Courtyard shade
The courtyard centres on a large banyan tree, providing greenery and shade in the middle of the café.
XVA Café & Restaurant
Bur Dubai
XVA Café & Restaurant is a quiet, art-filled café in Bur Dubai, built around a leafy courtyard and a large banyan tree. It suits a slow breakfast, coffee break or remote-work session, with vegetarian dishes, gallery spaces and drinks such as mint lemonade.
Reputation Score
4.4
★★★★☆
401 ratings
Source: Google Maps
The Good Stuff
Art setting
The café is part of an art-filled hotel and gallery, giving visitors something to browse while they relax or wait for food.
Quiet workspace
Several customers use it for reading, remote work or an unhurried coffee, especially when the café is calm.
Vegetarian options
Reviews highlight vegetarian food, including the XVA Thali and a stuffed eggplant dish.
Friendly service
Staff are repeatedly described as friendly, cooperative, polite and attentive.
Mint drinks
Mint-based drinks are a recurring favourite, with the mint-lemon juice and mint lemonade both singled out.
Calm evenings
The open courtyard can feel especially peaceful, with birds, soft music and a relaxed evening atmosphere.
Tips for a Better Visit
Ask directions. Allow extra time to locate the café and ask around once you reach the area; one visitor found the alleys confusing.
Visit daylight. Morning through early evening, before sunset, was recommended for seeing the courtyard and interiors at their best.
Try mint. If you want a safer drink choice than the coffee, consider the mint tea or mint-lemon drinks praised in reviews.
Expect less choice. The menu can be limited, and the breakfast selection is not extensive, so arrive with modest expectations about variety.
Plan quiet work. For reading or remote work, choose a quieter period; reviewers describe the café as calm but note it can become packed.
Skip meat dishes. The reviews describe a vegetarian concept, so meat or chicken dishes should not be expected.
Plan the visit
Practical details
777X+JXM
Al Souq Al Kabeer - Al Fahidi, Dubai
| Mon | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Tue | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Wed | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Thu | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Fri | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Sat | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
| Sun | 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Popular Mentions
XVA breakfast
The breakfast includes eggs, a hot beverage and fresh orange juice, according to one reviewer.
Sweet potato fries
Sweet potato fries were praised as a tasty addition to a shareable egg sandwich.
Lemon cake
The lemon cake has a grainy, home-style pastry texture rather than a standard soft cake.
Mint tea
Mint tea is recommended by a reviewer who was not impressed by the coffee.
Common Concerns
Food consistency
Food reviews vary sharply: some found it fresh and delicious, while others described dishes as average, tasteless, old or cold.
Coffee strength
One cappuccino tasted diluted, while other reviews call the coffee average or recommend the mint tea instead.
Matcha issue
A reviewer found chunks of unblended matcha powder and reported a hair on the glass.
High pricing
Some customers felt prices were high for the food, vegetables or tourist-oriented setting.
DXB
LOCAL
LOCAL
The Bottom Line
XVA Café & Restaurant is a peaceful, art-filled stop in Bur Dubai, set around a leafy courtyard with a large banyan tree. People come for slow breakfasts, coffee breaks, reading and remote work, with the adjacent gallery adding something to explore beyond the meal. The atmosphere is the main draw: calm, shaded and full of old-world character.
The food leans vegetarian. Reviewers mention the XVA breakfast, XVA Thali, stuffed eggplant, fresh salads, cheesecake and mint lemonade; the XVA Thali and mint-based drinks receive particularly warm praise. The menu may be limited, though, and food quality is not entirely consistent.
Some visitors found meals fresh and delicious, while others called them average or tasteless. Drinks are mixed. Turkish coffee, American coffee and mint tea have fans, but one cappuccino tasted diluted and another reviewer found poorly blended matcha with a hair on the glass.
Prices can feel high for the setting, although one customer paid AED50 for soup and iced coffee and another reported AED90 for drinks, an egg sandwich and sweet potato fries. Finding the café can take patience in the historic lanes, so ask around. Daylight hours, particularly before sunset, make it easier to appreciate the courtyard and artwork; quieter periods are better for reading or working.