A good few years ago I harboured an ambition somewhere in the depths of my hyper-active brain to open a café one day – to the point that I started collecting retro memorabilia to decorate this dream. And pictured here to the right you can see one of them, picked up in my homeland Cyprus. The dream never happened and the ambition is long gone, replaced by far too many others. But thanks to another dream, FooDiva, I am constantly searching out café concepts that are just a little bit different. This post isn’t another round-up, simply five new quirky cafés I’ve tried and tasted recently in Dubai. So without further ado, voila…
Marta’s Workshop

The lawyer-turned-caterer behind Marta’s Kitchen has opened a teeny terraced café at JLT on the premises of her boutique catering business, serving lunch over weekdays only. Having grown up in the Michelin-starred region of San Sebastian in northern Spain, Marta’s appreciation for fine dining and cutting-edge cooking techniques shine through in her daily specials menu inspired not just by her homeland but the wider Mediterranean region. Her sous vide cooking for one brings flavours to the fore, for fish in particular. The nine dishes (three choices per course) change daily so there’s no guarantee you’ll eat what I gobbled up. But if you do… here’s what to order: Starters: local burrata from Italian Dairy Products (not as creamy and rich as buffalo milk burrata) with cherry tomatoes and dotted with pesto, carrot flan in a warm pea soup. Mains: Sea bream on creamy carrot mash, chilli con carne. Desserts: brownie with peanut butter mousse, fruit tartare in a strawberry coulis with mango sorbet. Two courses start at AED70 with three courses for AED90. Expect to be served by the chefs only, Marta included. Swiss Tower, Jumeirah Lake Towers. M; +971 50 3798002. Open Sunday to Thursday 12noon to 2.30pm.

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