12 cafés in 3 citys. Places change: check opening hours before you go.
Ali Al Rais opened it in 1997 in an early-1920s pearl trader's house with a central courtyard and wind towers, because tourists then had almost nowhere to eat Emirati food. Old-timers still call it by its earlier name, Basta Art Café.
Order: Arabic coffee with cardamom · Emirati breakfast with balaleet
💡 Come for breakfast in the shaded courtyard before the heat and crowds of midday.
A small museum in a traditional house in the old quarter, with antique coffee tools from many countries and live roasting and brewing demonstrations. Upstairs there are coffee books and a lounge where you can taste Arabic, Ethiopian and Japanese styles.
Order: Arabic coffee · Ethiopian-style coffee
💡 Pair it with Arabian Tea House, a few lanes away.
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
The Abu Dhabi branch of The Espresso Lab, the Emirati-founded specialty pioneer, sits in the Al Hosn district near Qasr Al Hosn, the city's oldest stone building.
Order: Espresso · Pour-over
💡 Pair with a visit to Qasr Al Hosn next door.
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
Founded in 2016 by Mohamad Merhi, Cypher is a working roastery with cupping rooms and a lab that handles more than 30 tons of coffee. It was ranked #90 in The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026.
Order: Espresso · Filter of the day
💡 Check the current café address before you go; it is in the Al Quoz industrial area.
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
A two-floor roastery, brew lounge and concept store led by Serkan Sağsöz, a three-time Turkish Barista Champion. They roast small batches of rare high-altitude lots in house.
Order: Julith Flat White (made with rotovap-treated milk)
An outpost of the Kyoto roaster that keeps its Japanese approach: light wood, soft music and careful brewing, away from the city's bustle.
Order: Pour-over
Fewer recent sources for this one: check it's open before you go.
A Dubai-born roastery with an eatery that roasts on site in an Alserkal Avenue warehouse. Single origins are poured as V60, with cold brew and nitro on tap.
Order: V60 single origin · Nitro cold brew
💡 Walk the Alserkal galleries before or after.
Founded in 2007 by New Zealander Kim Thompson, later joined by partner Matt, RAW is often called the pioneer of Dubai's specialty coffee. The café sits beside the working roastery in an Al Quoz warehouse.
Order: Filter of the day · Flat white
💡 Open 7:30am to 6pm daily; easy to combine with Alserkal Avenue nearby.
The Mumbai roaster's first café outside India opened in 2024 in a 5,000 sq ft warehouse. It pairs Indian specialty coffee with sourdough, croissants and cacao.
Order: Indian single-estate pour-over · Croissant
The Berlin roaster's Dubai café sits in a bungalow with outdoor seating under trees. It is known for clean, light filter coffee.
Order: Filter coffee
💡 Sit outside in the cooler months.
Founded by Emirati entrepreneur Ibrahim Al Mallouhi, it once refused to serve sugar or espresso to go so guests would taste the coffee properly. Its team holds recent UAE barista, brewers and roasting titles.
Order: Espresso · Pour-over of a direct-trade Panama lot
💡 Taste the espresso black first, the way the shop was built to serve it.
A neighbourhood café and micro-roastery that roasts on a Loring S7 Nighthawk. It ranked #18 in The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026, the highest in the region.
Order: Espresso · Filter of the day
💡 About 30 minutes' drive from central Dubai outside rush hour.