Manama has the widest range of restaurants in Bahrain, reflecting the mix of nationalities that live and work in the country. The dominant cuisines are Lebanese, Indian, and Pakistani — restaurants serving all three are spread across the city and range from inexpensive canteen-style operations to well-run sit-down places. The souq area and the streets south of Bab al-Bahrain have the best concentration of cheap Pakistani and Indian canteens, most of which are open late and serve reliably good food at low prices. Adliya has the best quality across a broader range of cuisines, with the neighbourhood's converted villa restaurants generally offering a better experience than the hotel dining rooms.
Bahraini cooking is worth seeking out specifically. The staple dishes are machboos — a spiced rice dish cooked with meat or fish, similar to the Saudi kabsa but with its own distinct spice profile — and muhammar, a sweet rice made with dates and sugar, typically served alongside fried fish. Fresh fish from the dhow harbour at the Manama port is the starting point for much of the local seafood cooking; hammour (grouper) and zubaidi (pomfret) are the most prized local varieties. A few restaurants in the city specialise in traditional Bahraini home cooking; they tend not to advertise heavily and are worth asking locals about.
Specific restaurant recommendations date quickly in a city where turnover is high. The practical approach is to walk Adliya on a Thursday or Friday evening and judge the places by their crowd and menu, or ask at your hotel for what has opened recently. The souq-area canteens change less — they've been doing the same thing for decades.