The Sanaiya is not an easy place to navigate if you do not already know it. The streets look alike, the map pins land on the wrong side of compounds, and half the landmarks are workshops with no signage.
The simplest instruction: find Nesto Hypermarket in Ajman Industrial Area 2, and we are on Amman Street beside it. Shop 8/1, ground floor, with the green sign.
Directions, in the way people actually give them
From the Emirates Road (E611). Take the Ajman Industrial Area exit and head towards the Sanaiya. Keep going past the tyre shops and the workshops. Turn onto Amman Street. We are on the ground floor on the right. It is about eight minutes from the exit.
From Ajman city or the Corniche. Head inland towards Industrial Area 2 and make for Nesto Hypermarket. Amman Street runs beside it.
From Sharjah. Come through Al Jurf towards New Sanaiya and pick up Nesto from there.
Coordinates, if you would rather trust the satellite than the street names: 25.376851, 55.462529. There is a live map and a directions link on the contact page.
What to expect when you arrive
Parking. Free street parking directly outside. In the evening it fills up, but there is almost always something within a minute's walk.
Access. Ground floor, step free from the pavement. No stairs and no kerb to lift a pushchair over.
Seating. Indoor and outdoor. Families are welcome at every table and nobody will move you to a back room.
Payment. Cash and card both accepted.
Language. We answer in English, Urdu, Hindi and Arabic.
Bringing children
The honest problem with a Pakistani menu and small children is that a lot of it carries more chilli than a child will thank you for. Three things on our card do not.
Chicken white handi, AED 26. Cream, yoghurt and white pepper, no chilli heat at all. Cooked down in a clay pot so the sauce clings to the meat rather than running off it, which also makes it the least messy thing to eat with bread.
Mutton white karahi, AED 32 for a half. The same idea with mutton. Rich and mild.
Reshmi kabab, AED 22. Cream and cheese worked into the mince, soft all the way through, no bones and no heat. Off the charcoal, so it comes with the smoke but not the chilli.
Add butter naan at AED 2 and a sweet lassi at AED 5 and you have fed a child properly.
If you want something adjusted, milder, or without a particular masala, tell the counter when you order. The karahi goes on the fire after you order it, so changing it is genuinely possible rather than a polite fiction.
When to come
We are open every day from 7:30 am to midnight, including Fridays and public holidays.
Half past seven to noon is the breakfast counter: paratha, chana, paya, nihari and chai. Quietest before nine.
Lunch is the workshops, so it is busy and quick between twelve and two.
Evening from about seven is when families arrive and the charcoal is at its best. This is the busiest stretch and the one worth phoning ahead for if you are a large group.
After ten it thins out and stays open. The kitchen cooks until midnight, not until it feels like stopping.
Before you come
For a table of eight or more, call 050 720 8707 so we can put tables together first. For anything cooked to order, especially a mutton karahi or charcoal BBQ, sending the order ahead on WhatsApp means it lands on the table shortly after you do rather than half an hour later.
Landline 06 536 3815. The full menu with every price is on this site, along with the weekly menu and the monthly mess.
Common questions
- Where exactly is Zafran Kitchen in Ajman?
- Shop 8/1, ground floor, Amman Street, Ajman Industrial Area 2, near Nesto Hypermarket, Sanaiya, Ajman. Coordinates 25.376851, 55.462529. From the Emirates Road take the Ajman Industrial Area exit towards the Sanaiya, and once past the tyre shops turn onto Amman Street. About eight minutes from the exit.
- Is there parking?
- Yes, free street parking directly outside on Amman Street. The restaurant is on the ground floor with step free access from the pavement.
- Is it suitable for families and children?
- Yes. There is indoor and outdoor seating and families are welcome at every table. For children, the mildest things on the menu are the chicken white handi, the mutton white karahi and the reshmi kabab, none of which carry chilli heat.
- Do I need to book a table?
- No booking is needed for a normal table. If you are eight or more, call ahead on 050 720 8707 so we can put tables together before you arrive.
- family restaurant ajman
- near nesto hypermarket
- amman street
- directions
- sanaiya
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The kitchen is open every day from half past seven in the morning until midnight.