We've spent years finding the UAE's finest. Now you can find them in seconds.
We've spent years finding the UAE's finest. Now you can find them in seconds.
DUBAI
Barsha
Kairos Coffee Assembly Dubai: Specialty coffee, matcha and all-day breakfast in Al Quoz
A two-metre circular table, hand-carved from a single block of stone brought over from India, anchors this Al Quoz Creative Zone café – V60 pour-overs get poured tableside here rather than carried over from the bar. Kairos roasts its own beans in the room using the UAE's first Bellwether Shop Roaster, an electric, ventless machine visible through a glass wall behind the counter.
The all-day menu runs from sourdough breakfasts and French toast to a house bakery turning out its own pastries and madeleines, with matcha, fresh juices and smoothies rounding out the drinks list. During an exclusive preview ahead of opening, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon arrived over a toasted croissant, alongside a grilled peach and ricotta sourdough toast and a saffron honey French toast with clotted cream. A second-floor communal table extends the room for groups, and the plant-filled layout is built for lingering rather than a quick coffee stop.
Cup Coffee House Dubai: Specialty coffee, matcha and café food in Al Quoz
Terracotta corrugated cladding on a warehouse façade gives this café away before you've even reached the arched glass door – inside, polished concrete floors and a full-size olive tree rising from the communal table set the tone for a space built around the long stay. Power outlets sit within reach of nearly every table, and nobody's rushing you off it.
The food menu runs from a glazed signature bagel with cream cheese and honey (22 AED) through composed bowls and sandwiches, while coffee splits into black, white, matcha and non-coffee sections. The Glazed Bagel (22 AED) came split and toasted, the honey lifting the cream cheese without tipping into sweet, and The Cup (30 AED) – the house signature drink – landed smooth and well-balanced on the espresso ratio. A short walk from Onpassive Metro Station, it's one of the easier warehouse-district cafés to reach without a car.
Dalia Dubai: Bagels, specialty coffee and matcha in Jumeirah Village Circle
A disco ball hangs near the kitchen pass, vinyl records and cassette-print cushions playing up a 1970s and '80s theme against exposed concrete and patches of ochre and rust. This tiny homegrown bagel bar – from the team behind Lea Cafe, Flip Smash Burgers and Pull Me Pizzeria – seats only a handful across a window bench, a leather sofa and a wall bench, with six savoury bagels and a drinks list running from filtered coffee to ube lattes and açai bowls.
The New Yorker Wannabe (54 AED) is the full deli homage – 30-hour smoked pastrami, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing – and the ube latte (35 AED) and ube matcha (33 AED) give the coffee list real competition. Weekends get busy; come on a weekday after 5 p.m. for a seat.
Gooder Skateboarding: Dubai's first concrete indoor skate park with community space, cafe and more in Alserkal Avenue
Orange and lavender murals splash across corrugated metal long before you reach the entrance at Alserkal Avenue. This is Dubai's first indoor concrete skate park – free to enter, built by two Syrian expats who helped shape the city's earliest skating culture – with a proper café built in.
Ollie's by DRVN handles wood-fired pizza, a DRVN Coffee bar covers espresso and brewed coffee, and the warehouse-height interior fits a retail floor, a mezzanine lounge and a private dining room. Rotating pop-ups and events give you a reason to come back between sessions.
Swell Dubai: Wellness club and cafe with cold plunge and sauna in Al Quoz
A long, sweeping staircase in dark polished wood greets you on entry, flanked by rounded white plaster balustrades, two rattan pendant lights looping overhead like oversized rings. The health club upstairs calls itself one "for people who get it"; the ground-floor café holds its own as a standalone space, open to members and non-members alike.
Espresso, smoothies and a matcha list, served in a room finished in curved teal mosaic tiling and terrazzo floors. Start with the Pistachio Matcha – well-balanced, not too sweet, topped with crushed pistachios – and keep the Electrolyte Elixir in mind if you're coming straight off a class.
Bur Dubai
Kanso Coffee Lab Dubai: A specialty coffee and tea bar in Al Fahidi
A raw plastered façade and heavy wooden shutters give nothing away. Through the door, a high-ceilinged room opens up inside Anfas Collection's perfume boutique in Al Fahidi: a drinks-only specialty coffee and tea bar with no food on the menu at all.
Al Fahidi's slower pace and Creek-side setting suit Kanso's quiet, focused approach. We ordered the Hot Chocolate and the Flat White – both excellent – and you're free to move between the café and the perfume rooms without buying a thing.
Jumeirah
Crunch Dubai: Specialty coffee, bakery and all-day dining in Jumeirah
Order a plain croissant here and you pick your own filling, then watch it get pumped in at the counter right in front of you – the signature move at this Wasl 51 café's croissant bar. Chefs Mukhtar Kosbayev and Anastassiya Kosbayeva, both from Kazakhstan, run the homegrown bakery and all-day dining menu behind it, with the pastry team visible at work through the bakery's glass walls.
Croissants and sourdough come from the in-house bakery, alongside a specialty coffee and matcha programme and an all-day menu spanning breakfast through dinner. We visited ahead of opening for a midday run through the menu – the Crunch Flat Bread with feta dip was moreish enough to reorder, and the stuffed roasted bell peppers held their own next to a rich, filling pastrami orzo. It works equally well for a solo coffee or a full sit-down meal, with vegetarian dishes threaded throughout.
Culture Deli Dubai: All-day deli, specialty coffee and signature sandwiches on the Dubai Water Canal
Full-height windows fold open onto the Marasi promenade when the weather plays ball, pulling the canal-side breeze straight into the room. This deli built its following from a food truck at Alserkal Avenue before settling into a permanent home on the Dubai Water Canal in Al Safa this April.
The pantry-driven menu – za'atar, tahini, labneh and sumac, filtered through a global deli format – covers all-day breakfast, signature sandwiches and a proper specialty coffee programme. Order the Deli Fold and the Chocolate Miso Cookie; the communal table suits a solo laptop session as easily as a group breakfast.
Cherryhouse Dubai: Coffee roastery, artisan bakery and all-day dining in Al Safa
Glossy burgundy-tiled columns rise from terrazzo floors, exposed ductwork painted the same deep red overhead, softened by brass pendant lights and flashes of gold. This large-format café-restaurant in Al Safa runs a working coffee roastery, a serious artisan bakery and a full all-day dining room under one roof.
The coffee menu starts at a 22 AED house espresso and climbs to the Ember Coffee Cart Experience – tableside auction-lot Yemeni coffee, flash-cooled with a frozen titanium rock, at 300 AED a serving. We ordered the Avocado Benedict and the Raspberry Finger danish, and both delivered; the bread programme's 48-hour fermented sourdough is the loaf to take home.
ONA Coffee Dubai: Specialty coffee, all-day dining and matcha in Jumeirah 1
A deep burnt-terracotta facade rises around a soaring glass dome, giving passers-by a glimpse of the interior before they've reached the door. This is World Barista Champion Sasa Šestić's first international branch, complete with its own on-site roastery and sensory room in Jumeirah 1.
Ordering starts with a question – espresso, milk-based or filter; fruit-forward or chocolatey – backed by direct sourcing relationships with more than 200 coffee producers across 14-plus origins. The Bulgogi Beef Bowl is the pick on the food side, and ask the baristas about the asymmetric sensory cup used for single-origin filter – there's a reason for its shape.
Ounass Stage Dubai: Luxury retail, specialty coffee and brand activations on Al Wasl Road
A curved, white-rendered structure with floor-to-ceiling glass sits on Al Wasl Road, its facade transforming entirely depending on who's taken up residence inside. This is a rotating retail space that happens to include a café – the first brick-and-mortar venture from the Al Tayer Group's luxury e-commerce platform.
The debut brand in residence, Aimé Leon Dore, brought Café Leon Dore with it – Greek-leaning specialty coffee served from a custom green La Marzocco machine, alongside a Greek yogurt loaded with honey and fresh mint. What's on when you visit depends entirely on which brand has taken over the building, so check ahead before making the trip.
Pancita Bakery Dubai: Argentine medialunas, empanadas and specialty coffee in Al Safa
A white façade and dark green lettering give little away from outside, save for a hand-drawn character sketched onto the corner window. Inside, dough is laminated behind a full glass partition at this Al Safa bakery, founded by Emirati creative Najla Busit after a career in arts and culture.
Argentine tradition runs through the medialunas and empanadas – seek out the dulce de leche medialuna and the café de olla Mexican latte specifically. Art from Busit's personal collection hangs throughout, giving the space a residential, unhurried feel.
Mirdif Area
Trio Dubai: Specialty coffee, matcha and an in-house bakery in Mirdif 35
A wall of vinyl and a spinning turntable greet you at the entrance, majlis-style seating fanning out into private pockets around a huge lamp-shaped coffee bar. This Emirati-owned café inside Mirdif 35 runs its own roastery and bakery, a glass-paned kitchen letting you watch the day's bread and pastries come out of the oven.
Specialty coffee and matcha share equal billing: the V60 (45 AED) finishes clean and long, the marble tropical matcha (42 AED) is the brighter, fruitier option. On the food side, the short ribs bao (65.90 AED) arrives soft and umami-rich, and the cold chocolate cake (55 AED) is properly dense rather than airy. Parking is free for the first three hours, and mornings are the quietest time to visit.
Dish Wish Dubai: Specialty coffee, dessert and bakery in Mirdif
Marble-top coffee tables and clean-lined furniture fill a lounge-style room in Mirdif, with no printed food menu in sight – pastries and savoury bakes sit in a glass counter for you to point at directly. What this café does have is a dedicated manual brew list running five tiers deep.
The list opens with an Ethiopia and El Salvador V60 blend and climbs to a Panama geisha and Yemeni acacia honey pour at 84 AED. If the upside-down cheesecake or the pizza babka is in the counter display when you visit, take it.
Nad Al Sheba Area
bkry Nad Al Sheba: An all-day bakery, café and speciality coffee house in Dubai
Dough is shaped and loaves loaded into deck ovens behind a glass-fronted kitchen, in full view of the floor – a constant across every branch, and this second Dubai outpost is no exception. It carries a handful of items exclusive to the location, including three croissants made specifically for it.
Start with the Turkish egg breakfast and the branch-exclusive croissants, and add the ginger hash brown as a side. Vegetarian options run throughout and there's a full kids' menu – a family morning works here as well as a solo coffee stop.
New Dubai Area
Ca-Phin Dubai: Vietnamese specialty coffee and all-day food in JLT
A red-painted exterior and glass frontage make this café easy to spot from JLT's covered walkway, though the story behind it is the more interesting part. Four former ad agency colleagues left their jobs, flew to Vietnam to learn the trade properly, and came back to build a Vietnamese specialty coffee café roasting its own beans in the UAE.
The coffee menu splits into phin-brewed classics, espresso and pour-over, plus a "No Coffee Club" of matcha and specialty tea. Build a visit around the Beef Bánh Mì and the Chicken & Shrimp Spring Rolls, then finish with the Basque Cheesecake in Vietnamese latte flavour.
TECOM Area
Muni Deli & Bakehouse Dubai: Sandwiches, bowls and specialty coffee in DMC
Order a coffee here and you might leave with a jar of pickles too – beetroot, rosemary, red chilli, all lined up on a shelf and for sale rather than just decoration. This counter-style café and deli sits inside a university canteen at the American University in Dubai, baking its own sourdough and sesame bagels behind an open kitchen visible from every seat.
The name traces back to mouneh, the Levantine tradition of preserving seasonal harvests, and a framed photo of founder Majeed Achkar's grandmother hangs on the wall as a nod to it. On a weekday evening visit, the mushroom hummus bagel arrived loaded with chimichurri-grilled mushrooms and a fried egg, and the double wagyu patty melt (58 AED) stacked smash patties with cheddar and shatta inside housemade milk bread – the kind of depth a canteen counter doesn't usually bother with. AUD students get 10% off, and parking inside the campus grounds is free.
ABU DHABI
Al Bateen
Propaganda Abu Dhabi: Specialty coffee, matcha and breakfast in Al Bateen
Raw, textured concrete runs the length of the room, punctuated by warm pools of light from a row of cone-shaped wall sconces. This Emirati-owned, female-founded café sits inside the courtyard of Al Bateen Park Plaza.
Archers coffee runs alongside a serious matcha list – a Chinese Foam Matcha and a Coconut Cloud variation among the options. The mushroom toast and the creamy egg sando are the two to order first; it holds up as a morning work spot and an afternoon meeting place alike.
Al Jubail Island
Knead Bakery & Patisserie Abu Dhabi: Breakfast, pastries and Mediterranean dining in ADREA
A travertine bakery counter carrying a bespoke Arabesque-inspired motif anchors the room, arches and barrel-vaulted ceilings softening the transitions between zones. This branch inside the Abu Dhabi Royal Equestrian Arts centre (ADREA) adds pizza and pasta exclusive to the location.
The breakfast menu is built more around comfort than complexity – the Turkish Eggs and Superfood Toast are its strongest picks, and the Heirloom Tomato Danish stood out from the pastry counter on our visit. Treat it as a destination rather than a quick stop, helped by the equestrian views and the quieter pace of the room.
Al Mafraq
Julith Abu Dhabi: Specialty coffee, matcha and all-day bites in Al Mafraq
A concrete-clad box lit with soft peach neon marks this kiosk from across the marble floor of Tower A's lobby. It's an unlikely spot for a coffee stop – inside Sheikh Shakbout Medical Center in Al Mafraq – with a pour-over programme far more serious than the setting suggests.
Head roaster Serkan Sağsöz, a Turkish barista champion, leads the coffee side, running from 35 AED daily pours up to a 625 AED Panama geisha auction lot. The Colombia Finca Zarza V60 is clean and elegant enough to justify the detour, and basement parking at SSMC is free for the first three hours.
Al Mushrif
Bake Studio Abu Dhabi: Specialty coffee and French pastries in Al Mushrif
Look past the pastry case and you'll spot Bake Studio merch stacked on a steel shelf – caps, tumblers, even disposable film cameras – at this grab-and-go bakery in Al Mushrif, run by the same Emirati owners behind Zoi in Al Ain, whose roastery supplies the coffee here. Croissants, cruffins and cinnamon rolls fill the case alongside a V60 list that stretches to infused pours in flavours like tobacco, passion fruit and rose.
The cloudy matcha (25 AED) came through clean and light on a weekend visit, and the iced V60 with Ethiopia beans (29 AED) held its brightness well over ice. Seating is tight both indoors and out, so this one's better built into a coffee run than a spot to sit and stay.
Modern Coffee by WatchHouse Abu Dhabi: Specialty coffee and more at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club
A long mustard-yellow tiled bar runs the room, the full range of drinks prepared in open view. This is the London brand's first permanent home in the UAE, tucked inside The Arcades at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club in Al Mushrif.
The coffee menu spans four tiers, from everyday espresso drinks up to Rarities – limited-edition, small-lot pours available for short windows only. Pair the Basque cheesecake with a Rarities pour if one is on, and take the banquette seating for longer visits.
Al Nahyan
Frontyard Abu Dhabi: Specialty coffee, matcha and cafe fare in Al Nahyan
Small aroma pumps sit at the counter of this Al Nahyan café, letting guests smell different coffee beans before ordering rather than working from tasting notes alone. Emirati-owned and the brand's second Abu Dhabi branch, Frontyard runs Archers coffee alongside a menu that stretches well past the usual toast-and-pastries script – breakfast, mains, salads and desserts are all available at any hour.
The main course list runs from pasta and risotto to wagyu burgers and a 160 AED ribeye, closer to full all-day dining than a typical coffee stop. On a weekend breakfast visit, the spicy tuna bites (40 AED) brought a gentle kick over creamy, well-seasoned tuna, and the V60 tobacco hot (42 AED) poured clean with notes of roasted nuts and caramel. Arrive before 10 a.m. if you want the room before the late-morning crowd fills it.
Rabdan
Daan Coffee Abu Dhabi: Emirati heritage café, traditional desserts and specialty coffee in Souk Qaryat Al Beri
Oud, bakhour, saffron and rose water greet you before you've sat down – the hospitality rituals of a traditional Emirati home, carried into a café. This spot at Souk Qaryat Al Beri takes its name from the woven palm mat once used across everyday Gulf life, founded by 21-year-old Mariam Alsaiqal.
The menu pairs unmodified traditional Emirati dishes – aseeda, khabees, regag – with French-technique pastries, including a date-filled macaron that bridges both. Order the Date Macaron and the Daan Aseeda with Arabic Coffee, and take the canal-side terrace if the weather allows.
Saadiyat Island
The Social Club by Mustard & Linen: Design studio café on Saadiyat Island
A curved slatted oak feature wall anchors the main seating area, globe pendant lights running along a dark horizontal rail in front of it. This is the café arm of a French-founded interior design studio on Saadiyat Island, doubling as a live showcase for its founders' work.
Single-origin V60 and Chemex brews sit alongside a matcha list that stretches to a Blue Matcha Cloud made with blue pea and coconut water. Order the V60 with Ethiopia beans and the almond croissant; plug sockets throughout make it one of Saadiyat's more practical spots for a long working session.
FUJAIRAH
Bab: A charming specialty coffee café with desserts in Fujairah
The rich smell of coffee hits you before the door is fully open, cacti clustered at the entrance against a concrete wall where the café's logo is engraved into steel. This Emirati-owned café takes its name from the Arabic word for "door", designed by Yara Interiors around a palette of moss green, chocolate brown and steel.
The Traditional Specials section – Golden Aseeda, Sweet Palm Pudding, Rangeena Cheesecake – is what separates it from a standard specialty coffee stop, and the Saffron Dome deserves an order in its own right. Free parking sits directly outside, with outdoor seating on the terrace.
RAS AL KHAIMAH
Risers House Ras Al Khaimah: All-day breakfast and specialty coffee overlooking a golf course
Birds settle on the rocks and cormorants can be spotted mid-morning from the lakeside terrace of this standalone building on Tower Links Golf Club's water. The mid-century interior and lakeside setting do a lot of the work here – the food is functional rather than memorable – but the coffee and matcha programme is notably strong.
The Cheesecake Smoothie alone justifies the drive, and the Strawberry Matcha is well-balanced without tipping too sweet. A good stop if you're showing someone RAK for the first time, though you'll need a car – there's no metro or bus service nearby.
the HUNTR
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