Nalukettu Restaurant

Nalukettu makes its case on location. The restaurant opens directly onto the shoreline near the Sheraton Sharjah beach end of the Corniche, and the outdoor terrace at night offers one of the more atmospheric dinner settings in Ajman, with ships queueing toward Dubai port on the horizon. The indoor room is functional rather than designed, but the real draw is the seaside tables and the cross-breeze that comes with them. The kitchen specialises in Kerala cooking with broader South Indian support. The lunchtime buffet, often built around fish curry served on banana leaf, is the most characterful way to sample the menu, and Thursday and Friday bring larger spreads. Appams arrive steaming and pair well with the house chicken and fish curries, which carry real spice depth. Alcohol is available, which sets Nalukettu apart from most Keralan restaurants in the UAE and partly explains its steady Malayali following. Pricing sits above the neighbourhood norm for Kerala food, but the setting and the bar list factor into that equation. A few caveats worth knowing. Service is the weakest part of the operation and can feel inattentive on busier nights, particularly with larger tables. Cooking is good rather than exceptional, and diners hunting the sharpest Kerala flavours in the UAE will find stronger kitchens elsewhere. The surrounding block leans toward nightlife venues, which makes the approach less family-friendly after dark, though the terrace itself stays self-contained. Taken on its terms, as a seaside Kerala restaurant with a licence and a genuinely beautiful view, Nalukettu remains a distinctive choice for an unhurried lunch or a group dinner by the water.