Dubai: Suhail Hamed has been living in Damascus Street for more than two decades, witnessing the street literally growing from an internal road to one of the most sought after places in Dubai.
“This road was not so busy in the late nineties or even ten years ago. It was mainly a residential place and the commercial activities were minimal. There were only a few restaurants a decade ago, however that has changed over the last few years and it seems ever restaurant wants open a branch here,” said Suhail, who is an accountant.
It is a connoisseur’s dream street and a heaven for food lovers. From Lebanese and Chinese for starters to Biryani and Kebab for main course, adding to that a pinch of fast food joints as well as some veggies to garnish — Dubai’s Damascus Street is one mega platter.
With 84 eateries, which include small cafeterias as well as some fine dining restaurants and popular kitchens, the six-kilometre stretch from the border of Sharjah to the Al Nahda Road intersection arguably has the highest density of restaurants for any street in Dubai.
A busy road, housing residential enclaves as well as commercial outlets, the street offers a mouthwatering trip, but with aroma wafting from either side it’s not the best place to get stuck in traffic.
Gulf News took a trip down the ‘food street’ and literally counted every food outlet, which included cafes, bakeries as well as juice and ice cream joints.
One of the reasons for the boom, suggests Mohammad Shahid, Manager of Daily Restaurant, a popular chain with branch on Damascus Street, is the right mix of residential and commercial activities around the street.
“There are lot of offices and warehouses around, those who work in these places come here for lunch. Also a lot of people use this road to travel between Sharjah and that also benefits us and add to that a huge residential community around Al Twar, Al Nahda and Al Qusais who like dining out. I think these are good incentives for business people to open new restaurants here,” said Shahid, who has been working with the Daily Restaurant for 12 years.
More restaurants means more competition for older players like Daily Restaurant and Chicken Tikka Inn, but that doesn’t seem to bother them.
“It seems new restaurants are opening up here every month and most seem to do fairly well, but that hasn’t affected us in anyway. It’s good to be in a location which is known for what we sell and we won’t mind competition, because we have our loyal customer base as we have been in this area for 15 years and our company was established way back in 1971,” said Mohammad Usman, who is the supervisor of Chicken Tikka Inn’s Damascus Street branch. Though, 84 is high number of restaurants to have for an entire neighbourhood, let alone a single street, the density has surprised even some of the newer outlets on the street.
“I know there are many eateries on this street but I can’t believe there are so many, I still can’t believe it could be 84. I thought Karama had a lot of restaurants but this is clearly higher number for a street. You can surely call it the food street of Dubai,” said Riyaz AGC, General Manager of Bangalore Empire Restaurant.
He says proximity to the airport, relatively lower rent as well as its position as a link between Dubai and Sharjah, has helped the street to what it has turned out to be.
Whatever the reason, If you are hungry and cannot decide where to go, a trip down the Damascus Street is your best bet. It will offer you an unbelievable variety on a platter to choose from.
