For those who don’t know about Barbeque Nation, it is a restaurant that has pioneered the art of live grills and lavish buffets that would satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. They opened their first restaurant in Mumbai in 2006 and ever since, have become renowned for re-defining the Indian barbeque.

Located in Barsha near Mall of the Emirates, Barbeque Nation looks like a very conventional restaurant from the outside, but inside it is very spacious with different wooden details on each wall. The detail I loved the most was the wall decorated with vintage vinyl cds. The buffet is extensive with separate areas for salad, biryanis and chaat, as well as, live stations for stir-fry, dal and quesadillas.

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I went for the lunch buffet on a Saturday last month. This includes unlimited food, drinks and desserts (priced at AED 69 per person). Not only is that extremely affordable, you are also allowed 2 kids up to age 6 for free!
Entering the establishment, the staff greeted us very graciously and we were promptly seated at our table. We were then given a run-through of their DIY BBQ concept and the different options we had at the buffet to choose for our mains. The table had a mini, active grill in the center, with the menu giving details on what vegetarian and non-vegetarian skewers were available for grilling and what dishes were in the buffet for the day. There is also a hilarious flag saying “I Give Up”, which you have to put at half-mast when you are done stuffing your face.

Till the grilled food arrived, we hopped over to the Chaat station for Pani Puri. I mean who can walk past a chaat counter without eating pani puri or bhel?! Extremely satisfied to say that is was yum!

We then went on to check out the Chinese counter, where we got ourselves a bowl of Vegetable Noodles & Chicken Stir-Fry in schezuan sauce. Since the dish was prepared at a live counter, the food was served piping hot! This tasted like our home-made Indian Chinese and was definitely something I would go back for again.

Finally, our grill food arrived and we headed back to the table. With a varied selection, from tender chicken to fresh fish to juicy pineapple to fluffy paneer, it was a meal fit for a king. My favorites were the Peri-Peri Chicken, Zafrani Fish Tikka and Paneer Lasooni. Overall, definitely the best barbeque grill food I have had in a long time. They kept on placing new skewers till we finally had to concede defeat and lower our flag to half mast!

With the grill food, they also serve small portions of starters to each person: Cajun Spice Potato, Crispy Fry Corns, Tandoori Chicken, Veg Aloo Spinach and Corn Kebab. All the dishes were perfect in terms of seasoning and taste!

Already half full but determined, we attacked the buffet! From the countless options BBQ Nation had in their lunch buffet, we ate the Chicken Biryani, which was made exquisitely! In addition we had the Paneer Butter Masala, Chicken Palak and Hunan Fish, which were all made really well. I have to specially mention the Fish since it was super soft and fresh and I absolutely loved the Indo-Chinese style it was made in.


Being a pure Sindhi, I cannot resist Yellow Dal and that is what I took next to add to the amazing dishes I had already filled my plate with from the buffet. A Dal station is not something you see very often and to be able to make it the way you want it; well that is just spoiling us rotten!

Despite the amazing main course options, it was impossible for us not to have desserts. The selection included pastries, chocolate brownie, kesari halwa, phirni, gulab jamun and a kulfi counter! We obviously had to have one of each of these and we did not regret it at all. Their Kulfi counter had a variety of options, but we went for the Gulkand & Chocolate flavored Kulfis and Malai Kulfi which were all so good that I was legit sad when I finished them!


Overall, eating at Barbeque Nation was an experience I won’t forget. I cannot remember the last time I ate so much food and still wanted to eat more! With affordable prices, excellent service and delectable food, this place is definitely one that I recommend to all of you for business lunches, family gatherings or even birthdays. With the variety of food and their skill with preparing their dishes, there is definitely something for everyone at Barbeque Nation!

Definitely going back here again!

Barbeque Nation is located at G+1 Villa, next to HQ Fitness, near Lulu Mall in Barsha 2, Dubai.
Paid Parking is available right outside the establishment.
You can reach them at ­­­­­­04-4376096 (table bookings are recommended).