Ever get that feeling that sometimes there’s so much on offer in this city, you don’t know where to start? With restaurants popping up all over Dubai day in and day out, sometimes you just want to head to one place and let the good food come to you.
Nomad Day Bar at 25hours Hotel One Central has the answer. The cool and quirky all-day café is operated by award-winning local baristas, Nightjar Coffee Roasters, and is the perfect place for a quick caffeine fix, first thing in the morning to last thing at night. But beyond that, Nomad Day Bar has pitched itself as an ever-evolving social and culinary hub thanks to the launch of its monthly pop-up restaurant, in which different independent foodie concepts take over its courtyard space.
From February 1 to 18, Eatopi are in charge, the multi-brand concept that curates iconic dishes from the region’s most popular brands and serves them up on a plate. The Middle East’s first food ‘playlist’, if you like! The premise is that Eatopi goes ‘beyond food’ and curates a whole experience around food, whilst plying your stomachs with all your favourites. On the menu for the pop-up at 25hours Hotel One Central is: Musakhan rolls by Chef Halawa, wontons by Ugly Noodles and fries by High Joint for starters, followed by The Fuggetaboutit sandwich by Wise Guys, the Monica Bellucci sandwich by Harry’s and the High Jamz sandwich by High Joint. For mains, you can tuck into Dan Dan noodles by Ugly Noodles, a brisket platter by Mattar, True Bowl by Cali Poke, and Burnt Basque Cheesecake by Tano’s at 8.
A word of advice, have a light breakfast, because the Eatopi pop-up kicks off at midday until 10pm, so you’ll need to pace yourself if, like us, you want to sample everything!
Next, it’s the turn of Wise Guys, who are taking over the courtyard from February 19 to March 3. If you’re something of a sandwich connoisseur, you’ll have found your pack at this pop-up! Channelling old-school New York, with a little Mafia-themed humour, Wise Guys is famous for its freshly-made sandwiches at its location in DIFC’s Gate Village. The pop-up at Nomad Day Bar brings the very best of its bread-based goodness to 25hours Hotel One Central, with its Egg Manifesto that allows you to kick-start your day with made-to-order fresh eggs on a potato roll, such as the Penny Benny with creamed truffle, beef ham, poached farm eggs, hollandaise and trout roe, or the Tino’s Lox, with dill pecorino cream, salmon lox and poached eggs. Its signature sandwich is the Wise Guy, with layers of pastrami, provolone cheese, caraway sauerkraut and caramelised onions on sourdough. Tempted yet? Another favourite is the Fuggetaboutit, with smoked turkey, pecorino cheese, marinated tomatoes and truffle cream cheese on shiacciata bread. There’s also a veggie option, with the Connie – a hoagie loaf filled with marinated tomatoes, celery sticks, pickled roast peppers, dukka and lettuce. Oh, and it does salad bowls too, if you fancy a break from the carbs.
The courtyard is definitely one of the coolest places to hang out in the city, with its wooden cabanas, comfy low seats and relaxed vibes. Plus, throughout the pop-ups, there’s plenty of art and music to enjoy whilst you chow down on your Eatopi dish of the day or a world-famous sandwich from Wise Guys. And inside, you can grab a book from the ‘fountain of tales’, order yourself a nitro coffee, kombucha or matcha latte and settle in for the afternoon to a backdrop of contemporary art. A feast for all the senses.