Friday is the biggest eating-out day of the week in this country and the one people most often get wrong, because they arrive in the same ninety minutes as everybody else.
We are open 7:30 am to midnight every Friday, including public holidays. Here is how to time it, and the two things we only cook on this day.
The Friday shape
Morning, 7:30 to 11. Genuinely quiet, and one of the best times of the week to eat here. The full breakfast menu is on — mutton paya and beef nihari at AED 10, desi paratha at AED 2, karak chai at AED 1. A proper desi breakfast with no queue.
Around Jummah. The room empties. If you want a table with no wait at all, this is the hour.
1:30 to 3:30 pm — the rush. The busiest two hours of the week in the Sanaiya. Families, large tables, everybody at once. It is a good atmosphere and a long wait, so decide which of the two you are there for.
Evening, 7 to 11. The second peak, slower and more relaxed than the afternoon, and the better one for a karahi or the charcoal grill.
Until midnight. Most kitchens in the Sanaiya stop cooking well before they shut. Ours does not. More on that.
The two Friday-only dishes
Both are on the weekly menu, cooked fresh that morning in a single batch.
| Small | Large | |
|---|---|---|
| Aloo qeema — minced meat with potato | AED 8 | AED 12 |
| Curry pakora — yoghurt based curry with pakora in it | AED 5 | AED 8 |
Curry pakora is the one to come for. It is sour, soft and completely unlike the brown braises on the rest of the weekly list. It is vegetarian, it is AED 5, and Friday is the only day it exists.
Because both are single batches, they can finish. Come before the afternoon rush rather than after it, or call 050 720 8707 and ask what is still in the pot. More on the weekly menu.
What to order for a Friday table
Friday is a family day, so this is the sharing arithmetic.
Four people, about AED 97:
| AED | |
|---|---|
| Full Zafran chicken karahi | 30 |
| Chargha, full bird, feeds three | 35 |
| Eight tandoori roti | 8 |
| Daal of the day, large | 8 |
| Four karak chai | 4 |
| Two matka falooda | 20 |
Two people, about AED 37:
| AED | |
|---|---|
| Half Zafran chicken karahi | 15 |
| Four tandoori roti | 4 |
| Aloo qeema, small | 8 |
| Two lassi | 10 |
The order to avoid at 2 pm: a mutton karahi. It takes thirty minutes or more and that is before the Friday queue. Order it at 11, or at 8 in the evening, or message ahead on the drive over and it will be finishing as you park.
Practical notes
No booking needed unless you are eight or more. If you are a bigger group, call 050 720 8707 earlier in the day so there is a table ready. More on eating here as a group.
Free street parking directly outside, which on a Friday afternoon matters. Ground floor, step free from the pavement.
Indoor and outdoor seating, families welcome at every table. From late November the outdoor tables are the ones to ask for. More on the winter season.
Cash and card both accepted, and we answer in English, Urdu, Hindi and Arabic.
Finding us
Shop 8/1, ground floor, Amman Street, Ajman Industrial Area 2, beside Nesto Hypermarket.
From the Emirates Road take the Ajman Industrial Area exit towards the Sanaiya, keep going past the tyre shops and turn onto Amman Street. About eight minutes from the exit.
Open 7:30 am to midnight, every day of the year, including Fridays and public holidays.
We do not deliver, so Friday here means coming over. Each area of Ajman has its own page with the route in, and the full menu with every price is on this site.
Common questions
- Are restaurants open on Friday in Ajman?
- Most are, and the industrial area in particular keeps normal hours. Zafran Kitchen on Amman Street in Ajman Industrial Area 2 is open 7:30 am to midnight every Friday, including public holidays. The quiet hour is around Jummah prayer, and the busiest stretch is the two hours after it.
- What time is the Friday rush at restaurants in Ajman?
- Roughly 1:30 to 3:30 pm, after Jummah prayer, which is the busiest two hours of the week in the Sanaiya. If you want a quieter table, come before 12:30 or after 4. The food is identical either way.
- What is only available on Fridays?
- Two things from the weekly menu: aloo qeema at AED 8 small and AED 12 large, and curry pakora at AED 5 small and AED 8 large. Curry pakora is vegetarian and Friday is the only day of the week it is cooked.
- Is Friday a good day to bring the family?
- Yes, and it is the day most families come. Indoor and outdoor seating, families welcome at every table, free street parking directly outside and step free access from the pavement. No booking is needed unless you are eight or more, in which case call ahead on 050 720 8707.
- Do you close for prayer?
- The kitchen runs continuously from 7:30 am to midnight. It naturally goes quiet around Jummah, which is the easiest time of the Friday to get a table without waiting.
- Are you open on public holidays?
- Yes, every day of the year including Fridays and public holidays, 7:30 am to midnight.
- restaurants open friday ajman
- jummah lunch ajman
- friday lunch ajman
- ajman friday food
- family lunch friday
Hungry now
Order it instead of reading about it
The kitchen is open every day from half past seven in the morning until midnight.