The Best Coffee Shops in Dubai

Dubai is often called the city of gold (it's is so much more than that) but the city of coffee is perhaps a more fitting nickname. Home to around 5,000 coffee shops, ranging from Qahwa to Starbucks, there is almost a coffee shop on every corner. But with choice comes a little coffee snobbery, why visit a Costa drive through when you can get a perfect Cortado from a local brand next to a mosque in Zabeel? We feel like that question answers itself, so with that in mind, we brought our tried and tested best coffee shops in Dubai. This is not your usual review article, we've visited every single one and you'll find the unknown, the great and possibly your new local.

Tomorrow Morning

Tucked away in a hidden corner of Zabeel, is Tomorrow Morning. Behind the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashed Al Maktoum Mosque is a cool, one room coffee shop that is part feeling like you're in someone's living room and part elevated showroom with some very unique watches and trinkets on display. The hidden aspect feels quite intentional with very much a IYKYK kind of vibe although we saw numerous cars coming to collect their takeaway orders whilst we were there so it does seem as though people know, perhaps the right people. There is a lovely outside sitting area, perfect for the first thing in the morning when we visited. Although it is next to the mosque so if you are planning on sitting outside then be decent and don't arrive in tiny shorts. The menu is traditional with all the usual suspects, but perfectly crafted. We went for Cortados which, in our opinion, is the perfect choice to judge the standard of the coffee and we can happily say they delivered.

Brew Cafe

This local Emirati spot has had a facelift in recent months, expanding the outside area and modernising the interior. The redesign is a balance between preserving the café’s well established identity and developing it for its new beachside setting. The redesign was even named - Brew Me Up, now if that doesn't say bougie, we don't know what does. But anyway back to the coffee. If the consistent number of kandoras outside (Emiratis know their coffee) isn't enough to convince you then let us try. Again, we went for Cortados, and they didn't disappoint. A rich strong flavour profile, but without being bitter and perfect crema that stayed the entire way down the cup. The quality of the coffee combined with some original blends on the menu with names like Magic and the Jumeirah Latte, means we'd definitely go back again.

Heaf

If a side of bougie hotels, millionaire yachts and billionaire mansions along with your coffee is your thing, then Heaf should be on your list. For an influencer and tourist spot located at Marsa Al Arab, their coffee is surprisingly very good. We're not going to lie, we didn't expect it and we not only liked it, we liked it so much that we went back again. We broke the cortado trend (ish) we still had one cortado but the other was a iced americano with sweet cold foam, actually delicious but which seems to have been removed from the menu. The staff are sweet, the cups are custom and the coffee is excellent. If you haven't visited yet then go before the summer hits, they have a lovely interior but honestly the outside is where it's at.

The Barnyard

We always say a cafe is defined by its milk. You can have the best beans, the most experienced baristas and the fanciest equipment, but if you're making cappuccinos with milk from a tetra pak then it was all a waste of time. We have lost count on the amount of coffee that we've had where the milk ruined it. Yes if you have good quality dairy milk then ok, but what about your non dairy choices. Every cafe puts so much effort into their coffee, but then orders non dairy milk from the same brands. And its trash. Anyway, enough of our lamenting the milk situation. The Barnyard cafe has the perfect solution. Homemade almond milk. Nothing like its trash tetra pak cousin, homemade almond milk is delicious, creamy and has 2 or 3 ingredients (depending if a pinch of salt was added). And Barnyard cafe's is flawless. They even use the leftover almond pulp to make their complimentary almond cookies that are the perfect bite next to the coffee. Sustainability queens. The staff are also some of the loveliest, smiliest team you will ever meet. Well worth the drive to Dubai Hills business park.

Home Bakery

Home Bakery will forever be immortalized in the way it's said by Andrew Schulz. If you haven't seen it already, check it out, he understands the regions humour like no other in our opinion. Home Bakery has long been a Dubai institution, first in Galleria Mall in Jumeirah for many years before expanding across the city. The coffee is great, as you would expect, croissants and cakes are faultless, but this cafe has to have a special mention just for the mini chewy melt cookies. These are not a family favourite for nothing. Part crispy, part melt in your mouth, they make the perfect thank you gift, hostess gift or self gift (we know you agree). They go perfectly with an espresso, a sweet counter balance to the strong flavours.

Nightjar

Nitro cold brew on tap? Yep. Grunge style surroundings and filled with Dubai's hipster crowd? Yep. Coffee roasters, cafe suppliers and just general all round cool kids of coffee? Yep. This Alserkal spot breaks all the moulds for what is expected from a Dubai coffee shop. From the black painted walls, a DJ booth and cow skin hides atop the wood and steel banquettes, its industrial sophistication at its very best. The nitro cold brew is not for the faint hearted. Or for drinking too late in the day but its flavours are unlike anything you'll find elsewhere in the city. Come for the coffee but stay for the vibes, food and unpretentiousness despite the expertise.

Fuze Cafe

If you're homesick of parking your car, crossing the paved road and ordering your coffee in a street side cafe, then look no further. Fuze in Al Habtoor city gives you that European experience but none of the taxes. Yes they have other locations in the Marina, Jumeirah and Al Habtoor polo, but none with the same je ne sais quoi. The menu has all your usual suspects from a quality coffee shop including a V60, Chemex and Aeropress but we went for, you guessed it, Cortados. But, give us a break, it was the first day of Eid that we visited, and you want that smooth balance for your first coffee. IYKYK.

Orto

Now we're usually the straight and narrow type when it comes to coffee, barely straying from flat whites, cortados or espresso as we sample the best coffee in the city, but Orto may have made us change all that, albeit temporarily. The sight of the blue toned 'Smurf' and 'Coco Blue' on many of the tables was too much for our fomo and we caved. To it we added a Creme Brulee Latte (perfect for sharing) and a cold brew bottle to redeem ourselves slightly. We're not embarrassed to say it, but they all slap. Even the blue ones. The interiors are very Bali esque as confirmed by the number of influencers in the wild, but the outside garden is a much quieter but no less beautiful escape and right on the canal if you want to burn off some calories afterwards.

Mirzam

Alserkal regulars will remember when the Mirzam chocolate factory had one of the prime slots on the avenue. Well they've come a long way since then. They outgrew that space and headed a little down the road to a much bigger location, adding in new product lines that are so beautiful they make us want to buy them all. If you haven't been you should go for the chocolate experience alone, either the Chocolate Factory Tour, Coffee & Cocoa Pairing Workshop or Mahjong Mondays (how chic) but whilst you're there, don't forget to stop at Cafe Mirzam. Now we've just had the usual coffee but when we looked on their Instagram, we saw they have launched a Emirati Honey Coldfoam Gahwa described as gently sweet foamy iced latte with wildflower honey, infused with cardamom & a pour of balanced, single origin Brazilian espresso. Well that's our Saturday morning sorted.

Heal

Not a newcomer to Dubai's cafe scene at all, but most definitely worth a mention. It's minimal luxe at its best, with a relaxed atmosphere that reminds us of a Balearic beachside bar. These guys go BOLD with their menu: on the hot side you have a Tiramisu latte, a Pumpkin spicy latte and the current 'it' coffee the Honey latte all sitting alongside your usual fare. If matcha is more your thing, you're spoilt for choice with coconut matcha, the pilates girl favourite the strawberry matcha and the wild looking espresso matcha. And if you're looking for something iced then you've got an Einspaner, a Shakerato and a Cascara, we have no idea what any of them are but they look delicious. We went rogue here and ordered a coconut matcha and it was a very pleasant experience.