NEW Dubai bars

A crop of new drinking venues have opened in town lately. But are they worth your drinking money? 5 Comments

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Chill: It was supposed to be Bur Dubai’s answer to the Royal Mirage’s Roooftop Terrace. And if you squint at the four-poster beds, stylised seating and trained reflexologists you can see how close they got.

Look closer, however, and you’ll see that the furniture could have come from Ikea and the funky grass crawling up the wall behind the bar is actually Astroturf. Astroturf? Really?

The challenges
Shawarmas per cocktail: eight

If it wasn’t a bar, it would be a… Volkswagen Beetle.

Male: female ratio: 60:40, dropping to 90:10 on Circus nights.

Misery quotient: one

Fashion: post-office businesswear with loose ties and open collars.

Number of businessmen with nieces: two.

The most interesting thing about the toilets… is that you must walk down twisty-turny corridors to reach a changing room for the hotel’s sauna. Well, it’s memorable, at least.

The verdict: Rather than distracting from the atmosphere, Chill’s idiosyncrasies add to the place. In a city saturated with tedious ‘exclusive’ bars and full of self-consciously – and sometimes neurotically – dolled-up crowds, something a little goofy and shoddy like Chill is incredibly endearing. The helpful staff and the flamboyant, fancy-dress monthly Circus night help.
Chill, Royal Ascot Hotel, open 12 noon-2am daily.