Why Neighbourhood Food Hall in Motor City is worth checking out right now
Casual Dining, Cheap Eats, Dubai Restaurants, Eat
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Why Neighbourhood Food Hall in Motor City is worth checking out right now
A timely update on Neighbourhood Food Hall in Dubai’s Motor City, from burgers and udon to Thai, tacos and Indian grills, and why this homegrown food hall befits the moment.
Neighbourhood Food Hall's The Meating Room serves up this roasted bone marrow with crispy onions, gravy and Indian breads.
The Highs
The Lows
The Highs
The Lows
Neighbourhood Food Hall in Motor City feels built for a moment like this
There are flashier places to eat in Dubai. There are shinier new openings, louder launches and rooms with more lascivious PR wattage. But right now, Neighbourhood Food Hall in Motor City makes a quieter, and arguably more useful case for itself: eat nearby, support homegrown operators, and do it without crossing the city or turning dinner into an event.
It currently presents itself as an 11-concept food hall in Motor City, with dine-in and takeaway options. Most concepts offer delivery.
That practical flexibility is part of the appeal, but not the whole of it. Neighbourhood Food Hall describes itself as a curated, owner-driven, homegrown collection, and that sense of local personality is what stops it from feeling like a glorified collection of units under one roof.
Here is a look at the current line-up, in alphabetical order.
What’s on at Neighbourhood Food Hall
Dear Dumpling
The newest kid on the block, from Alicia Soo, comes with a focused, specialised menu doling out her contemporary interpretation of dumplings. They are not traditional, but they are delicious. Choose from steamed or fried dumplings, filled with either chicken and prawn or shiitake with Chinese olive vegetable — a savoury, umami-packed Teochew condiment made by simmering Chinese olives with mustard greens, oil and soy sauce. There are also noodles and, rumour has it, more dumplings to come. The boiled chicken and prawn dumplings and the fried shiitake ones stood out. Visit Dear Dumplings’ Instagram. Visit Dear Dumpling’s Instagram.
High Joint
High Joint remains the burger anchor, bringing one of Dubai’s better-known homegrown burger names into the line-up with a focused shortlist of original burgers. Its signature High Jamz burger enjoys cult status in Dubai. The Double High and Spicy Mango chicken burger make High Joint a reliable stop when restraint goes out the window. Visit High Joint’s Instagram.
Kokum & Kari
Kokum & Kari brings fragrant wafts of modern coastal Indian cooking to the hall, mercifully with nose-tingling heat and a slick coconut balm. Friends and I agree their Chicken Xacuti is lights-out good — one of the best in the city, and a noble platform from which to expand into their Goan Prawn Roast, Konkani Prawn Curry, Chilli Cheese Dosa, and Kerala Fish Fry. Why not lob on a masala dosa while you’re at it? Visit Kokum & Kari’s Instagram.
Mama Thai
Mama Thai is a recent entrant to the NFH Octagon, scratching a Thai fix in a hall reminiscent of a Southeast Asian hawker market. I met the owner, a charming lady, cooking up an enormous bowl of crimson Tom Yum and an eggy noodle Khao Soi. Expect recognisable dishes like hearty bowls of Pad Thai, refreshing Som Tam (papaya salad), meaty Pad Kra Pao and Mango Sticky Rice, when the fruit is suitably sweet. There’s enough noodles, heat, crunch, basil, acidity, and broad mouth-awakening flavour to feel like an actual choice rather than a default one. Visit Mama Thai’s Instagram.
The menu’s reputation is forged on big-flavoured, charcoal-tinged comfort like their psychedelic lamb chops are in the discussion of Dubai’s best chops.
Maru Udon
Maru Udon covers the Japanese side of the hall, but without being flat and mass market. It is not trying to be all things to all people. Dishes are built around those fat, toothsome udon noodles rather than the usual sprawling sushi-ramen compromise that often waters such concepts. Think Paitan Chicken, Niku Beef and Yume Tantan. You should always start with their speciality bowls IMHO. Do not overlook the tempura dishes that are better enjoyed inside Neighbourhood Food Hall. For those looking for subtlety, start here. Visit Maru Udon’s Instagram.
OMA
OMA is the sweet stop and coffee shop in the line-up rather than a full savoury restaurant, but that distinction almost feels beside the point. A good food hall should have somewhere to finish, and OMA gives NFH that little extra gravitational pull. You will want to buy cakes by the slice like the Cereal Milk Cake, Chocolate Crack Cake 2.0 and OMA’s Tiramisu. You should take home cookies by the box full chased down with one of their flat whites or iced Americanos. Visit OMA’s Instagram.
Oriental Dining
Oriental Dining broadens the line-up further with Singaporean and Malaysian dishes, completing the varied hawker-style repertoire at NFH. Think Hainanese Chicken Rice, Char Kway Teow Chicken and Seafood, Nasi Goreng, Nasi Lemak, Chilli Crab and much more. Visit Oriental Dining’s Instagram.
Sandwich Nerds
Sandwich Nerds is an uncomplicated concept that speaks to a broader trend of sandwich niche openings across Dubai in recent years. Expect the Cubano Beef Sandwich with 12-hour slow-roasted beef, the Grilled (Four) Cheese Sandwich, a Pesto Chicken, Banh Mi Chicken and a Halloumi Melt with sun-dried tomato and punchy aioli. There is a range of loaded fries for those who want to go all out. Visit Sandwich Nerds’ Instagram.
Tacos Los Hermanos
Tacos Los Hermanos delivers on its namesake with tacos built around carne asada, slow-cooked birria, shredded chicken, Baja Fish, quesadillas, and even beef tongue (worth trying!). If you want to broaden beyond just those handhelds, Tacos Los Hermanos serves generous portions of fresh guacamole, salsa, and fresh tortillas, as well as Mexican soft drinks. Visit Tacos Los Hermanos Instagram.
The Meating Room
The Meating Room remains one of the better-established names in the hall with a loyal, firm following, bridging both Indian and barbecue concepts. The menu’s reputation is forged on big-flavoured, charcoal-tinged comfort like their psychedelic lamb chops (in the discussion of Dubai’s best), chicken tikka wraps, and bone marrow scattered with crispy onions, best pinched between handfuls of fresh bread. Visit The Meating Room’s Instagram.
