Dubai Coffee – From Coffee With Love

March 31, 2026

I was at SUBKO Specialty Coffee Roasters and Bakehouse, Dubai

From India with Love. Not the name of a new movie, but the launch of one of India’s premier specialty coffee shop brands in Dubai, which opened towards the end of 2025 adding to the already exciting specialty coffee scene in Dubai. I had heard about Subko before, as I first met their founder, Rahul Reddy, at the 2023 edition of the World of Coffee in Dubai. At our first meeting, he had kindly given me some special arabica coffee beans to take home, and I also tried their chocolate.

I was intrigued by their brand, sourcing the finest specialty coffee beans and cacao from India and close neighbours, cultivating them to create something special for the Indian coffee market.

Fast forward to 2025, and after a guest appearance at a coffee shop in London, I was excited to learn that they would be opening a coffee shop in Dubai before the end of 2025, the first Indian specialty coffee shop to open in Dubai, as far as I know.

Located at the very trendy and now popular Alserkal Avenue, I didn’t really know what to expect… another coffee shop, a roastery or…

Much more.

A coffee shop, a coffee roastery, a chocolate making factory, a kitchen, a bakery.

The Space

As you enter, they have a dedicated coffee brewing bar with a three group La Marzocco espresso machine, catering for takeaway coffee, pastries, their canned coffee and bread for easy pickup and go.

When I first went, I thought this was it but I was wrong. Wait for it.

Walking through the larger-than-life space, you are invited to view their merchandise from t-shirts, to coffee, tea and more. On the left-hand side, there’s a small office style cubicle space, where you can have a meeting, then a small Giesen coffee roasting machine, before you head to the back of the space, under the stairs, where you can watch them making chocolate and taste them too.

If you veer to your right, you’ll see them baking bread and pastries too… enticing.

Upstairs is designed to be a sit-down café, decked with its own brew bar too and another La Marzocco Strada.

The sitting area has a mysterious layout, with artwork and tables hidden in corners, so if you can’t find sitting, venture inside.

The Menu

So, what’s on offer?

With an extensive menu not just of coffee drinks, but of sandwiches, breakfast plates, pastries and dessert, you’ll be spoilt for choice as the menu literally reads like a book.

I went not just once but thrice in their first month of opening, visiting with friends and family.

Their Coffee

In short;

Their coffee is ” meticulously sourced from the Subcontinent. Crafted with precision by skilled Arabica Q Graders, each bean being handpicked from regional plantations, ensuring a journey of unrivaled quality and flavour”.

They work in direct trade relationships at origin with coffee estates and smallholder farmers harvesting and (often experimentally) processing coffees that they aim to curate into only SCA 85+ point scoring coffees” (source: https://www.subko.coffee/pages/coffee )

On my first trip, I had a cortado and a Basque cheesecake, which I enticed my wife to try on my second trip.

However, when it came to coffee, I have to confess I preferred their batch brew , using Project Pearl – but make sure you ask for it hot.

Their Food

You are literally spoilt for choice and you may get confused as to what you should eat. They have their version of shakshuka, they have delectable pastries, a multi-layered croissant, which I tried, non-coffee non-alcoholic coffee cocktails, exciting sandwiches.

I tried the Harrira Moroccan inspired chicken sandwich in their delicious sourdough, a butter chicken style sourdough sandwich, which might sound filling but was delicious, with my kids ordering it twice in one sitting.

On my third visit, my friends and I bought their delicious sourdough.

So, what else is on offer?

You’ll have to go find out for yourself, BUT honestly, I think you’ll be intrigued by what they are building as when I met their owner on my last trip, he said they still hadn’t finished their plans.

Highly recommended.

Find them at

Alserkal Avenue – Warehouse 15 – Al Qouz Ind.first – Al Quoz – Dubai (Pro tip: At the back of Alserkal avenue)

December 31, 2025

I was at WATCH House, Dubai

I’ve had many coffee experiences in 2025, some old and some new and often I wonder and perhaps I pray that one of my faves will open up in the city I live in and so my prayers were answered when I read in Coffee News that Watchhouse, London premier specialty coffee chain was opening in Dubai. Best of all, it wasn’t one of those bulletins that tells you it’ll happen in 2 years’ time, but rather in a matter of weeks and that’s what happened in November 2025. Yay!

Located in a glorified pop-up district called Marsa Boulevard, which opens from 4pm-12pm, next to Dubai Festival City Mall, occupied by many local coffee and cake brands and a very few global brands is Watch house.

You’ll be glad to know that I went twice in the space of 4 days.

On my first visit I wasn’t surprised to see a long queue as I’m sure that many of the Emiratis that were queuing are quite familiar with this brand in central London.

I waited patiently with my daughter and as it was nighttime, I ordered a batch brew. There wasn’t much space to sit because it was too crowded, but we found two seats in front of their brew bar, dotted with lots of V60 brewers.

I found out later from one of the barista that they pre-dose and pack their filter coffees and place them in a freezer and just take them out and start brewing once an order is placed. As we sat down waiting for my coffee, I noticed an AeroPress champion trophy and asked, “who won this?” as I had been a judge at the UAE AeroPress championship two days back and was introduced the guy who came third.

He kindly offered us any coffee we wanted on the house and my daughter went for the matcha … (I was thinking, coffee… but you know trends and GenZ… sigh). In any case I thought, okay a flat white, so that I could sample their milk-based rinks.

I don’t know what they put in this, but it was definitely one of my favourite flat whites of the year… why? Well, I asked the manager and he mentioned the milk they used, and I thought that’s the difference, because their espresso blend, 1829 Espresso, is the same they serve in London.

The batch brew was nice too, with hints of dark fruit but then I noticed he gave me the Ethiopian instead of the El Salvador (I think) I ordered.

A few days later I met a friend for lunch at the same mall and when we finished IO realised that it was 3:30pm…. 30 minutes until Watchhouse opens. So, I strolled around and got there at 4pm prompt…. I was their first customer. I walked around, took a few shots. I was tempted to go all out and get a cake slice… who wouldn’t.

However, one of the staff suggested that a chocolate tart (last pic) will go best with my flat white, so I succumbed. My flat white was beautifully poured by one of their main baristi, hailing from Cameroon. (oops I forgot this name).

I met the head barista from Zimbabwe and he schooled me on their philosophy and I mentioned that I’ve known the brand for years and it’s my go to in London.

Another delicious experience.

I can’t wait to go back and try one of these with my wife….

Perhaps the mini-Basque cheesecake.

October 31, 2025

I Was at Half Cup, Dubai

From London to Dubai.

We’ve seen a few things like this here in Dubai, whether it be a fancy restaurant, a bakery or a shop BUT when it comes to specialty coffee, this is very rare indeed. And in fact one of my fave specialty coffee shops from London is about to open in Dubai this week or next – more on that when I visit it God willing.

So, onto Half Cup, Dubai.

I had never heard of this place but when our daughter suggested we visit it to celebrate my wife birthday for brunch, I checked them out and their coffee and off we went.

It’s set in a new residential complex in Business Bay, surrounded by fancy looking apartment blocks called Peninsula 1, 2, 3 etc. and so as you drive up, you could be anywhere in the world, with a view of the canal not too far. Half Cup itself is ultra-modern, almost like a glass box with tons of sunlight coming in and some seats outside for when it gets cooler – yes it does get cooler in Dubai, from early November to about late March.

Although there aren’t many seats inside, we managed to get one as we entered. We were attended to probably my waiter of the year, Chris, who was very attentive and helpful. I think the first mistake we made was not listening to him about the portion sizes. Whoa!

Am not sure if you can detect the size of our Turkish Eggs order with beef brisket but the BBQ Beef Brisket Brioche sandwich was enough for three.

Whoa!!!!

If you do go there and order eggs royale. Beware too that it’s enough for two too as I saw that the next table had ordered it.

So, how about the coffee?

Sitting on top an eye-catching steel brewing bar was their two group La Marzocco Linea espresso machine accompanied with two Victoria Arduino grinders. They have a selection of coffees, to choose from for both filter and espresso based roasted locally by one of my top Dubai based roasteries, so I was confident in their offering. I went for a flat white, with Brazilian beans.

Delicious with hints of nuts and milk chocolate. It’s a good thing that I ordered this before my meal as I often do if I order eggs cooked in a tomato sauce, i.e. the Turkish eggs. If not, it might have been a challenge for me to finish my coffee.

Highly recommend and did I mention they have a dinner menu too?

I’m already looking forward to my next visit as whenever you find good food and coffee, you can bet I’ll be planning my next visit there soon.

Find them at Peninsula 5, Business Bay, Dubai.

July 30, 2025

The Voyage Lounge: From Dubai to London

Visiting London recently, I noticed a new trend, whereby coffee shops from other parts of the World, are now opening in London (more on that in my next post God willing). We’ve already noticed that some Dubai restaurants like Kinoya, The Maine, Shangai Me, Gaia and Somewhere, have opened in London’s prestigious neighbourhoods.

So, not to be outdone, Voyage, of Dubai Mall, have now opened in London – not far from London’s famous store, Harrods, in Knightsbridge, next to the Binghatti show room.

When we arrived, there was a queue – this if you don’t know, is unusual for London, unless for an Instagram trendy foodie spot, but most people in the queue were from the Middle East and this is common in Riyadh. However, for our friends, it was unusual. So, after about 30 minutes waiting, we were finally let in, all 7 of us.

Video of Voyage Lounge

It’s quite a huge space for a London café and I think they have yet to maximise the space inside and I guess they might have seating downstairs soon.

The décor is similar to the one in Dubai Mall – orange clay with lounge style chairs and their menu, although more biased towards trendy drinks (matcha, etc), does have specialty coffee and pour over too, with lots of tasty cakes on offer.

Try the pistachio – it was yummy and we ordered three.

I went for a cortado, using Colombian coffee beans.

I liked that it had a bit of a punch.

Their brew bar is similar to the one in Dubai, with a Kees van der Westen espresso machine and they have a display of cakes and coffee beans for you to smell too.

After two hours of catching up, we walked over to the Binghatti (one of Dubai’s top real estate developers) show room and had a quick chat with one of the salesmen, where we spoke about the Mercedes building, being built by Binghatti in Dubai.

Find them in the prestigious neighbourhood of Kensington at 197 Brompton Road, London SW3 1LA.

May 31, 2024

I was at Late Coffee, Dubai

I know the name sounds strange but I’ve often driven past this coffee shop for years without stopping by. Why? Well, like you, the name didn’t sound inviting until a friend recommended it.

So a few weeks back after the crazy floods in Dubai, I ventured there for breakfast.

As you enter you are greeted by a homely looking brew bar decked with a synesso espresso machine. The main sitting area is at the back with a kind of mid western American style… I know! Don’t say it.

In any case we were greeted by welcoming staff and I ordered this.

Poached eggs on breaded potato dumpling sitting on top labneh. Delicious.

I then opted for a flat white with traditional hints of chocolate and caramel.

Also yummy.

In short, a nice place to check especially when it’s cooler as they have ample sitting options outside.

March 31, 2024March 31, 2024

I was at AMG MERCEDES KAFFEEHAUS, DUBAI

It seems like just when you had seen it all in the Dubai coffee scene, you get introduced to a new concept but this time it involves German cars and of course coffee… so welcome or should I say wilkommen (German for welcome) to AMG Kaffee described as the summit of luxury for coffee connoisseurs, foodies and the ultimate Mercedes AMG lover. Located at Dubai Design District (D3) a stone throw from downtown you will notice as you drive into D3 a grey looking building on your right-hand side with the huge Mercedes Benz emblem decked with G-wagon cars parked at what looks like a 45-degree angle defying gravity.

As you enter the building you will be greeted by a customer service assistant that asks you how they can help. On the righthand side you will see rows of classic books, then chocolate, pasties before you notice a La Marzocco GB5 espresso machine – aha! I have arrived at a coffee shop, or is it?

If you look straight in front of you, you’ll notice a massive show room full of Mercedes cars and if you veer to the left , you may even see some classic ones too.

So, am I in a Mercedes car show room or a café.

It’s BOTH.

Going back to the front of this massive retail space, you’ll notice inviting chairs and that’s the main reason I visited twice last month with friends.

For the coffee, apparently, they have it roasted for them with their own label, and I was pleased to see Hart – formerly of Typica, as the lead barista – now I was relaxed because I knew that my coffee would be well prepared. On my first trip I had a cappuccino, which was served with a biscuit – classic undertones of chocolate and nuts and my guess would be that is has Brazil in it.

On my second visit I opted for a cortado with the same beans. However, you’d be pleased to know that they have an extensive food and drinks menu and offer filter coffee too.

One of my friends opted for breakfast – poached eggs on avocado spread toast.

There’s seating outside and the atmosphere is California cool, even with Japanese manga art.

We walked around and took pictures and visited the souvenir shop too. Is the Flash trying to catch a MayBach?

At the back they have a section for reselling cars too and have a prayer room.

All in all, the onus is to re-invent the retail space even for cars. A place where you could literally hang out for hours, walk around, talk about cars, enquire about your dream driving machine, have lunch, dessert and coffee and hang outside (before summer approaches) and enjoy some peace and quiet. To top it off, on formula one race days they have screens where you can watch the race and they are also using their space for events. So, they really want you to hang out.

Try and visit before it gets too hot and if you prefer, they are open in the evenings too.

AMG Kaffee Haus, Dubai.

January 31, 2024January 31, 2024

I WAS AT WORLD OF COFFEE DUBAI 2024

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the third edition of the World of Coffee Dubai, which took place from 21-23 January in Dubai, under the auspices of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Sure. I’d been to the previous two and this year promised more excitement with a slightly bigger offering. Featuring much as before, with experts, coffee roasters, gadgets, coffee farmers, espresso machine and coffee roasting manufacturers and more, I thought I’d go, meet fellow coffee nerds, drink lots of coffee and attend a few lectures. Well, I did most of that and more, but sadly wasn’t able to attend any of the lectures, BUT, all was not lost, as I learnt a lot on the one day that I attended. So, here’s a quick summary;

First stop was at Harvest Belt, where I learnt about the Link small batch coffee roasting machine that you can programme to roast espresso, filter, etc and even fine tune it for different coffee processes like natural, washed, etc. If I was going to start roasting, I think I’d get this machine.

Just next to them was one of my fave Dubai roasters, Grandmother (I still don’t know where that name comes from ), but their head roaster, Freddie, offered me a delectable Ethiopian anaebroic espresso – it really filled my lips – yum.

Then I was now on the hunt for my first milk based coffee of the day and when I saw Uber Milk, I thought what better place to stop than here. I had already witnessed their ultra automated machine when I visited Rosslyn Coffee in London in January 2023 and just wanted to enquire about their business in the GCC, as most cafe are not as busy as a typical central London coffee shop. Sure enough one cafe in Dubai has it but they have a few of them in Saudi already.

In conversation, I noticed this guy pouring beautiful latte art and they said, that’s the head of coffee at WatchHouse – startled, I walked over and placed an order for a cortado – incidentally, it was Ethiopian beans again.

Never one to miss out on an opportunity to learn from an expert, I chatted with Flavius for about 20 minutes and this is what I learnt;

➡️Brew Ethiopian beans at a higher temperature for both filter and espresso – so much so that for espresso, try 97C – the reason Ethiopian beans have a a higher density.

➡️Store your coffee beans in the freezer in dose batches – so store 18g of beans for your espresso, etc, as opposed to just storing the whole bag to avoid moisture.

➡️WatchHouse shop at Hanover Square (which I wrote about a few months back) is their flagship store for experimentation, so much so that the head barista won a recent competition.

➡️In 2020, the UK Brewers champion was Matteo D’Ottavio and he was head barista at their spitalfields branch and WatchHouse use his winning recipe, which for using 15g of coffee and 250ml water is;

50ml, wait 30 seconds, bloom

50ml, wait 30 seconds, pour

Walking around I saw the famous Dritan Asela – of instagram fame – had a brief chat with his wife.

I noticed that he was at a stand, Toga Coffee of Sharjah that were offering this delicious coconut balls wrapped around white chocolate and fresh raspberries – I boldly asked for 3 and the owner was so kind and hospitable he duly obliged. However, I noticed their strange description of coffee beans with hints of coconut and asked for a piccolo.

wow! even before I drank the coffee I could smell the coconut (one of my fave fruits). I met the roaster, Pirates of Coffee, all the way from Canada and asked where I could buy a bag – he said here and he only had one bag left – destined for me I guess, praise God.

After lunch, I saw the that the Nordic Approach were hosting a coffee tasting session, so off I went.

There were lots of exciting coffees and I must confess I can’t remember which one stood out – was it the Panama Geisha or the Kenyan ? In any case, Nordic Approach are famous for their lighter roots and the tables were set top across continents, Africa, the Americas and Asia.

Still up for more tasting, I passed by quickly to Janson Farms – another famous coffee farm from Panama – saw they were brewing their coffees on a Hario V60 and thought why not – during my experience I bumped into the Indonesian barista champion.

Where to next?

I had heard that my new coffee friend, Antonio Orria, whom I had met in Dubai airport in September, had just joined Victoria Arduino in Dubai and was showcasing their latest espresso machine, the Black Eagle Maverick, so off I went. Lucky for me, he was by himself and I got a quick demo about the machine, which in essence brews both espresso and wait for it….. filter coffee on their Pure Brew system. To quote them,

“PureBrew technology is a revolutionary, three phase, extraction method that uses pulsating frequencies of water pressure to release the purest flavour from your coffee bean according to its freshness, region and type.”

In essence they have a different basket for filter, with a cone shape and for which Antonio kindly brewed for me using 12g of coffee – I can see the advantage for playing around with different brew recipes and of course reducing the time for a barista in a busy coffee shop. It can also brew tea. I’m looking forward to visiting their newly opened outlet to learn more.

I was already having an Ethiopia coffee bean filled day, so why not go over to Boon Coffee, headed by the friendly Orit Mohammed. She got her head baristi to brew me an espresso, using Ethiopian beans of course and very kindly gave me a bag of their premium blend to try at home.

No more coffee!

Well, not quite. I stopped over at Three Coffee, one of my fave Dubai coffee roasters and couldn’t say no, when they offered me an espresso using Yemeni coffee beans.

Then I bumped into my fellow coffee geek friend Shehzeen and she roped me into a latte art competition, which she won with some help but which one do you think was the best?

Incidentally the UAE BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP was won by Michaela of Typica coffee (one of my faves) again for the fourth time I think

Before I left I popped over to the SCA stand and bumped into an old acquaintance, Stephen Morrissey, Deputy Chief Commercial and Community Experience Officer (plus WBC 2008) like I did last year, had a brief chat about the state of coffee in the UK and perhaps globally – in short, he shared my concern that many coffee roasters tend to roast quite light these days. Don’t get me wrong I like medium light roasting for filter based coffees but for espresso…. NO!

I still reminisce about espresso coffee from like 10 years ago. It was such that whether you had an espresso or flat white the body wrapped around your tongue with chocolate and dark berries, caramel and nuts and the taste lingered for an hour – not to mention the latte art contrast with milk that was delectable to look at, but nowadays, I think espresso is too bright and in milk, it is almost like flavoured milk. I’m not sure what your thoughts are, but when I launched my coffee brand two years ago, I tried to bring that back.

Also, we felt that the customer experience is beginning to diminish. Again, I recall when I was in London recently, not naming any cafes, I felt like the baristi were not that approachable like the ones in Dubai. I recall trying to film a barista pouring latte art and she abruptly told me to stop. I know that as specialty coffee has grown, you will loose the essence of that coffee nerdy experience, when I used to got to a cafe and just chat with the baristi about the coffee and the art of coffee making, but I miss those days and with so many companies investing in specialty coffee now, perhaps those days may never come back.

But you know what, I still dream about having another cafe in the future and perhaps I will be able to make a difference in bringing that back as after all this is…

FROM COFFEE WITH LOVE.

August 31, 2023August 31, 2023

I was at Q-LaB, Dubai

I recall a few years back, pre-pandemic, when I read that there were a few restaurants opening in Dubai on a weekly or perhaps a monthly basis. It seems the coffee shop entrepreneurs or what I like to call the coffeepreneurs didn’t want to be left behind…. Enter a new coffee concept, Q-LAB, located in Jumeriah.

Now to be honest, Q-Lab is not a new coffee shop as such but more a new concept born out of the company DXB Blends (DXB is the acronym for Dubai airport, just like you have LHR for London Heathrow Airport). In short, DXB blends have been around in Dubai for a few years, and I first heard of them when I moved to Dubai 3 years ago. I must confess, although I had only been once, I was never tempted to visit any of their shops until now, when I saw another Dubai coffee nerd duo post about them. Intrigued, I arranged for my friends and I to have our regular Saturday morning coffee meet up there.

In short, Q-Lab will be the new hub of DXB Blends, where their roastery will roast coffee and prepare blends for their other outlets, with a stronger focus on quality, so the coffee on offer at Q-Lab will be a higher specialty coffee offering. As you enter the coffee hub, there are lots of chairs, with the roastery on the right-hand side.

As you walk further in, you will be greeted by a friendly Barista, Ace (I told him that with a name like that, he will have to ace it every time he brews coffee…pressure) – we chatted coffee for several minutes as I got there ahead of my friends. Ace has been working in coffee for over 5 years and hails from the Philippines, but he shared with me his desire to keep learning about coffee so that he can compete for the national barista championships and perhaps more. He even has a tattoo on his hand with the Hario V60 and coffee beans.

Pleased to see the Mod Bar, I opted for the espresso blend for my cortado as the description hinted of Brazil.

My friend, Naveed opted for an Ethiopian and got a beautifully poured unicorn latte art… hmmmm! I thought because this was Ace fave coffee.

Walking around, you will see their coffee on display in different sizes of the standard 250g and a smaller version at 100g. I think they do this because they have some expensive lots, and it might be easier on your pocket to try a 100g coffee. As I walked around, a Yemeni Lot 22100 with notes of cacao nibs, dried figs and vanilla caught my attention.

So, after downing my cortado, followed with some conversation, I knew that I had to try this special coffee brewed on a Hario V60, who wouldn’t?

I shared it with Naveed and it was definitely worth AED55 ($15) – their normal price for filter brews are AED30. I picked up dried fruits, hints of light cacao and vanilla spice, yum.

As we were leaving, the staff gave me a complementary 100g bag of a Colombian Anaerobic Java coffee, so kind.

Q Lab are located at 118 Al Hadiqa Rd – Al Safa – Al Safa 1 – Dubai.

I plan to revisit as they will soon be offering breakfast and lunch too.

July 31, 2023July 31, 2023

I’m Drinking THREE Coffee

And no, that isn’t a typo. Three Coffee Roasters are a Dubai based specialty coffee roasting coffee company, who tend to specialise in “funky” coffee and by that I mean that they push the boundaries in sourcing anaerobic, macerated, 90+ and rare coffees and then roasting them that make you say wow! once you sip them.

So, it came as a I surprise to me when I was scrolling through my instagram feed that I saw Drew – their New Zealander Co-Founder and General Manager talking about their espresso coffees. Upon further inspection on their website I was pleasantly surprised to see that they offered non-funky single estate and blends. I confess, although I don’t mind pushing my taste buds to the limit – always up for the challenge – with some things like espresso and espresso with milk, for me, its a no! no!. I don’t mind something unusual in my milk based espresso like macadamia , dark berries, vanilla, cinnamon, with hints of dark chocolate, caramel, etc BUT I don’t really want high acidity, peach, grapefruit and strawberries with milk.

So, when I came across Colombia La Esperanza Washed – Made for Milk, Ethiopia Hambela and Lazy Daze, all for espresso and milk based – I was excited and placed an order.

Before I describe my taste bud experience, a detour.

A few things I noticed about Three Coffee espresso offerings;

*The aroma – wow!

*The long lasting taste – admirable

*Ease of puling shots – stressless, except the Ethiopia Hambela (more on that later).

My first brew was the Colombia La Esperanza – made for milk. Upon opening the bag, wow! the aroma and yes it smelt of milk chocolate. It was great with milk and probably my fave of the batch.

I savoured it a little longer but trying the others before finishing this.

Next up, the Lazy Daze – a mix of “A mix of washed, natural and anaerobic coffees from Brazil, Indonesia, Rwanda, Guatemala and Colombia”, so expect something unusual.

Another aromatic experience that lasted right to the end of the bag and the long lasting taste after every brew stopped me from eating anything it afterwards for at least an hour to savour the taste, yum.

Now, Hambela.. Ethiopia, Ethiopia. where do I start? In fact when I tired to brew this first as an espresso, it was a disaster – nothing came out, so I thought perhaps I bought the wrong roast type – filter instead of espresso and so I actually brewed it on the Hario V60 and on the Aeropress

BUT then I thought let me go back to Drew on instagram. He shared rather helpfully that the beans are lot more denser, so I need to grind a lot more coarser than the other beans, which I did.

When I tried it as a milk based espresso drink – I must confess the first experience was wow, wow, wow! yes three times of wow! BUT after the first brew I didn’t get that easily.

Perhaps because of the plus 40C temperature in Dubai the brewing experience was temperamental and when rushing out in the morning, I couldn’t afford to keep wasting shots, so I settled on a 18g, 30g out – more hints of dark berries and dark chocolate.

If you are excited by what you read, then visit http://Three Coffee to place an order and I’m not getting any commission.

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023

Dubai Coffee faves: Milk Bar Dubai

When asked by my friends where we should go to for coffee on a Saturday morning during the Dubai Winter (20-25C), MILK Bar, located in Wasl 51 on Wasl Road near City Walk, easily rolls off my lips.

Located in the newish development of Wasl 51, which hosts a Michelin gourmand restaurant (Orfali Bros) together with a host of trendy cafes and breakfast spots, MILK, fits in with the upmarket feel of new places to hang out in Dubai.

As you enter, you are greeted on your left with a ladder (quirky) and an L-shaped serving and brewing bar, dominated with a La Marzocco Strada . As you walk further into the shop, a host of delectable cakes, pastries and sweets present themselves like they are saying, “don’t look, just order” – it reminds me of my display cabinet at my coffee shop in Cape Town back in 2011, which was based on the strategy, “people fall in love with beauty first”. Now, if you make the mistake of walking into MILK without sitting first, the temptation to order a cake or something sweet will be unbearable because they not only look great, they taste nice too. This is based on previous experience. Cheesecake below…

You’d be more impressed to know that MILK also bake their cakes and of course, as with everything in Dubai, you can order it home for that special occasion too.

But that’s not just it. Let’s talk about their food too.

I’ve been here with my family and friends too for breakfast many times. Not only do they have an exciting and not overly complicated breakfast menu, their prices are good value for money too. As someone who loves coffee and food too, especially breakfast, I confess that I must have tried at least four different items on their breakfast menu, from béchamel spinach poached eggs, Turkish eggs, pancakes and my current fave, the cornbread eggs benedict, below.

Although Milk actually opened a few years ago, I didn’t go until September 2021, when after having breakfast at a popular breakfast spot nearby, I went to MILK afterwards to get a cortado. First time, below;

Although they haven’t necessarily committed to just one coffee roaster, you’ll find that their coffee preparation is up to par. So, at the moment they are sourcing their espresso based beans from Grandmother roastery (one of my faves) and the filter blend using April from Copenhagen. I usually visit in the mornings and so opt for their espresso milk based drinks… or should I say, their cortado.

Taste profiles tend to be chocolate with hints of almonds, hazelnuts and milk chocolate. Favouring a more intense taste, I rarely order their cappuccino or flat white, but my fellow coffee nerd, Naveed, usually orders them.

A few months ago they underwent a renovation, which from what I could see, expanded the seating area and now gives you a window view into the kitchen. See video below.

Why go?

Good breakfast, relaxed seating, delectable cakes, friendly staff and off course coffee that won’t disappoint. Need I say more? Check them out.

Sweet endings!

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