The meals are worth waiting for

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  The menu may feature only five items each night, but the restaurant’s reputation for fresh, tasty seafood ensures queues before opening time and tables filled with satisfied diners. Pawan Singh / The National

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  After a major revamp Bu Qtair, an institution among Dubai residents, continues to feed its loyal clientele in a new, upmarket setting just off Umm Suqeim beach. Pawan Singh / The National

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  On any day diners wait in line for about 30 minutes to place their order from a menu of five items. Then they wait for their name to be called to receive the order at their table. Pawan Singh / The National

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  The restaurant is owned by a South Indian family who started the restaurant to cater to fishermen. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Marinated fish and prawns at the Bu Qtair restaurant. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Guests tuck into dinner at the Bu Qtair. Pawan Singh / The National

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  After a major revamp Bu Qtair, an institution among Dubai residents, continues to feed its loyal clientele in a new, upmarket setting just off Umm Suqeim beach. Pawan Singh / The National

DUBAI // It is a decades-old seaside restaurant where delicious fish used to be eaten at simple plastic tables and stools on the beach.

But after a major revamp Bu Qtair, an institution among Dubai residents, continues to feed its loyal clientele in a new, upmarket setting just off Umm Suqeim beach.

The dining experience remains the same. Each evening the queues begin in anticipation of the 7pm opening. It is first-come, first-served, with no telephone reservations taken.

On any day diners wait in line for about 30 minutes to place their order from a menu of five items. Then they wait for their name to be called to receive the order at their table.

The restaurant is owned by a South Indian family who started the restaurant to cater to fishermen.

“We started very small, on the beach,” says Abdul Karim, the brother of the owner. “Fishermen ate here then tourists started coming. And it hasn’t stopped since. We buy fish the same morning. That’s why the food tastes good, because it is fresh. Everything is fresh from our sea.”