Skyline views
The rooftop gives clear views towards Burj Khalifa and the Dubai skyline, especially striking around sunset.
High Note Pool & Sky Lounge
Al Raffa
High Note Pool & Sky Lounge is a rooftop restaurant and lounge in Al Raffa, on the sixth floor of Aloft hotel. It draws diners for skyline views, Indian and Chinese dishes, artisan cocktails, and shisha beside the pool.
Reputation Score
4.7
★★★★★
1,427 ratings
Source: Google Maps
The Good Stuff
Warm service
Reviews repeatedly describe the team as attentive and welcoming, with service that feels personal without hovering.
Shisha quality
The shisha is praised for smooth smoke and varied flavours; one reviewer especially valued the careful flavour guidance and upkeep.
Food variety
Indian and Chinese dishes both feature in the reviews, with particular praise for butter chicken, Hakka noodles, and chicken tikka.
Live entertainment
Music is a major part of the evening, with nightly DJs and live Indian music or belly-dance performances on selected nights.
Poolside setting
The outdoor terrace sits beside an infinity pool, giving the lounge a relaxed poolside feel for drinks, dinner, or shisha.
What to Eat at High Note Pool & Sky Lounge How we choose these items We use AI to find praise and criticism of specific foods and drinks in a selection of Google reviews. For High Note Pool & Sky Lounge, this list is based on 50 reviews, not every review of the restaurant. We still have more reviews to analyze, so the scores may change. The score is positive reviews minus negative reviews. For example, two positive reviews and one negative review give +1. Each review counts once per item; neutral comments do not change the score. A zero score is not a positive recommendation. “Only neutral feedback” means there are no positive or negative votes. “Mixed feedback” means equal numbers of positive and negative votes. The quotes are examples of what people said, not every comment we counted. We use different reviews where we can. We normally show up to 10 foods and 5 drinks with non-negative scores. Items with the same score stay together. If a tied group would go past the limit, that group and the lower non-negative scores go into Honorable mentions. If an overflowing positive top tie would leave the list empty, we show up to 10 items from that tie and keep the rest in Honorable mentions. Foods and drinks with a negative score are under What to Avoid. Use this as a guide to what reviewers liked, not a guarantee that you will like it too.
These items at High Note Pool & Sky Lounge got the most positive mentions in user reviews. Check them out!
Food 3
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Butter chicken Net +3
“The Butter Chicken and Prawns are so nice, worth while coming here for a nice enjoyable night.”
Positive 3Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The Butter Chicken and Prawns are so nice, worth while coming here for a nice enjoyable night.”September 2025
“The butter chicken was super tasty, and I really enjoyed the combination of good food, relaxing shisha, and the breathtaking view.”September 2025
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Piña coladas Net +2
“We tried a mix of dishes like pasta, noodles, chicken wings, and even had piña coladas — everything tasted so delicious and fresh.”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We tried a mix of dishes like pasta, noodles, chicken wings, and even had piña coladas — everything tasted so delicious and fresh.”September 2025
“They also have belly dancers performing on certain days of the week! The food is abundant and delicious, and the pina coladas are delicious🤤😍 Full marks! The food is great and the pina coladas are delicious! Full marks! 💯.”September 2025
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Pizza Net +2
“The food is absolutely delicious — the pizza is a must-try — and the shisha is excellent.”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food is absolutely delicious — the pizza is a must-try — and the shisha is excellent.”September 2025
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”October 2025
Honorable mentions (13)
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Barbecue wings Net +1
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”September 2025
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Biriyani Net +1
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”October 2025
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Blue lagoon Net +1
“On top of that, we enjoyed refreshing cocktails like the Margarita and Blue Lagoon 🍹, along with shisha, which just completed the night.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“On top of that, we enjoyed refreshing cocktails like the Margarita and Blue Lagoon 🍹, along with shisha, which just completed the night.”September 2025
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Butter garlic prawns Net +1
“For entrées, we ordered the Waka Guaca and butter garlic prawns, both were delicious and full of flavor.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“For entrées, we ordered the Waka Guaca and butter garlic prawns, both were delicious and full of flavor.”September 2025
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Chicken tikka Net +1
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”October 2025
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Dal Net +1
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”September 2025
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Garlic prawn shrimp Net +1
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”September 2025
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Greek salad Net +1
“I was already quite full, so I opted for a Greek salad and sampled some of my friend’s butter chicken. Again, both dishes were very tasty.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I was already quite full, so I opted for a Greek salad and sampled some of my friend’s butter chicken. Again, both dishes were very tasty.”September 2025
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Hakka noodles Net +1
“The food was absolutely delicious, especially the Hakka noodles, and the cocktails were just top-notch 🍸🔥”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food was absolutely delicious, especially the Hakka noodles, and the cocktails were just top-notch 🍸🔥”October 2025
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Pasta with chicken Net +1
“The food was delicious, my favorite is prown and pasta with chicken and the chill vibe made it a perfect evening.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food was delicious, my favorite is prown and pasta with chicken and the chill vibe made it a perfect evening.”September 2025
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Penne pasta Net +1
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food and drinks were amazing! We ordered penne pasta, barbecue wings, dal, and garlic prawn shrimp, everything was delicious.”September 2025
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Soya chaap Net +1
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Chicken tikka was out of the world, pizza, biriyani and soya chaap also good.”October 2025
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Waka guaca Net +1
“For entrées, we ordered the Waka Guaca and butter garlic prawns, both were delicious and full of flavor.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“For entrées, we ordered the Waka Guaca and butter garlic prawns, both were delicious and full of flavor.”September 2025
Drinks 1
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Margarita Net +2
“My go-to drink is a margarita, and they make it perfectly here, even adding Tabasco on request to make it spicy 🌶️.”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“My go-to drink is a margarita, and they make it perfectly here, even adding Tabasco on request to make it spicy 🌶️.”September 2025
“On top of that, we enjoyed refreshing cocktails like the Margarita and Blue Lagoon 🍹, along with shisha, which just completed the night.”September 2025
Tips for a Better Visit
Happy hour. Try the daily 4–6pm happy hour, which one review says covers food, drinks, and shisha.
Free parking. Use the hotel basement’s self-parking rather than valet: a reviewer says self-parking is free while valet costs 50 AED.
Off-peak visits. For easier service and a quieter feel, consider an off-peak visit; one reviewer found peak crowds made staff difficult to flag down.
Pool access. The restaurant is open to the public, but a review says the rooftop pool is restricted to hotel guests, so check access before planning a swim.
Night schedule. Expect a DJ every night, while belly dancers appear only on some nights; check the entertainment schedule if that matters to your plans.
Plan the visit
Practical details
Rooftop Level, Aloft Al Mina Hotel
Al Raffa, Dubai
| Mon | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
| Tue | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
| Wed | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
| Thu | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
| Fri | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
| Sat | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
| Sun | 12:00 PM – 3:00 AM |
Common Concerns
Food delays
One review says dishes can take longer than normal to arrive, particularly worth noting when the lounge is busy.
Menu app
The food-and-drinks app frustrated one visitor by redirecting to WhatsApp instead of opening the menu directly.
Peak-hour attention
When the venue is loud and crowded, one reviewer found staff harder to reach when assistance was needed.
Music variety
A corporate-party visit had a mostly Indian playlist that one reviewer felt was not diverse or well curated enough.
Customer-reported prices
These are customer-reported mentions, not a current price list. Prices may have changed.
about 45 dirhams
beers
“A belly dancer even came out and performed! We enjoyed a couple beers (moderately priced for Dubai, about 45 dirhams), and some tasty popcorn came as well”Google review · April 2025
AED 25
Shisha
“🍸Every Friday | Ladies Night: 2 FREE drinks for ladies - Shisha starting at just AED 25”Google review · May 2025
DXB
LOCAL
LOCAL
The Bottom Line
High Note Pool & Sky Lounge is a rooftop restaurant and lounge in Al Raffa, located on the sixth floor of Aloft hotel. People come for the Burj Khalifa skyline, poolside seating, shisha, and lively evening entertainment. The restaurant is open to the public, while one review says the rooftop pool itself is for hotel guests only.
The food covers several crowd-pleasing directions. Reviews mention Indian and Chinese dishes, with butter chicken, chicken tikka, Hakka noodles, prawns, pizza, pasta, and biryani all receiving individual praise. Sharing plates and artisan cocktails also stand out, while margaritas and piña coladas get specific mentions.
Service is one of the strongest themes: guests describe the staff as kind, attentive, and helpful with selections. The atmosphere ranges from relaxed Bollywood or Indian music to DJ nights, live music, and belly dancers on selected evenings. Shisha is often described as smooth, with a good range of flavours.
For value, a review reports daily happy-hour pricing from 4–6pm on food, drinks, and shisha. Another mentions beers at about 45 dirhams and free basement self-parking, compared with 50 AED for valet. Allow extra time for food during busy periods, and consider visiting off-peak if you want easier access to staff.