Australian restaurants, cafés and bars in Dubai

Dubai's café scene owes a lot to Australians, and you can still find Aussie-run brunch spots, Australian roasters and a hotel restaurant that does a proper backyard barbie every Saturday.

The short version

For brunch with real Aussie roots, start with Tom&Serg and Boston Lane, both in Al Quoz [1][2][3].
Two Australian roasters now have cafés in Jumeirah: ONA Coffee and The Reformatory Lab [4][5].
Yalumba at Le Méridien runs an Aussie Barbie Brunch every Saturday, and Bushman's on the Palm puts smoked kangaroo on the menu [6][7][8].
The 2026 AFL Grand Final watch party was at McGettigan's JLT, from 8.30am Dubai time [9].
We checked every venue was still trading in 2026 and dropped the ones we couldn't confirm.

How we built this list

Dubai has a long history of Australian-inspired cafés, and plenty of the old round-ups are now out of date. The Australian Embassy keeps its own map of Australian-owned and Australian-inspired cafés and restaurants, which we cover in Aussie life in Dubai. For this list, we went venue by venue. We kept places where we could find the venue's own website and recent evidence that it was open in 2026 or late 2025.

What didn't make the cut: several cafés that often appear on "Australian cafés in Dubai" lists, including Stomping Grounds, Pure South, Stash Café, Myocum, Arrows and Sparrows, Roseleaf Café and Common Grounds. Some may well still be pouring flat whites, but we couldn't confirm a 2026 opening or an Australian link from a current source. Brooki Bakehouse, the Brisbane cookie brand, ran a pop-up at Dubai Festival City over the 2025–26 summer, but it was temporary. If you know one we've missed, tell us in the group.

Coffee and brunch

This is where Dubai does Australia best. The brunch culture here was built partly by Aussie founders, and it shows.

Tom&Serg

Area: Al Quoz

Tom&Serg is the café that kicked off Dubai's warehouse-brunch era. It was co-founded by Melbourne chef Tom Arnel and Spaniard Sergio Lopez [1], and its operator still describes it as inspired by Australian café culture, serving "modern Australian inspired breakfast and lunch" [2]. The two-level space seats about 250, so it handles a crowd, but expect a queue on weekends [2]. Qantas's guide recommends the Aussie Benedict with braised wagyu, the avo smash and the sourdough crumpets [1].

Boston Lane

Area: Al Quoz (The Courtyard)

Boston Lane is owned by Australian sisters Alexandra Davidson and Georgina Trigg [1] and is built around Melbourne's laneway coffee culture. Gulf News still recommended it in March 2026 for its coffee and relaxed courtyard setting [3]. Go for a toastie: Gulf News singles out the cheese and garlic one, and Qantas mentions the Chips Oman version [1][3]. It's vegan-friendly and doubles as a small boutique, so allow time to browse.

ONA Coffee

Area: Jumeirah 1

ONA Coffee is one of Australia's best-known specialty roasters, and its Jumeirah 1 café, which opened in June 2026, is the brand's first location outside Australia [4]. ONA launched in 2008 and supplies hundreds of cafés back home [4]. The Dubai café is bright and all-day, with breakfast bowls, toasts, salads, burgers and pastas alongside the coffee, and you can buy beans to take home [4]. The Dubai branch posts updates on Instagram as @ona.dubai.

The Reformatory Lab

Area: Umm Al Sheif Street, Jumeirah; W Residences, Dubai Harbour

The Reformatory Lab is a Sydney roaster. Its central roastery is in Botany, and it was founded by Simon Jaramillo, a fourth-generation Colombian coffee grower [5]. Developer Arada brought it to the UAE in 2025 and opened a 90-seat flagship on Umm Al Sheif Street in November 2025, a few minutes from Jumeirah Beach [5]. Arada plans 10 branches across the UAE by the end of 2027, so expect more to pop up [5]. It's a coffee-first stop, good for a long black after a beach walk.

Jones the Grocer

Area: Emirates Golf Club and other branches

Jones the Grocer started in Woollahra, Sydney, and it's now a fixture across the UAE, with deli counters and some licensed branches as well as a café [1]. In 2026, its Emirates Golf Club branch launched a new menu, from sweetcorn fritters with poached eggs to a passionfruit cheesecake [10]. It's less a slice of home than a safe, reliable all-rounder: good for a business breakfast, a family lunch or picking up cheese for later.

Restaurants and brunches

Yalumba

Area: Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre, Garhoud

Yalumba shares its name with a famous Barossa winery and leans into the theme. The hotel describes it as "inspired by the Barossa Valley", with flame-grilled steaks and a modern take on bushman's pies [6]. The one Aussies talk about is the Aussie Barbie Brunch. It launched in January 2026, ahead of Australia Day, and runs every Saturday afternoon, with live-grilled meats, DIY pavlovas and Aussie rock [7]. At launch, packages started at AED 289 with soft drinks [7]. Yalumba also ran an Anzac Day family brunch in April 2026, so it's worth watching around the big days. Garhoud is close to the airport, which makes it handy for visitors from home.

Bushman's Restaurant & Bar

Area: Anantara The Palm, Palm Jumeirah

Bushman's is the resort's outback-themed restaurant, open for dinner only [8]. The menu goes further into Australian ingredients than most: dried wagyu, smoked kangaroo and a 1.2kg Angus tomahawk for two, plus a citrus pavlova with wattleseed mousse, lemon myrtle cream, riberry and Davidson plum ice cream [8]. It's the place to take visiting family who want a "fancy dinner, but make it Australian". Book ahead and dress for a resort night out.

Where to watch the footy and cricket

Dubai doesn't have an Australian pub, but the sport is easy to find if you know where the community gathers. Dubai runs six hours behind Melbourne during the AFL season and seven hours behind once daylight saving starts back home, with no daylight saving of its own. That means AFL games land on Saturday morning here.

McGettigan's JLT

Area: Jumeirah Lakes Towers

McGettigan's is an Irish pub group with a long list of Dubai venues and live sport on the screens. Its JLT branch hosted the 2026 AFL Grand Final watch party, from 8.30am, with bookings through the Australian Business Council Dubai [9]. That makes it the closest thing Dubai has to an official footy home on grand final day.

Here's how we'd plan a big game:

Watch the Australian Business Council Dubai. It handled bookings for the 2026 Grand Final screening [9]. Expect the 2027 venue to go out through its events page from August.
Book. Grand final breakfasts sell out. Don't just turn up.
For the NRL, State of Origin and the cricket, ask first. We couldn't confirm a regular Dubai venue for Origin or Test cricket screenings in 2026. Sports bars tend to pick games by demand, so call ahead or ask in the group.
Mind the rules. Drinking in public and drink-driving are both offences in the UAE. Take a taxi home.

All the venues at a glance

Venue	Type	Area
Tom&Serg	Café, brunch	Al Quoz
Boston Lane	Café, brunch	Al Quoz
ONA Coffee	Café, roaster	Jumeirah 1
The Reformatory Lab	Café, roaster	Jumeirah; Dubai Harbour
Jones the Grocer	Café, deli, grocer	Emirates Golf Club and other branches
Yalumba	Restaurant, brunch	Garhoud
Bushman's	Restaurant, bar	Palm Jumeirah
McGettigan's JLT	Pub, sport	Jumeirah Lakes Towers

Finding a taste of home

Dubai's bigger supermarkets carry plenty of Australian brands in their imported aisles, but you pay for the privilege. Australian beef, lamb and wine are all easy to find on restaurant menus. Vegemite and Tim Tams take more hunting. The best tips on who's just restocked come from other Aussies.

Join Cooee UAE, our Facebook group for Australians in the UAE, and ask. Members swap where to find a decent pie, which bar has the Origin on and who's organising the next grand final breakfast.

A tip before you go: menus, hours and brunch packages in Dubai change often, especially around Ramadan and in summer. Check the venue's own site or call before you make a special trip.

Australian restaurants, cafés and bars in Dubai: flat whites, a barbie brunch and the footy at breakfast