The Business Traveller’s Guide to Dining in Dubai
Travelling to Dubai for work? These dining options are sure to impress.
For a breakfast meeting
This airy French bistro has an outdoor area ideal for an early-morning meet-up. Inside, well-spaced tables are suitably private. With twists on classic European breakfasts, La Serre is impressive without trying to be. Power-dressers congregate here for flaky French pastries and the scrambled eggs with truffles.
Vida Downtown Dubai hotel, Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard
For a business dinner
Subtlety speaks volumes at this slick London import – an Argentinian-style steakhouse where the food is ambitious and the vibe restrained. A monochrome theme leaves little room for distraction and with impressive plates, unobtrusive service and a hushed atmosphere, it’s the perfect place to talk business. It’s also well located in Dubai’s financial district and the city’s most lavish arts hub.
Gate Village 5, DIFC
If you’re dining alone
Okku

Ultra-dim lighting, a midnight-hued interior and discreet bar seating makes blending in easy at this Japanese lounge and bar. Delicate creations such as tuna and foie gras carpaccio come in small serves so you can sample an array of food without over-ordering. Prices are steep but doable for solo diners. After hours, the tempo picks up a notch with a resident DJ.
The H Dubai hotel, 1 Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Center 1
For drinks with clients
Few things are as impressive as a killer view. One of seven venues housed in a glass-and-steel cylindrical building overlooking the Dubai Marina, Cargo is an unpretentious place (except where the view is concerned) with raw wooden tables and iron furnishings, and decently priced drinks. In a city where the clientele can be alarmingly diverse, it attracts an after-work crowd you wouldn’t mind mingling with.
Pier 7, Dubai Marina
For a coffee pit stop
Social media exploded when Tom & Serg, a hip Melbourne-style café, opened in 2013. The reception for this offshoot from the Australian-Spanish duo of Tom Arnel and Sergio Lopez has been no different. Their new outing, which retains the warehouse feel of the original, has a sourdough bakery, plus a roastery that offers more than a dozen different blends of coffee.
Burj Al Salam, 6th Street, Trade Centre 1
