Cafeography
Dubai · Downtown, DIFC & Business Bay

Cafés in Downtown, DIFC & Business Bay

Burj Khalifa and the Boulevard, late terraces on Marasi Drive, office coffee in DIFC and One Central, and d3's design studios.

Photo: Nelemson G, Pexels License

Downtown Dubai is Emaar's 2 km² district around the Burj Khalifa, on land once called Umm Al Tarif.1 The 828 m tower was ready for occupancy in January 2010, and the Dubai Mall, at its foot, opened on 4 November 2008 with more than 1,200 retailers.1 North along Sheikh Zayed Road, the Dubai International Financial Centre covers 110 hectares and runs its own English-language, common-law courts.2 To the east, Business Bay's towers line the Dubai Water Canal, and Dubai Design District (d3) sits by the creek.34

The densest cluster of cafés is around the Dubai Mall and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, ahead of Business Bay and the DIFC and Trade Centre blocks. The office blocks open early; the latest hours are on Business Bay's canal side, where cafés stay open into the small hours.

Local tip: Ride the Red Line to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall and walk the Metro Link: Grand Cafe and Kriskos are on the way in, so you can have a coffee before reaching the mall's crowds.

At a glance

110Cafés listed
16With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
04:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: MRJADE Coffee - The Future of Coffee, from 07:00 (Mon–Thu 07:00–23:00 · Fri–Sat 07:00–00:00 · Sun 07:00–23:00).
  • Closes latest: Cozy Cabana Business Bay, until 04:00 (Daily 10:00–04:00).
  • Most listed streets: Sheikh Zayed Road (3), Al Abraj Street (2), Metro Link (2).
  • Most common features: air-con (12%), card payment (10%), smoke-free indoors (10%).

All the Perks

  • Sheikh Zayed Road
  • Open 24 hours
  • +97143867676
  • Air-con
  • Indoor seating
  • Card payment
  • Vegetarian options
  • Partial wheelchair access
  • Toilets
  • Smoke-free indoors
  • 24 hours
  • Open by 6am
Map Website FacebookIs this you?Report

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Dubai.

Coffee chains in Downtown, DIFC & Business Bay

Chain

Starbucks

Show 24 locations
Website Instagram Facebook
Chain

Costa Coffee

Show 16 locations
Website Instagram Facebook
Chain

Caribou Coffee

Show 11 locations
Website Instagram Facebook

Getting around by metro and on foot

Five Red Line stations serve the district: Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, which opened on 4 January 2010, Business Bay, Financial Centre, Emirates Towers and World Trade Centre.5 Between the mall and the stations, Grand Cafe and Kriskos sit on the Metro Link, the covered walkway into the Dubai Mall, and TEN 11 Coffee Boutique is on Level 2 of Fashion Avenue, open daily 10:00–22:00.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, renamed from Emaar Boulevard in December 2012, is 3.5 km long and circles the tower.1 Tiramisu Café is in Boulevard Central Tower 1, at 15 on the Boulevard, and MRJADE Coffee at Burj Crown opens at 07:00 every day and closes at 23:00, or midnight on Friday and Saturday. L'eto, nearby, opens 10:00–23:00 Monday to Thursday and until 00:00 from Friday to Sunday.

The fountain, Souk Al Bahar and the opera

The Dubai Fountain, designed by WET Design, is 275 m long and can throw water 150 m into the air.1 Souk Al Bahar, beside it, has more than 100 shops and over 20 restaurants, cafés and lounges, and Dubai Opera, a 2,000-seat house, opened on 31 August 2016 with Plácido Domingo.1

Sah El Nom Express, a short walk from the fountain, opens daily 10:00–00:00 and is one of the later options inside Downtown. Espressini keeps daytime hours, 07:00–19:00, and Apricot cafe runs 08:00–23:00 with Wi-Fi.

Business Bay and the canal after dark

The Dubai Water Canal opened on 9 November 2016 and runs 3.2 km from Business Bay to the sea through Safa Park and Jumeirah, with walkways and cycle paths and bridges about 8 m above the water.3 Marasi Business Bay, one of the first projects on its banks, broke ground in June 2017.3

This is where Downtown coffee runs latest. Cozy Cabana Business Bay, by Marasi Drive, opens 10:00–04:00 daily and allows smoking, and Fomo Cafe on Marasi Drive opens 09:00–02:00, with outdoor tables and Wi-Fi. Geminos Cafe is in Empire Heights, and Midhat Pasha Cafe in Blue Bay Tower at 44 Marasi Drive. For an early start, The Health Spot Cafe on Al Abraj Street opens at 07:30.

DIFC, One Central and the Sheikh Zayed Road towers

DIFC was founded in 2002 and began operating in 2004; by 2022 more than 3,000 companies were based there.2 Its Gate Avenue retail extension, with 185 shops and restaurants, opened in 2018.2 Encounter Coffee Roastery serves specialty coffee in the DIFC blocks, with Spaces Eatery in Precinct Building 5 of District 2.

All the Perks, on Sheikh Zayed Road, is open 24 hours, with air-conditioning and seating indoors. At One Central, by the World Trade Centre, ABC Coffee Roasters is on the ground floor of the Offices 3 building, with Dark Door in the same complex. Black Coffee by Cafe Younes on 6th Street opens at 07:30 daily, and The Sum Of Us, in Burj Al Salam on Trade Centre 6th Street, runs 08:00–22:00.

Dubai Design District

Dubai Design District, a TECOM Group project established in 2013, calls itself the region's hub for design, fashion and culture and counts more than 550 partners and 10,000 professionals.6 Its in5 Design center gives students and startups prototyping, fashion and 3D-printing labs.6

The Espresso Lab is at R08 in Building 7, serving specialty coffee, and Caffeine & Culture Cafe, at in5, opens daily 08:00–22:00 with outdoor seats and Wi-Fi. One Life Kitchen and Cafée is in Building 5.

Sources

  1. Downtown Dubai, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Dubai International Financial Centre, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Dubai Water Canal, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Dubai Design District, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Red Line (Dubai Metro), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. About us, Dubai Design District, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Dubai

Al Fahidi, Al Seef & Meena Bazaar

16 cafés

Deira

130 cafés

Bur Dubai & Karama

71 cafés

Al Quoz & Alserkal Avenue

43 cafés

Jumeirah, Satwa & City Walk

115 cafés

Umm Suqeim & Al Sufouh

55 cafés

Dubai Marina, JBR & JLT

40 cafés

In Downtown, DIFC & Business Bay, also browse: Specialty coffee Open late Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Bakery cafés

FAQ

Downtown, DIFC & Business Bay cafés: questions

Which cafés in Downtown Dubai and Business Bay stay open late?

Cozy Cabana Business Bay, by Marasi Drive, opens daily from 10:00 to 04:00, and Fomo Cafe on Marasi Drive runs from 09:00 to 02:00 with outdoor tables. All the Perks on Sheikh Zayed Road is open 24 hours. On the Boulevard, MRJADE Coffee at Burj Crown stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Which metro stations serve Downtown Dubai and DIFC?

Five Red Line stations serve the district: Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, Business Bay, Financial Centre, Emirates Towers and World Trade Centre. From Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, the covered Metro Link walkway leads into the Dubai Mall, past Grand Cafe and Kriskos. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, around the Burj Khalifa, is 3.5 km long.

Where is specialty coffee in Dubai Design District (d3)?

The Espresso Lab is at R08 in Building 7 of Dubai Design District, and Caffeine & Culture Cafe, at the in5 center, opens daily from 08:00 to 22:00 with outdoor seats and Wi-Fi. d3 was established in 2013 by TECOM Group as a hub for design, fashion and culture, with more than 550 partners.

For café owners

Own a café in Downtown, DIFC & Business Bay?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design