Photo: @alserkalavenue
This weekend in Dubai, Fri 30 Oct to Sun 1 Nov
A bread festival in Al Quoz, a Sudanese painter at the Jameel, masks and canals at the Opera, and a night above Hatta Dam. Plus Design Week, which wants booking now.
Times, prices and how to get in. The same plans as Friday's email.
Photo: @alserkalavenue
Food and culture, Saturday and Sunday
Photo: Salah Elmur, Fire Behind the Mountain, 2025. Courtesy the artist
Art, opens Sunday
Photo: @dubaiopera
Stage, Thursday to Saturday
Photo: @habitascaravanhatta
A night away, any night
Photo: @dubaidesignweek
Design, book now
Every morning at 8am
Photo: Yamanote Atelier
Japanese bakery, The Dubai Mall and more
Japanese bakers turning out milk bread, croissants and buns all day. Kumo, the caramel-filled shiro pan on the Halloween menu, is the one to drive for.
Photo: @rawcoffeecompany
AL QUOZ, ROASTERY CAFÉ
Kim and Matt's roastery buys direct from farms and runs its café as a showroom. Breakfast and long lunches in an old warehouse.
Photo: @kairosuae
Roastery in Al Quoz
The UAE's first Bellwether roaster runs in full view, under 30 clay tiles by Kamal Alzubi. Take a seat at SHED Studio's two-metre communal table.
Photo: @subkouae
Roaster and bakehouse at Alserkal
Mumbai's specialty roaster chose Alserkal for its first home outside India: roasting, sourdough and bean-to-bar chocolate on two levels. Order Pastry Experiment No. 2, karak chai, laminated.
Every day at 1pm
Photo: @tascadubai
Restaurants
Tasca, José Avillez's one-star room six floors up at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira. Lunch from 12:30pm, Sunday to Friday, with the Gulf on one side.
Every other Thursday at 1pm
Photo: Raffles Dubai
The Price Sheet
Five hotel teas, from AED 160 at Palace Downtown to AED 420 with champagne at the Four Seasons. Every price from the hotel's own page.
Everything we've covered that hasn't closed yet, in date order.
Sat 31 Oct to Sun 1 Nov. Book ahead
Photo: @dubaidesignweek
Design, 3 to 8 November
The 12th edition fills Dubai Design District with installations, talks and workshops. Downtown Design, the fair, holds invite-only previews on 4 November and is open to all visitors from 5 to 8 November.
Photo: Vaishnavi.vinodkumar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
Bur Dubai, where the city started
The UAE's largest heritage museum fills restored courtyard houses on the Creek: pearling, trade, perfume and the families who built Dubai.
Photo: Lxs / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped
Jumeirah 1, where the UAE was signed
Built beside Union House, where the UAE was founded in December 1971. Observers of Change traces five decades of Emirati art.
Photo: @jameelartscentre
Contemporary art in Jaddaf
An independent contemporary art museum on the Creek, with a sculpture park and a library. A Salah Elmur survey opens Sun 1 Nov.
The Friday email
It lands at 7:30am on Friday. Four plans for the weekend and one to book before it goes, each with the price and how to get in. The free guides come with the welcome email.
Our longer lists, made small enough for a phone. They arrive with the welcome email.
Free PDF, 20 places
20 breakfast rooms across Dubai, with opening times, what to order and the price.
Free PDF, 11 places
Seats, sittings, price per head, deposit and dress code for 11 tasting rooms, from AED 350 to AED 2,000.
Free PDF, 11 places
11 cafés and quiet rooms where a laptop is welcome, with Wi-Fi, hours and the house rules we could confirm.
Dubai came first. Five more are on the way. Join a list and hear the day yours opens.
