Places to Eat: Café Rider – Dubai, UAE

Name:  Café Rider Custom Motorcycles

Description and Ambience:  Located in a warehouse, this coffee cum motorcycle workshop combines a love of good coffee with the beauty of design. The cavernous industrial space has cozy leather couches and chairs to sink into for a couple of hours of reading and sipping good coffee, or chattering away with friends. Old doors have been utilised as tables, and even oil drums prop up pieces of wood to create tables in a space that has no intention of hiding the fact that building motorcycles is the reason it exists in the first place. One is surrounded by custom built bikes, art that celebrates it, and merchandise in a space that, as their website states “. . . combine motorbikes, organic coffee and art into one exclusive lifestyle experience.”

But one definitely doesn’t have to be a motorcycle enthusiast to enjoy the space. There is a bookcase lined with memorabilia and books to browse through, as well as some board games that encourages clientele to linger as long as they like. It is also an excellent space to get some work done, and there is free Wi-Fi.

Location:  Not far from Mall of the Emirates in a warehouse on the edge of the Al Quoz industrial area.

GPS co-ordinates: N25° 07′ 03.40″   E55° 12′ 45.17″  Also check out their website for a map location and address, as our GPS got a bit confused, and did not comprehend that it was located on the other side of a busy main road.

Parking is available free of charge directly in front of the warehouse.

Opening Times:  Saturday – Thursday 8am to 8pm and Friday from 8am to 5pm

Price and Quality of Food:  It is an excellent place to come to for a good cup of coffee. When we arrived we were greeted and showed around by Dmitri Grekhov, head barista and winner of the 2014 UAE Barista Championships. His engaging, friendly, and attentive manner made us feel as if we were visiting his home. Not only were we made to feel welcome, but the coffee was superb. After discussing what we like in a cup of coffee, he returned with a double espresso for my husband, and a café latte for me. Brewed to perfection. Their coffees are carefully sourced and brewed to provide a memorable coffee experience.

Without a kitchen on site, they have an arrangement with The Boutique Kitchen nearby, which has an interesting and extensive menu. It takes a while for the food to arrive, but it is worth the wait, while this arrangement adds to the novelty of the space.

Website:  http://cafe-rider.com/

Worth Checking Out:  Watching the guys at work in the glass-fronted workshop adds to the ambience of the place, as it is quite fascinating to see how a custom motorcycle is slowly taking shape.

A note of thanks to Herman van Bon who alerted me to the existence of Café Rider. I marvel at how word-of-mouth recommendations these days can come from the other side of the world.

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Category : Places to Eat
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