Open 24 hrs
Friday: 12:30pm to 02:30pm closed for deep cleaning
Open 24 hrs
Open 24 hrs
06:00 am to 01:00 am
08:00 am to 12:00 am
10:00 am to 10:00 pm
Weekend
10:00 am to 12:00 am
12:00 pm to 12:00 am
From its earliest days as the Deira Fish Market in 1958, the heart of Dubai’s fresh food trade has always been by the sea. In 2017 we evolved this legacy into the Waterfront Market a vibrant space where fishermen still unload their catch at dawn, spices fragrance the air, and the city meets nature. More than a place to buy fish, meat, and produce, the market connects generations: traders with the past, chefs with tradition, and families with flavor.
The original Deira Fish Market was established in 1958, serving decades as one of the city’s primary fresh food hubs.
Waterfront Market opened in 2017, built as a modern, hygienic successor to the old fish market.
The market covers over 120,000 square feet of retail space.
Seafood, meat, fresh fruit & vegetables, spices, dates, dry goods. These include both local and international produce (Oman, India etc.).
Open 24 hours daily (certain sections), providing around the-clock access to fresh food.
By 2022, over 50 million visits since 2017.
About 770 underground parking spots + 470 outdoor parking spaces.
There are hundreds of seafood vendors; specific species sold include hammour, kingfish, pink-ear emperor (shari), yellow-bar angelfish (jesh), two-bar seabream (faskar), etc.
1950s beginnings: The Deira Fish Market opened in 1958 when Dubai was still a small trading port. It became a focal point for the emirate’s seafood supply, serving families, hotels, and even pearl divers’ descendants.
Auction culture: Each morning, traders and fishermen gathered for noisy, fast-paced fish auctions. The auctioneer’s chant was part of daily life chefs, restaurateurs, and households all competed for the best catch. This tradition represented transparency and trust: prices were set in public, with the community as witness.
Link to Creek trade: Deira Fish Market stood just steps from Dubai Creek, the artery of commerce where dhows from Iran, India, and East Africa unloaded goods. Fish joined textiles, spices, and pearls as vital commodities exchanged here, reinforcing Deira’s role as the “mercantile quarter” of Dubai.
Community Connections: The Deira Fish Market was more than a trading place — it was a meeting ground for generations. Fishermen greeted one another before dawn, sharing stories of tides and catch. Locals came not just to buy fish but to exchange news, recipes, and laughter, making the market a vibrant social hub at the heart of old DUBAI.
Heritage & Traditions: Each family had its own rhythm — fathers and sons mending nets, mothers bargaining skillfully, children learning the trade by watching and listening. The sounds of the auctioneer’s call and the scent of the sea became part of DEIRA’S collective memory, reflecting a way of life rooted in resilience and respect for the ocean.
Echos of the Past: Even as modern markets and supermarkets emerged, many residents continued to visit DEIRA for its authenticity. Long-time traders became storytellers of DUBAI’S transformation, recalling the days when deals were sealed with handshakes and trust. These human stories keep the spirit of the old market alive — a reminder that progress in DUBAI has always carried the soul of its people.
Sustaining livelihoods: The Deira Fish Market played a vital role in Dubai’s local economy, providing steady income for fishermen, traders, and transporters. Entire families depended on the daily trade — from the men who went out to sea to the vendors who cleaned, sorted, and sold the catch.
Market multiplier effect: The market’s activity supported a wider network of related businesses — ice suppliers, boat repair shops, spice sellers, and restaurant owners — creating a small but powerful economic ecosystem around Deira’s waterfront.
Urban growth driver: As Dubai’s population expanded, the demand for fresh seafood grew. The market adapted with improved storage, logistics, and later, modern facilities. Its steady commercial flow contributed to Deira’s development as a bustling commercial district and helped shape Dubai’s reputation as a regional trading powerhouse.
In 2017, the legacy moved a few steps down the coast and into the present. Waterfront Fresh Food Market opened its doors as the successor to Deira Fish Market purpose-built, light-filled, and rooted in the same promise: freshness, fairness, and the daily joy of discovery. Here, the boats still nose the quays; lorries roll in from farms; and traders arrange the morning’s catch and harvest into color and chorus. We welcome night-owl chefs and early-bird families alike because in Dubai, good food keeps market hours, not office hours.
Walk our aisles and you’ll meet the city in miniature: fishermen with stories of the Creek, produce merchants hawking dates and herbs, spice sellers who measure time in cardamom and saffron. Restaurants spill onto the waterfront, and the old market spirit part barter, part festival lives on, modernized but unmistakable. We are tradition with air-conditioning; heritage with better knives; the same honest scale, balanced for a new day.
Waterfront Fresh Food Market is more than a place to shop. It is the living archive of Dubai’s food story where a fishing village became a global city and never forgot how to choose a perfect fish. The names have changed, the skyline has soared, but the vow remains: bring the best in, send the best home, and keep the market’s heart beating for the next generation.
The original Deira Fish Market was established in the 1950s. It quickly became a central hub for fresh seafood and produce in Dubai, representing the city’s deep-rooted history in commerce, fishing and culinary excellence.
Traders move to the new Waterfront Market as the first fish auction is held at midnight in the new facility.
The Waterfront Market opens its doors to the public, replacing the historic Deira Fish Market with a modern, state-of-the-art facility spanning over 100,000–120,000 square meters.
The market surpasses 50 million visits having sold over 599,400 tonnes of food since its opening, cementing its place as a global tourism destination in Dubai.
Expanding its culinary and retail offering through restaurants, cafes and promenade, the market has become a one stop shopping and dining destination and the largest indoor food market in the region. Hosting annual events such as Eid, Diwali, the Dragon Boat Championship and more, it continues to connect a local and international community, acting as a gateway to global trade.
