IKEA UAE’s Levantine Cuisine Week Returns with Bold New Flavours

• Enjoy a limited-time menu of Levantine favourites at all IKEA restaurants in the UAE from January 14–19, starting from AED 3.
• Select items are co-created with acclaimed chef Salwa Shalabi, celebrating authentic Levantine flavours.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 13 January 2026

IKEA UAE, operated by Al-Futtaim,is bringing back its beloved ‘Levantine Cuisine Week’ at its restaurants from January 14 to 19. In celebration of the Levant’s culinary heritage, a limited-time menu will feature traditional delicacies each day, with select items co-created with acclaimed chef Salwa Shalabi, renowned for her regional cooking expertise, television appearances, and hands-on culinary work across the Middle East.

Each Levantine dish draws inspiration from the vibrant flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean, including countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and parts of Turkey, creating a menu featuring much-loved regional classics.

Start the day with a hearty breakfast offering a wide range of options, including falafel, zaatar cheese and meat manakish, as well as live stations serving foul mudammas and Lebanese breakfast fattah, all priced between AED 3 and AED 15. Cold selections, available at the Levantine Salad Bar, come in a regular portion for AED 9 or a large portion for AED 15. The menu also features a generous selection of mains, from tomato burghul and lemon chicken with potatoes to chicken mussakhan, lamb shank mansaf, and a shish barak live station, with prices ranging from AED 15 to AED 49. For those seeking something lighter, options include a comforting bowl of lentil soup at AED 7, or chicken and vegetable wheat soup priced at AED 9.

Highlights include Chef Salwa Shalabi’s popular vine leaves, priced at AED 12, and lamb ouzi pastry at AED 35. Guests can also enjoy the chef’s variety of appetisers, such as kibbeh, spinach fatayer, cheese sambussek, and mussakhan rolls, available as add-on options starting from just AED 3. To finish on a sweet note, fresh kunafa is available for dessert at AED 12.

Sumit Sachedva, Head of Food at IKEA UAE, Qatar, Oman and Egypt, stated: “Food has always been one of the simplest ways to feel connected to a culture or place. Bringing back Levantine Cuisine Week to our restaurants is our way of celebrating flavours that many of our customers grew up with. These dishes are meant to be shared and enjoyed together, and we aim to recreate that homely experience here at IKEA. Working with Chef Salwa Shalabi has helped us keep the menu true to its roots, while making it accessible to everyone who visits our stores. At IKEA, this is how we embrace our role in sharing diverse cuisines with our customers from around the world.”

Chef Salwa Shalabi commented on the collaboration, saying: “Levantine food is deeply personal to me. It’s home, family, and long conversations over tea or coffee around the dining table. For this menu, I focused on flavours people love and recognise, keeping the dishes honest and true to traditional cooking styles. Partnering with IKEA has given me the opportunity to share these flavours with a wider audience, in a way that feels authentic.”

IKEA invites all food lovers to take part in this cultural celebration and enjoy the limited-time menu across IKEA stores in Dubai Festival City, Dubai Jebel Ali, Yas Island Abu Dhabi, and Al Ain Jimi Mall.

For more information, please contact 800 IKEA (800 4532).