Best bars in Middle East & Africa

Mimi Kakushi channels 1920s Osaka and its East-meets-West avant-garde scene. The menu is built for sharing, spanning sushi and sashimi, tempura, gyoza, black cod and Kagoshima wagyu.

Jumeirah 2 · 1920s Osaka-inspired Japanese restaurant and bar · site · IG

LPM Dubai serves French Riviera-inspired food beside a long cocktail bar in DIFC.

DIFC · French Mediterranean restaurant and cocktail bar · site · IG

Hero is a comic-inspired rooftop restaurant and speakeasy pairing playful small plates, sushi, and cocktails.

Gigiri · Comic-themed rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar · site · IG

A tucked-away Rosebank cocktail bar with a drinks menu that changes with the seasons.

Rosebank · Seasonal cocktail bar · site · IG

Amelia at Address Sky View combines Japanese–Peruvian dining with a cocktail bar and Afro–melodic house music in a steampunk-inspired interior. The bar, dining room and Voyage nightlife space run distinct schedules, making the type of evening worth specifying when booking.

Steampunk restaurant and cocktail lounge · site · IG

Zuma Dubai is a two-floor contemporary Japanese restaurant with sushi and robata downstairs and a lively cocktail bar, lounge, and terrace upstairs.

DIFC · Contemporary Japanese restaurant and cocktail lounge · site · IG

Front/Back is an Accra private members' club celebrating the music, cuisine and art of Africa and its diaspora. Its restaurant, art-filled rooms and terrace combine cocktails and dinner with live music, talks, DJs and late-night events.

Private members' dining, cocktail and nightlife club · site · IG

An intimate DIFC cocktail lounge with Greek-inspired architecture and a blue stone arched bar beneath a starry ceiling.

DIFC · Luxury late-night cocktail lounge · site · IG

Honeycomb Hi-Fi is a Dubai listening bar and izakaya built around a custom Ojas sound system, eclectic DJ sessions, Japanese-inspired food and cocktails, rotating art and an in-house vinyl and book shop.

High-fidelity listening bar and izakaya · site · IG

A V&A Waterfront bar serving inventive cocktails inspired by Cape Town’s oceans, mountains and fynbos, alongside tapas and local spirits.

V&A Waterfront · Cape-inspired cocktail bar and tapas venue

Fable is a high-energy Cape Town cocktail bar whose theatrical signature drinks turn local myths and legends into stories, supported by DJs, food and daytime weekend service.

Story-led theatrical cocktail bar · site · IG

Salmon Guru Dubai is Diego Cabrera’s Business Bay outpost, translating the Madrid original’s irreverent, multisensory cocktails into a vivid Dubai setting and pairing them with food built from Madrid traditions and modern technique.

Theatrical multisensory cocktail and dining bar · site · IG

Library Bar is The Abu Dhabi EDITION's intimate, literary-inspired cocktail room. Artwork draws on language and the written word, while the bar pairs bespoke drinks and EDITION classics with a Japanese-inspired signature menu and recurring themed sessions.

Intimate literary-inspired hotel cocktail bar · site · IG

Blind Tiger is a secluded cocktail lounge in Jumeirah Al Naseem, combining a speakeasy atmosphere with Asian accents and views across the resort gardens. Signature drinks and light bites frame an intimate evening setting rather than a large nightclub.

Intimate resort speakeasy cocktail lounge · site · IG

ROKA Business Bay is a contemporary Japanese robatayaki restaurant in The Opus, with a full-day bar, skyline terrace, cocktails and DJs alongside its central robata grill.

Japanese robatayaki restaurant and cocktail bar · site · IG

A sociable chrome-oval bar at Bvlgari Resort Dubai, sharing space with Il Ristorante and looking across the seaside promenade toward the Arabian Gulf.

Jumeirah Bay · Luxury chrome-oval hotel bar with Gulf views · site