العربية

Coffee by Emirati women founders

Coffee is one of the busiest corners of the homegrown scene, and many of the newest names are led by Emirati women. This guide brings together the cafes and coffee brands in the Neighbours Circle directory where a published source names an Emirati woman as founder, co-founder or owner. Sources use different words, and we keep them: some say founded, some say owned, some say brought to life. We repeat the wording each source uses rather than upgrading it.

Coffee Architecture, Abu Dhabi

The National profiles Emirati barista Nooran Albannay, who has owned Coffee Architecture since 2018 and is captioned as its founder. The cafe is at Mamsha Al Saadiyat. The article says she trained as a barista in 2015 and decided to turn coffee into a business after her grandmother died in 2016 (The National).

Daan Coffee, Abu Dhabi

Khaleej Times describes Daan Coffee as a family-run cafe founded by Mariam Tareq Alsaiqal and her three siblings, and calls her an Emirati from Abu Dhabi. The article gives her age as 21 and reports that she calls it the UAE's first modern Emirati cafe, based on her own research before opening. The menu pairs Emirati coffee and karak with traditional dishes, and the interior takes its cue from dried palm leaves, which is what daan means (Khaleej Times).

Ghaya Cafe, Nad Al Sheba

Gulf News introduces 18-year-old Emirati entrepreneur Ghaya Albastaki, who co-founded Ghaya Cafe with her sister Roudha. It began as a homemade matcha drink served as a drive-through from her home and has since expanded into catering and pop-up events. The cafe is based in Nad Al Sheba (Gulf News).

Feather Coffee

In a report on The Arabian Luxury Group (TALG) acquiring four Emirati startups, Gulf News calls Feather Coffee's founder, Amna Ibrahim, an Emirati entrepreneur. She launched the brand a week before the pandemic lockdown, which the article says made the first months hard. The name, it adds, came from her sister's fascination with feathers (Gulf News).

Masraana and Love Vibe Café

Deliveroo's Emirati Women's Day feature presents homegrown spots it describes as brought to life by Emirati women. It says Masraana was co-founded in early 2025 by Tasnim AlGergawi and her husband Khalid Dweik, and runs a coffee truck at Alserkal Avenue with flavours such as za'atar latte. The same feature says Love Vibe Café was created by Noora Saeed and has branches in DIFC and Khalifa City (Deliveroo).

Gossip Cafe, Jolie Cafe and Roux Cafe

Meraas includes all three in its round-up of Emirati women-owned businesses at its destinations. It says Dr Shayma Fawwaz runs Gossip Cafe, a coffee and pastry food truck at Last Exit Al Khawaneej, and that Eman Al Owais opened Jolie Cafe at City Walk as a floral boutique cafe serving coffee, cakes and afternoon tea. Roux Cafe, also at City Walk, is the one entry the page describes as founded: by Mariam Al Hashemi in 2016, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts (Meraas).

Planning a coffee trail

These cafes are spread across two emirates, so it helps to group them. In Abu Dhabi, Coffee Architecture and Daan Coffee make a pair. In Dubai, City Walk has Jolie Cafe and Roux Cafe close to each other, while Alserkal Avenue and Last Exit Al Khawaneej host the trucks. Hours change often for trucks and pop-ups, so check the brand's own social pages on the day.

A note on the words

We list a business here only when the source itself connects it to an Emirati woman. Where a source says owned or runs rather than founded, we say so. Meraas, for example, titles its list as women-owned businesses, so we describe those cafes as owned or run unless the entry itself says founded. If you are one of these founders and the wording is not right, claim your page and tell us; we will update it once we can confirm the change.

Sources