Those who lament Abu Dhabi’s lack of café culture may find sanctuary within Joud Café. Located in a small nook of Al Bateen, the city’s first specialty coffeehouse began brewing in July 2016 and has attracted locals, businessmen and students ever since.

This sleek yet cosy café exclusively serves single-origin coffee from Ethiopia, Kenya, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Customers can choose from boutique piccolo lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos and mochas. For a slightly higher price, one may opt for manual brews, including French press-, siphon- and chemex-made coffees. One should come prepared for rich, earthy flavours that leave a delicate, nutty aftertaste. Both serious coffee lovers and traditionalists will find what they’re looking for at Joud Café.

Joud Café also offers a diverse selection of teas and superfood smoothies. Fulfil your craving for a cup of Darjeeling tea or try the Dragon Well tea — a type of green tea renowned for its high quality. On sweltering summer days, the Rose Orange smoothie, made from rose water, orange, avocado and spinach, serves as a healthy and colorful thirst-quenching concoction.

Aside from drinks, Joud Café serves six varieties of croissants and a small selection of pastries and cakes. The lack of other food items is testament to how the light desserts are merely accompaniments to the café’s main focus: coffee.

This beautifully furnished café is often filled with young adults who come together for a chat after work. The light conversation mingles with music by The Beatles and the consistent melody of brewing coffee.

Photograph by Raunak Shrestha

“This is such a great place to bring your work and enjoy a real cup of coffee. I’m so glad we have something like this in Abu Dhabi,” said Brian Kim, Class of 2020.

Kim found that Joud Café offers a pleasant departure from the Starbucks macchiatos served at the Library Café. Not only does Joud Café provide a more gratifying and authentic coffee experience, but a visit there also entails an escape from the Saadiyat bubble.

To visit Joud Café, take the shuttle to the Corniche and catch a taxi from there. Tell the driver to head to Al Bateen Park and stop at the intersection between 30th Street and Hazza Bin Zayed Street. Joud Café is nestled right there, in a large white building opposite the Lavazza coffee shop.