Shorts at the ready..

With a new bar popping up every week in Dubai we’re spoiled for choice when choosing where to meet friends for a drink. Whilst it’s always great to find new ones, a chilled out ‘local’ you can rock up to in your shorts and flip-flops is sometimes more favourable. 

Whether it’s meeting friends at the weekend or your fave place for good, long happy hours, we’ve rounded up some of the best bars around for some ‘down-time’.

Cheers to those lazy weekends…

1. Barrel 12

Dubai’s sort of answer to a British pub, Barrel12 is a great shout for a chilled few beers with the lads on a weekend. With a big TV outside (and many on the inside), they also have a classic menu where you can feast on a ‘proper’ roast dinner, pie with lashings of gravy or fish and chips washed down with a British cider or three. Hit their Garden Brunch on a Friday, where you can share three courses of pub grub and 3 hours of house beverages for Dhs295 each.

Barrel 12, Palm View East, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, Weekdays 12pm to 12am, Weekends, 12pm to 2am. Tel: (04) 552 4000. facebook.com

2. Barasti

Barasti is perfect for weekend chill vibes. Whether you’re catching up with friends on the top level around the tiki hut style bar and watching sports on the huge screens or heading downstairs to the free beach or swimming pool, you’re always guaranteed to have a fun and frivolous afternoon.

Barasti, La Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, Sat to Wed 10am to 1.30am, Thurs & Fri, 9am to 3am. Tel: (04) 318 1313. barastibeach.com

3. Club Vista Mare

Club Vista, jutting out into the waters off the Palm Jumeirah, offers a number of different bars and restaurants, with Italian, Carribean, Modern European and Japanese on offer to satisfy your appetite. Dine or drink alfresco under the twinkling lights and big white dream catchers blowing gently in the breeze. There’s always good happy hours going on down here and if you feel like it, you can sample out a few places in one night.

Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, Sun to Wed 9am to 12am, Thurs to Sat 9am to 1am. facebook.com

ALSO READ: 7 of the best bars for games and sports in Dubai

4. McGettigans Madinat Jumeirah

This branch of Dubai favourite McGettigans at Madinat Jumeirah offers the same hearty aul’ Irish flair as its other counterparts in Dubai, but with the bonus of beautiful blue waters of the Madinat Jumeirah setting. They have TV screens for sports, music nights aplenty and a happy hour running from 2pm to 5pm, followed by a Drunch from 5pm to 8pm on a Friday. They also have a happy hour 2pm til 8pm on a Saturday too.

McGettigan’s, Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. Tel: (04) 447 0219. mcgettigans.com

5. Riva

Riva is quite an underrated little spot for a cool bar to relax in, poolside. The ultimate place to head in shorts and flip flops, they have a daily happy hour from 4pm until 8pm, offering Dhs28 on select beverages and cocktails. They also have an additional happy hour at 10.45pm until 11.30pm from Dhs19 just to polish off the evening. On Saturdays their standard happy hour stretches from 4pm until 11pm.

Riva, Building 8, The Shoreline, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, 7.30am to 12am. Tel: (04) 430 9466. riva-beach.com

6. Cargo

Pier 7 is a classic when it comes to panoramic Marina views, whether you’re heading there one day on a weekend or watching the sun going down on a Thursday. On a Friday Cargo hosts a Tropical Party, inviting you to come down in your best shorts and flip flops and enjoy unlimited food and house beverages for Dhs195 from 2pm to 5pm.

Cargo, 3rd Floor, Pier 7, Dubai Marina, Dubai, Sun to Thurs 4pm to 2am, Fri 12.30 to 2am, Sat 12pm to 2pm. Tel: (04) 461 8129. cargo-dubai.com

7. Reform Social & Grill

Reform has the British gastro-pub thing nailed, right down to the beer garden. On a weekend it serves a classic British roast which you can enjoy with grassy lawns and lake views. If you’re just heading out for breakfast, it’s got a cracking menu on offer and, well, if you decide to…just stay all afternoon.

The Lakes, Dubai, daily 8am to late. Tel: (04) 4542638. Taxi: The Lakes Club. reformsocialgrill.ae

— For the best of Dubai straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.

Images: Supplied / Facebook