrative, not taken at a festival.

Dubai Food Festival 2027: the short answer

No Dubai Food Festival 2027 dates have been announced as of 2 November 2026. When we checked on that day, the festival's former web address redirected to a Visit Dubai page that no longer exists. Visit Dubai has separate 2026 pages for Dubai Restaurant Week, Summer Restaurant Week and Beach Canteen, but the festival page we tried returned "page not found". Do not book a trip around dates that do not exist yet.

In earlier years the festival worked as an umbrella. Khaleej Times described an earlier edition as 17 days long, with a Beach Canteen at Sunset Beach, Dubai Restaurant Week, Foodie Experiences, Taste of Dubai and a Hidden Gems list. In 2026 these events are announced one by one, and the table below gives the dates you can use today.

The food calendar with dates you can use

The first confirmed date is the Beach Canteen in December. The others are the latest dates we found, so use them to see the pattern and to know what to look for.

Sources: Visit Dubai, Gulf News, Alserkal Avenue and Gulfood. Check each organiser before you book.

If you travel in December, the Beach Canteen falls inside the Dubai Shopping Festival; our Dubai Shopping Festival guide has its dates. Ramadan is expected to start on 8 February 2027, and the food scene then shifts to iftar; see our iftar guide.

Dubai Restaurant Week: how it works

Dubai Restaurant Week offers set-price lunch and dinner menus across the city. In 2026 it was organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, according to Gulf News. It began on 1 May and was extended until 31 May, two weeks beyond the first plan of 17 May. Gulf News counted more than 100 restaurants, including over 50 homegrown concepts.

The prices were AED 125 for a two-course lunch and AED 250 for a three-course dinner, with booking through Careem DineOut. Gulf News does not say whether the prices are per person, so confirm that when you book, and ask what the set price includes, for example drinks. Check the final dates too: the 2026 edition changed after it started, so a plan built on the first announcement can move.

Visit Dubai also listed a Summer Restaurant Week in 2026. A set menu is a good way to try a restaurant you would not choose at full price, but the menus are shorter than the main menu, so read them first.

Beach Canteen at Sunset Beach

Visit Dubai lists the Beach Canteen, shown there as the etisalat Beach Canteen, at Sunset Beach Jumeirah from Thursday 10 December to 27 December 2026. It is listed as a free event, and the page says only "Head to the beach for food and fun", so no menu, vendors or hours are published yet. Our Dubai Shopping Festival guide notes that TradeArabia reported this as the first Shopping Festival edition of the canteen.

For an idea of the format, Khaleej Times described an earlier edition as a free-to-attend canteen with a food piazza, a kids' zone, cooking workshops and live cooking sessions. Treat that as a guide, not a promise for December.

Sunset Beach is a public beach facing the Burj Al Arab, and the best light is in the last hour before sunset. Our Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab guide covers getting there.

Taste of Dubai and the paid festivals

Taste of Dubai is the paid food festival that Gulf News calls annual. The 2026 edition ran from 6 to 8 February at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, with 16 restaurant pop-ups, chef workshops, live entertainment and artisan stalls. Gulf News reported early-bird prices of AED 60 per person for one-day entry, AED 175 for a taster package with two food and two beverage vouchers, and AED 299 for VIP. Those were early-bird prices from a November article, so they were not final.

We found no 2027 dates for Taste of Dubai. Alserkal Avenue's What The Food, a two-day festival of food, conversation and community, ended on 1 November 2026, and its next edition is not announced. Our Alserkal Avenue guide covers the district, which is also a good place for coffee and galleries.

What to eat while you wait

A festival is not needed to eat well in Dubai. These guides cover the dishes and the places. Arabic breakfast, seafood, vegetarian and halal food have their own guides in our journal too.

• Emirati food: nine dishes to try and where to find them.
• Street food: what to eat, where to go and what it costs.
• Friday brunch: packages, prices, dress and rules.

A food day with our Old Dubai walking tour

If you want to taste Dubai before any festival is announced, our Old Dubai walking tour is from $35 per person and lasts 3-4 hours. It goes through Al Fahidi, Al Seef, an abra ride across the Creek and the Spice and Gold Souks, with Arabic coffee or tea, dates and water. The $55 option adds street-food tastings. You meet the guide in Al Fahidi near the Sharaf DG Metro station, and the pin is sent after payment. Full prepayment confirms your place, and cancellation or a date change is free up to 24 hours before the start.

The tour is a heritage walk with food, not a festival. Our Old Dubai food tour guide explains what you eat at $35 and at $55. For a different kind of evening meal, the full-day desert safari is from $45 per person with hotel pickup and no prepayment, and it includes a BBQ buffet with vegetarian and gluten-free options.

FAQ

Recommended Dubai tours for this guide

Recommended tour

Old Dubai Walking Tour

It is the Dubai that is walked rather than driven: the Creek where the city began as a trading port, the restored wind-tower quarter and the souks that still trade spices and gold. A local guide tells the story along the way. The $35 walk includes the abra, Arabic coffee or tea, dates and water; the $55 option adds street-food tastings.

Duration

3-4 hours

Area

Old Dubai: Bur Dubai and Deira

Format

Shared group walk

Best for

first-time visitors, food lovers and anyone who wants the old trading side of Dubai on foot

From $35 per person Full prepayment

View tour

Recommended tour

Full-Day Desert Safari in Dubai

It is the slow-travel version of the classic safari: more time on the dunes, sunset without the crowds and a full evening programme at a premium camp with air-conditioned tents, unlimited drinks and a large BBQ buffet with vegetarian and gluten-free options. Everything is arranged from the hotel door — a licensed English-speaking driver, the 4x4, the camp and the shows.

Duration

7 hours

Area

Lahbab Desert, Dubai

Format

Full-day desert safari

Best for

families, couples and first-time desert visitors who want the full evening programme

From $45 per person No prepayment

View tour

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