Crown & Lion
A smoky, noisy, old-school spot that reminds us of high street pubs in the UK, this Barsha Heights hangout is home to a weekly pub quiz. Head along every Monday to take part in the Quiz & Bingo night at Crown & Lion, which features the usual rounds – general knowledge, sport, music and so on and so forth. Plus, if brainboxing isn’t quite your thing, don’t worry, because it’s followed by bingo.
Free. Mon 8.30pm. Ongoing. Byblos Hotel, Barsha Heights (04 448 8000).
garden on 8
Media types will want to make a dash out of the office every Wednesday for this free quiz hosted by local presenter Jono. Kicking off at 8pm every week, you could win a range of prizes, from hotel staycations to a pint of water (if you’re truly terrible). Get there early for the two-for-one happy hour which runs until 8pm each day.
Free. Wed 8pm-10pm. Media One Hotel, Dubai Media City (04 427 1000).
McGettigan’s JBR
One of the many McGettigan’s pubs you’ll find in the emirate, the JBR branch offers up Wisdom Wednesdays, which it claims is “the only time you’ll need to smarten up for McGettigan’s”. So, while you don’t need to come in your black tie, you can get your hands on some pretty mega prizes, and the best part is that it’s entirely free to enter. There are drinks promotions on throughout the night, too, which change fairly regularly so check what’s on offer. And there’s a live DJ to keep the lively vibes going all night.
Free. Wed 8pm-10pm. Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, JBR (04 318 2580).
Mr. Miyagi’s
One of the city’s quirkiest bars, this Media One Hotel Asian street-themed bar and restaurant offers up a weekly quiz that’ll help you see out the end of the weekend in a truly alternative way. Taking place every Saturday night, your Dhs99 entry fee will get you, of course, entry to the quiz, but then you’ll also get a fantastic series of bonuese to boot. We’re talking three drinks, three dishes, games stations and “live entertainment”. With tonnes of prizes on offer too, can you resist the urge to prove your mental skills?
Dhs99. Sat 8pm-3am. Media One Hotel, Dubai Media City (04 420 7489).
Nezesaussi Dubai Marina
An Antipodean sports bar in the Marina, you can head here to shake away the Monday blues every week. The Tackle and Quiz Night is part-food challenge, part-quiz night. You can opt to take down 1.5kg of hot chicken wings, but you have to do it in 15 minutes, or you’ll pay Dhs149. If you’d rather test your brain strength than your belly strength then the pub quiz kicks off at 8pm, and it’s totally free to enter. Plus, there are loads of prizes on offer, too.
Free. Mon 8pm. Address Dubai Marina, Dubai Marina (04 888 3444).
Nell Gwynne
This salt-of-the-earth English pub (see our review on page 56) has a weekly quiz night that you need to be checking out if you’re in the mood to win a round at the bar and a range of other prizes at the Marina Byblos Hotel in Dubai Marina. If Mondays are usually a bit too tough to bear, brighten them up by heading over for 8pm, when there are concurrent quiz and pie nights going on – so stuff your face with pie and chips while giving your brain a workout. You can also get a curry for Dhs48, and if you work in the hotel industry you’ll get a 50 percent discount on house drinks from midnight through until 3am. Get there early to make the most of happy hour (which runs from 4pm until 8pm), plus it’s free to enter and there’s live music.
Free. Mon 8pm. Ongoing. Marina Byblos Hotel, Dubai Marina (04 448 8222).
Spike Bar
Monday night is quiz night at this sprawling sports bar at Emirates Golf Club and you can get your hands on a bunch of different prizes to go alongside the huge amount of screens showing the latest live sport. Prove your smarts by bagging the main prizes on offer and you could be walking away with vouchers to spend on food and drink at the bar, while some lucky golf fans will be bagging themselves a bunch of different swag from the club’s pro shop. Plus you can get three hours of unlimited house drinks and grape for Dhs175. Talk about a hole in one.
Free. Mon 8pm-10pm. Emirates Golf Club, Sheikh Zayed Road (04 417 9999).
Stoke House
Alternatively, if you fancy a different golf course, head up to Damac Hills, where every Tuesday you can make the most of hump day, and start coasting down to the weekend as a champion quizgoer at Stoke House. This laid-back pub at Trump International Golf Course is offering free entry (if you reserve a table) to its weekly quiz, where you can win a range of prizes including pool days, a Dhs400 bar tab, brunch for four, meals out and more. There’s even a pie and a pint offer for Dhs105 if all that mental working out gets your belly hankering for some grub.
Free. Tue 8pm. Ongoing. Trump International Golf Course, Damac Hills (04 245 3939).
The Eloquent Elephant
This classy gastropub, found at Taj Dubai in Business Bay, hosts a weekly quiz you’ll need to sharpen your brain power for. Every Monday from 8pm, grab a table at this trendy spot to take part in the bar’s weekly quiz night. Tuck into some proper pub grub while your get your head around some tricky questions, and stand to win some nifty prizes. First place wins a Dhs500 voucher to spend at the gastropub’s Friday brunch, with second and third places winning Dhs400 and Dhs300 vouchers respectively. It’s fun, it’s challenging and it gets busy so make sure you’re there early. There’s now a brand-new terrace to make the most of the winter weather with, too.
Mon 8pm. Ongoing. Taj Dubai, Business Bay (04 438 3100).
The Rose & Crown
This quiz at British pub in Al Habtoor City is worth a visit for many reasons, but the main one being the mega prizes. There aren’t many pub quizzes in Dubai where you can get your eager mitts on a pair of tickets to one of the most spectacular shows around. The Sunday night pub quiz at The Rose & Crown in Al Habtoor City has a bunch of prizes on offer every week, including tickets to La Perle by Dragone, which will literally leave you on the edge of your seat. Marvellous stuff.
Free. Sun 7.30pm. The Atrium, Al Habtoor City (04 437 0022).
The Tap House
Head along to the Palm’s Club Vista Mare every other Wednesday where The Tap House runs a fortnightly quiz, hosted by radio presenter Tom Urquhart. The quiz involves many of the usual rounds you can expect, with an added bit of spice because the first five teams to register on the night get a free bottle of grape of bucket of hops. If you’re a winner of the many prizes on offer, you’ll also get the chance to swap it out for a mystery prize – and who can resist that?
Free. Wed 8pm-10pm. Fortnightly. Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah (04 514 3778).
Trophy Room
It’s a once-a-month treat at this classy, grown-up sports bar at Fairmont Dubai. It’s also one where you can win some excellent prizes, so make sure you get revising, these are worth the extra study time. The next quiz takes place on Thursday January 31, and the grand prize on offer is a one-night stay for two on Valentine’s Day itself, including breakfast for two. You’ll also get two vouchers worth Dhs250 a pop to spend at The Exchange Grill. There are other dining vouchers to win and plenty of spot prizes on offer, too.
Free. Thu Jan 31, 8pm. Monthly. Fairmont Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road (04 311 8316).
ubk
This funky JLT sports bar with lots of neon lights and a perma-happy hour also runs a proper pub quiz every Monday from 8.30pm. It’s totally free to enter, and you’ll also be able to get some seriously cheap drinks while you’re at it during the all-day happy hour with many house drinks available in the Dhs25 to Dhs30 bracket.
Free. Mon 8.30pm. Ongoing. Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Cluster A, JLT (04 429 8789).
Quiz brunching?
Reform night brunch quiz
Love quizzes? Love brunching? We have the winning combo for you here. Visit Reform Social & Grill on a Thursday night for a barbecue brunch and quiz night pairing. There are live cooking stations and drinks (from Dhs20) from 9pm through until 11pm, but it’s not just for the meat-lovers, because vegans are well looked after as well. If you and your mates can prove to be the brightest collective minds in the pub, you could stand to win free food and drink at Reform for an entire month. The two-hour brunch and quiz comes in at Dhs120 for food, and as mentioned drinks Dhs20 from 9pm through until 11pm. Bring your brainpower, and your appetite.
Dhs120 (food), Dhs20 (selected drinks). Thu 9pm-11pm. Ongoing. The Lakes (04 454 2638).
