Special Features
Dubai’s famous bars
The Agency Emirates Towers Hotel Sheikh Zayed Rd Tel: +971 (0)4 330 0000 A popular after-work haunt for expats offloading their tax-free incomes. The wine bar offers a connoisseur’s choice by the glass or by the bottle in a clubby, low-key atmosphere.Après Ski Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates Tel +971 (0)4 341 0000 The view from Après Ski is surreal, more Davos than Dubai. You watch skiers sit on a real chairlift, wearing ski suits and skis, before hurtling down several hundred metres of real (fake) snow. Nearby, children wrapped in scarves build snowmen. Après Ski is next to the extraordinary Ski Dubai, but is more than just a gimmicky watering hole. It’s a sleek, modern bar/restaurant with a fashionable weekend crowd and, by a distance, the best fish and chips in the city.
Madinat Jumeirah Jumeirah Beach Tel: +971 (0)4 366 8888 Website Since opening in 2004, the Madinat Jumeirah resort about 15km from downtown has had a huge impact on Dubai’s nightlife. Revellers flock to its surprisingly stylish bars, restaurants and clubs, which are clustered around a network of manmade canals. Your correspondent enjoys the lively Leftbank, for its sleek interior and wide terrace overlooking the water, and the more mature, laid-back Bahri Bar.
The resort is part of Sheikh Mohammed’s plan to shift the centre of gravity in Dubai from the old downtown to an area west of the city.
Seville’s Pyramids Wafi City Tel: +97 (0)4 324 7300 Dubai’s only Spanish bar, Seville’s serves a heady sangria and tasty tapas, set against the tunes of an impressive classical guitar duo. Always busy, the bar curves nicely to one side. In cooler weather, head for the grassy outdoor terrace, which is particularly lively on Friday nights.
Sho Cho Dubai Marine Beach Resort Jumerirah 1 Tel: +97 (0)4 346 1111 Dubai’s beautiful people lounge on the white leather sofas here, nibbling on sushi, or pose at the blue-lit bar. As pretentious as it is easy on the eye, Sho Cho also serves excellent martinis, and features the requisite hip DJ.
360 Jumeirah Beach Hotel Jumeirah Beach Tel: +971 (0)4 3480 000 This open-air bar at the end of the breakwater to the hotel’s small but perfectly formed marina has possibly the best location of any bar in Dubai. The views across the Arabian Gulf—especially at sundown—are breathtaking. A word of warning: it can get a bit breezy, so take a jumper. The bar closes between July and September, when it is simply too hot to be outside, even after dark.
