Cafes with open spaces, dedicated coffee menus and plenty of plug points are attracting remote workers in the UAE. Photo: Marvin Meyer / Unsplash
Cafes with open spaces, dedicated coffee menus and plenty of plug points are attracting remote workers in the UAE. Photo: Marvin Meyer / Unsplash
Cafes with open spaces, dedicated coffee menus and plenty of plug points are attracting remote workers in the UAE. Photo: Marvin Meyer / Unsplash
Cafes with open spaces, dedicated coffee menus and plenty of plug points are attracting remote workers in the UAE. Photo: Marvin Meyer / Unsplash

Best cafes for remote working in Abu Dhabi and Dubai


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Since the Covid-19 pandemic, remote working has been embraced by more and more companies – with some employing hybrid set-ups and others completely abandoning thoughts of returning to the office.

The UAE has a plethora of good options for digital nomads and those seeking a change of scenery. From cozy coffee shops to scenic outdoor settings, here are some places to consider.

Dubai

One Life Kitchen and Cafe

The expansive and tastefully decorated Dubai Design District branch of this cafe is popular with remote workers. Open until 11pm, it is ideal for those who are more productive in the evenings. The licensed venue also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Open daily; 8am-11pm; Dubai Design District; 04 513 4727

Tom & Serg

Tom & Serg has two levels, making it a spacious choice for remote workers. Tom & Serg / Instagram
Tom & Serg has two levels, making it a spacious choice for remote workers. Tom & Serg / Instagram

A concept by EatX, this two-level space in Al Quoz offers a spacious haven for remote workers. The Melbourne-style cafe seats up to 250 people. Several power outlets are scattered across the venue and the open-plan layout makes for an energised workday with plenty of natural light coming in. On the menu are artisanal coffees, plus big and small bites.

Open Monday to Friday, 8am-4pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 8am-6pm; Al Joud Center, Al Quoz; 056 474 6812

Mitts and Trays

An ideal spot for those looking to take their team out for a working lunch or for client meetings, Mitts and Trays also serves a full menu – from classic breakfast delights to hearty lunch and dinner meals. There are two branches in the emirate: Dubai Hills Mall and Bluewaters Island.

Open Sunday to Thursday, 8am-11.30pm, and Friday and Saturday, 8am-noon; Dubai Hills Mall (04 457 0406) and Bluewaters Island (04 223 6808)

Juan Valdez

The coffee menu at Juan Valdez has close to 30 options. Photo: Juan Valdez
The coffee menu at Juan Valdez has close to 30 options. Photo: Juan Valdez

Those who can't work without sipping good coffee can head to this Colombian spot. Originally from Bogota, Juan Valdez serves about 30 coffee options. It also has a food menu with freshly baked goods, sandwiches, salads and other sweet treats. The three-storey venue includes a co-working space on the second floor, and there is also an open rooftop for the cooler months.

Open daily, 8am-11pm; Jumeirah 2; 04 324 2938

The Lime Tree Cafe & Kitchen, Jumeirah

A familiar neighbourhood cafe in Jumeirah among long-time Dubai residents, this cafe makes for a productive workspace. Comfortable couches and sturdy tables are peppered across the venue, which has an industrial-chic ambience. The food range includes wholesome dishes, pastries and coffee options.

Open daily, 7.30am-6pm; Jumeirah Beach Road; 04 325 6325

Splendour Fields

Splendour Fields is a calm, garden-style venue. Splendour Fields / Instagram
Splendour Fields is a calm, garden-style venue. Splendour Fields / Instagram

Nestled in the heart of Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Splendour Fields at The Park is for those looking to work amid a peaceful garden-style atmosphere. Also an ideal venue for out-of-office team catch-ups or client meetings, the cafe and restaurant serves an all-day breakfast menu, alongside healthy smoothies, shakes and freshly brewed coffee.

Open daily, 8am-7pm; Jumeirah Lakes Towers; 056 603 0897

Sereni-tea by Tania's Teahouse

This teahouse located inside Keyani wellness centre has a serene and calm environment. A sister branch of Tania’s Teahouse, the cafe is ideal for those who seeking out a much-needed change of scenery. There is a wide range of loose teas and organic dishes.

Open daily, 8am-6pm; Al Manara; 058 598 2642

La Nena

La Nena is perfect for those who find productivity in mood lighting. La Nena Coffee / Instagram
La Nena is perfect for those who find productivity in mood lighting. La Nena Coffee / Instagram

The cavernous and extremely cozy interior at La Nena offer a great vibe, thanks to its tasteful stonework, natural textures and earthy colours. The warm ambience and minimalist surroundings are great for a quiet sit-down, answering emails and staying inspired. Specialty coffee is on the menu, as well as pastries, salads and sandwiches. The other half of the shop sells a collection of homeware.

Open daily, 8am-10pm; Al Quoz, 058 570 0809

Abu Dhabi

Mysk

A bustling cafe within NYU Abu Dhabi, Mysk is set up to inspire productivity and creativity. The display of baked treats add charm to the venue, and the flower bar brims with colour. Long communal tables fixed with power sockets are ideal for remote working.

Open Monday to Friday, 7am-10pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 8am-10pm; Saadiyat Island; 02 626 9343

Joud Coffee

Joud Coffee was established in 2015 and is a favourite among in-the-know Abu Dhabi residents. Joud Coffee / Instagram
Joud Coffee was established in 2015 and is a favourite among in-the-know Abu Dhabi residents. Joud Coffee / Instagram

This coffee shop brand has several branches across Abu Dhabi, making it a popular choice for those looking for a chilled spot to work and even study. The original Al Bateen location is still popular, with a homely and calm aesthetic. The cafe serves an all-day breakfast menu, as well as a selection of salads, soups and a few hearty mains, from coconut shrimp curry to butter chicken.

Open daily, 8am-11pm; Al Bateen, Al Seef, Khalifa City, Forsan Central Mall, Al Qana; 056 525 8235

Third Place Cafe

The friendly staff, reliable Wi-Fi and broad menu make this place popular among remote workers. Spread across two floors, the villa-turned-cafe near the Corniche bills itself as a community space. It has comfortable seating and plenty of space for big working groups. A selection of preloved books are sold on-site.

Open daily, 8am-11pm; Corniche Road; 02 681 1877

Coffee Architecture

Located at Mamsha Al Saadiyat, this cafe is suited to those who want to be close to the beach while ticking off their to-do lists. Emirati founder Nooran Albannay's love for coffee is evident, with a variety of specialities on the menu. The long tables are perfect for big groups. Comfortable seating options are also available for solo workers.

Open Sunday to Thursday, 9am-10pm, and Friday and Saturday, 9am-midnight; Mamsha Al Sadiyaat; 055 446 3433

Nowhere

This venue's minimalist and cosy decor focuses on natural elements, which make it an Instagram-worthy choice for remote workers. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow plenty of light in. Classic breakfast dishes and a range of sweet treats are on the menu, as are mocktails, coffee and tea.

Open daily, 11am-11pm; Yas Marina Circuit; 056 300 0533

Cartel Coffee Roasters

Cartel Coffee Roasters recently opened its first Dubai location in Mirdiff. Cartel Coffee Roasters / Instagram
Cartel Coffee Roasters recently opened its first Dubai location in Mirdiff. Cartel Coffee Roasters / Instagram

Warmth and coziness are the main draws of this coffee shop, which has branches in Al Bateen, Al Qana and Khalifa City (as well as a new venue in Dubai). Coffee beans are roasted in-house and sold on-site, while the menu offers all-day breakfast dishes, plus pastries and baked goods.

Open Monday to Friday, 6am-11pm and Saturday to Sunday, 7.30am-11.30am; Al Bateen, Al Qana, Khalifa City, Mirdiff in Dubai; 02 666 2002

Trolls World Tour

Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake

Rating: 4 stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)

Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)

Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)

'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

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New Zealand 57-0 South Africa

Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours 
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.

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Company Profile 

Founder: Omar Onsi

Launched: 2018

Employees: 35

Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)

Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners

Eyasses squad

Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)

Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)  

Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)

Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)

Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)

Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)

Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)

Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)

Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)

Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)

Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)         

Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld

THE SPECS

Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8

Gearbox: eight-speed automatic

Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km

Price, base: from Dh571,000

On sale: this week

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Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

UAE Falcons

Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.

 
Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.

The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers. 

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Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS

AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas

DevisionX – manufacturing

Event Gates – security and manufacturing

Farmdar – agriculture

Farmin – smart cities

Greener Crop – agriculture

Ipera.ai – space digitisation

Lune Technologies – fibre-optics

Monak – delivery

NutzenTech – environment

Nybl – machine learning

Occicor – shelf management

Olymon Solutions – smart automation

Pivony – user-generated data

PowerDev – energy big data

Sav – finance

Searover – renewables

Swftbox – delivery

Trade Capital Partners – FinTech

Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment

Workfam – employee engagement

Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Updated: September 09, 2024, 10:44 AM