Chhappan Bhog

Gorge on South Indian snacks
Popular plate: Sample South India’s greatest hits with a vegetable thali—an assortment of curries and Indian breads that is guaranteed to fill you up for AED 29.

This diminutive sweet shop has been run by the same woman for the last 17 years, and in that time, has become a stalwart of cheap, delicious, South Indian food. There’s only six tables, and the wooden patio—though spacious—gets packed come lunch time, so takeaway is the way to go.
Glass counters proffer all manner of colourful Indian sweets, though the vegetarian curries and dosas are just as popular. At the back of the restaurant, patrons gorge on pani puris—crispy shells stuffed with an exotic mix of puffed rice and tamarind water—for a reasonable AED 8.