Dubai Guide
Satwa
The unpretentious district of Satwa is the southernmost outpost of Dubai's predominantly low-rise, low-income inner suburbs before you reach the giant skyscrapers of Sheikh Zayed Road and the beginnings of the supersized modern city beyond. It's also one of the few places in Dubai where the city's different ethnic groups really rub shoulders, with a mix of Arab, Indian, Southeast Asian and even a few European residents, reflected in an unusually eclectic selection of places to eat, from cheap-and-cheerful curry houses to Lebanese sweet shops, Persian bakeries and pizzerias. The centre of the district is Satwa Roundabout, overlooked by the Rydges Plaza Hotel. The streets south of here are mainly occupied by Indian and Pakistani shops and cafés, such as the well-known Ravi's. West from the roundabout stretches Satwa's principal thoroughfare, the tree-lined Al-Diyafah Street, one of the nicest streets in Dubai – and one of the few outside the city centre with any real street life – with wide pavements, dozens of restaurants, and an interestingly cosmopolitan atmosphere; it all feels rather Mediterranean, especially after dark, when the cafés get going and the crowds come out, and the low-rise development makes a pleasant change if you've spent some time among the neck-cricking high-rises of nearby Sheikh Zayed Road.