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Sharjah's homegrown bakeries and kitchens

Sharjah has a quieter food reputation than its neighbours, but some of the UAE's longest-running homegrown bakeries started here, and a new wave of kitchens is opening in Aljada and along the waterfront. This guide lists the Sharjah food businesses in the Neighbours Circle directory whose origin has been independently checked against a published source. We say only what those sources say, and each section names the publication so you can read the original.

Al Mukhtar Bakery: bread since 1981

Gulf News headlines Al Mukhtar as the oldest bakery in the UAE. It reports that Ahmad Hoteit, a Lebanese expatriate who had come to the UAE in the 1970s at the age of 22, set up a small bakery in Sharjah Industrial Area in 1981, baking only Arabic bread at first. That first branch closed in 2007; the business now runs two larger branches open around the clock, one near Ansar Mall in Sharjah and one in Ajman. The menu has grown to samoon, manakish, with cheese among the favourites, sausage rolls and Arabic sweets (Gulf News).

Mister Baker: celebration cakes since 1990

Property Finder's guide to Sharjah bakeries says Mister Baker began in 1990, when two friends set out to build a bakery in Sharjah that made celebrations feel special. It has several branches in Sharjah. Expect custom cakes, desserts, savouries and party supplies (Property Finder).

Emirati cooking in Aljada

Two Aljada restaurants put Emirati food at the centre. Fact Magazine calls Kashtat Amina the latest project from acclaimed Emirati chef Mariam Almansoori, named after her mother, on East Boulevard, with dishes such as balaleet, madrooba and luqaimat made from local ingredients (Fact Magazine). Nearby is Murmur. In The National, founder Saeed AlGaz speaks as an Emirati about the gap he saw in dining, and the paper describes a newly opened fine dining room whose menu runs from machboos arancini to a karak cheesecake, after about 18 months of menu development (The National). A Gulf News headline calls Murmur Sharjah's first homegrown Emirati fine dining concept (Gulf News).

Kind Lyfe: from a home oven

Gulf News tells how Aria Ramsinghani started baking at home in 2019 and, about a year later, turned the hobby into a Sharjah-based family business with her husband Akshay and his sister Ruchika. Kind Lyfe makes vegan, gluten-free snacks without refined sugar, sold in UAE supermarkets and online (Gulf News).

Spice Grill: Filipino food by the water

Entrepreneur Middle East describes Spice Grill as a Filipino-owned restaurant whose first branch opened in October 2020 at Majaz Waterfront. Lourds Adalia-Evertse runs it in the UAE, and Cristine Caringal Melad co-founded it. The menu mixes Filipino classics with fusion dishes such as adobo birria tacos. The magazine adds that in 2025 it was the only Filipino-owned restaurant recognised at that year's Northern Emirates awards (Entrepreneur Middle East).

A pantry stop: Al Hajjaj Grocery

Not every kitchen is a restaurant. Gulf News profiles Sohail Khawar, a Pakistani expatriate, and the grocery he opened in Al Mujarrah in 2000, in the area people informally call Pakistan Chowk. The shelves carry produce, daals, spices, drinks and sweets that the article says are sourced from Pakistan, which makes it a useful stop if you cook at home (Gulf News).

Coffee stops while you are there

Near+Far calls Hoof Cafe a Sharjah-born concept with six outlets across the Emirates, one of them in Aljada, and a nod to the country's equestrian heritage (Near+Far). What's On describes Lammah Space in Aljada as a serene homegrown cafe, and Ethr ClubHaus at Al Mamsha as a homegrown concept rooted in heritage. The same round-up lists Point Seven, which it calls Fujairah-born, open around the clock in Aljada (What's On).

How we chose these

Every place here is a Neighbours Circle listing whose Sharjah story has been checked twice against the article we cite. That rule leaves out many good bakeries and kitchens simply because we have not yet found a source that tells their story. If you know one, recommend it; if you run one, claim your page and send us a link to coverage, and we will check it.

Sources