Street Food Nights in Sharjah: Affordable Eats Under AED 20

When you are in Sharjah and it is past the sunset time, and you want to have a tasty and affordable bite, then the hidden treasure in the city is the Street Food Nights. This is because these night-time stalls and pop-ups allow you to taste a variety of local-style street food, such as samosas and wraps, local Emirati snacks, at a very cheap price. Most of the products are less than AED 20 and hence suitable to students, low-end travellers, or even anyone seeking to have flavor without having to spend a lot. They are usually held in the local markets, streets in the community or around cultural centers and attract foodies to go out at night. We will discuss the things to look forward to and where such offers can be found. Check the Highlights of Travel Updates.

Where & When: The Setup of Night Food Popups

The street food nights in Sharjah are apt to occur along an alley of a pedestrian, alleys of a souk, community plazas. In other instances, municipalities or individual promoters provide a block or street where vendors can be found during certain evenings. Food carts are common in the evening in markets around Al Qasba, in Al Majaz or in some areas of Rolla. These events serve both locals and tourists, with simple snacks in a relaxed and free-air environment.

The vendors would open in the evening and remain until late in the night when people were out shopping, walking around their neighborhoods or going home and the vendors took advantage of the people. Its design is generally casual – food stands, small kiosks or portable booths along the narrow aisles, and plastic benches or chairs are used to sit around it.

Since such stalls have low over-heads, they are able to sell many products at a very low rate. Food-price guides suggest that the average cost of typical street food or so-called quick eats in the UAE is between AED 5 and AED 15, with higher-calorie, but still less formal dishes being priced between AED 20 and AED 40.

Street Food Nights in Sharjah in particular have some of the most sought-after items priced at or below AED 20 (including VAT where applicable). The food vloggers on social media have posted 20 AED food trips in Sharjah and featured several small meals in that budget.

What You Can Try 

During the Street food evenings, you are likely to find:

• Snacks/ Starters: Samosas, samboosas, spring roll, mini wraps.
• Alongside street food: Shawarma, kebabs, local Emirati snacks (louqaimat, harees)
• Small combos: Wrap deals and beverage deals.
• Sweeteners: local sweets, fried sweets, sweets and tea.
  

The positive thing with such events is that you have the ability to taste various small foods without spending too much. As an illustration, you could get a snack with AED 5-10 and a more substantial wrap or combo with AED 15-20 and still not go above the AED 20 limit that you are targeting.