Hidden roasteries, an indie cinema, a café run with an art studio, and two very messy ways to blow off steam.
From the road, Al Quoz is warehouses and car garages. Step inside a few of them and you'll find some of Dubai's most creative corners. Here's how to spend a day there.
Start with art
Alserkal Avenue is Dubai's creative heart: converted warehouses with contemporary galleries, design shops, studios and good cafés. Most galleries are free to visit.
Coffee for people who care
THREE Coffee is a hidden roastery inside a warehouse. Pull up to the bar for a guided tasting and ask about the experimental processes. A filter-coffee lover's dream.
Blacksmith's showroom is part café, part roastery store: excellent espresso, the much-loved Osaka cold brew, and beans people drive from Sharjah to buy.
Lunch somewhere calm
BOCASU is a Japanese-inspired hideaway behind a GMC showroom, full of bonsai and art, with live piano, matcha, hand rolls and a famous tiramisu.
Or go to Mawaheb Café, part of an inclusive art studio for adults of determination. Have coffee surrounded by artwork made on site, much of it for sale. It's one of the city's true hidden gems.
Get messy
At Wild Paint House the walls are your canvas: splatter, throw and graffiti paint, then take your piece home.
Or try The Smash Room, Dubai's original rage room. Gear up and smash plates, glass and old printers while your playlist blasts. Surprisingly therapeutic.
End with a film
Cinema Akil shows Arab, world and classic films you won't find at the mall, in a warehouse cinema with a café and a real cinephile crowd.