Dinner gets the glamour in Dubai, but lunch is quietly the smarter deal. A fresh round-up of 30 business lunches across the city shows set menus at serious restaurants starting from the price of a casual dinner back home — and they're not just for suits on expense accounts. Anyone visiting Dubai midweek can eat extremely well for Dhs59 to Dhs195 a head.

In DIFC, the big names play ball. LPM, the ever-buzzing French-Mediterranean institution, does two set menus on weekdays: Dhs135 for starter and main, Dhs185 if you want dessert included — think sea bream tartare, grilled prawns and Paccheri à la Norcina. The Guild at ICD Brookfield Place undercuts it at Dhs119 for two courses, with Wagyu carpaccio and porcini risotto among the options.

Value spikes outside the financial district. Andaliman serves its Skyline Business Lunch 100 metres up at The Link, One Za'abeel for Dhs99, Indonesian dishes plus dessert and a panorama thrown in. Down the same building, Culinara's multi-cuisine Lunch Standard is Dhs65. Awani in Dubai Marina Mall does Levantine mezze and grills for Dhs59, and in JVC, Woodish pitches a three-course set at Dhs79, or Dhs150 for two.

If the occasion calls for a bit of show, there's plenty of that too. Nobu by the Beach at Atlantis The Royal has a weekday set menu for Dhs175 — crispy rice, salmon tataki, sushi — with the sea right there. High Society, on the 30th floor of The Lana, does two or three courses for Dhs150-175 alongside its sky-high views, while China Tang's Cantonese business lunch at The Lana Promenade runs Dhs148-168 with a beverage included.

Creek-side and Downtown picks round things out. Boardwalk at Dubai Creek Resort is Dhs110 for two courses with tea or coffee, plus house wine and beer from Dhs40 if you're not sprinting back to the office. Lakeview, overlooking the golf course, is Dhs85 for two. The MAINE Land Brasserie in Business Bay does a three-course prix fixe for Dhs145 (steak frites and sticky toffee pudding included), and Jun's, chef Kelvin Cheung's Downtown favourite, is Dhs125 for two courses. Tamoka at the Ritz-Carlton JBR plays it differently — a weekend beachfront Latin American lunch at Dhs149 for two courses, or Dhs274 with two hours of free-flow wine.

Why should travellers care? Because Dubai's hotel and fine-dining prices can be intimidating, and these weekday set menus are the loophole. Book a lunch instead of dinner at a marquee restaurant and you'll often pay half as much for a similar kitchen. If you're in town Sunday to Thursday — the local working week — you'll have the widest choice; a few spots like Tamoka run theirs on Friday and Saturday instead. Either way, reservations are wise: the popular ones fill with exactly the business crowds that give these menus their name.