June has a habit of disappearing faster than expected. One minute you’re making summer plans and the next it’s July. Before the month gets away from you completely, there are still plenty of reasons to leave the house.
Sip Dubai’s Flame Tree Season
There are certain signs that summer has officially arrived in Dubai, and one of the prettiest is easy to miss. For a few short weeks each year, Flame Trees burst into shades of orange and red across the city, turning everyday routes into unexpected photo opps.
This June, Saddle and Feels are bottling that fleeting moment into two limited-edition drinks available across the UAE until June 22. Saddle’s Cascara & Sparkling Pineapple combines pineapple malt, cascara syrup, saffron and hibiscus-soaked pineapple, while Feels’ Mango Lavender Iced Tea blends golden mango with soft lavender over iced tea. Both drinks come paired with illustrated keepsake cards by Dubai-based artist Zaina Deesi, making them a sweet tribute to one of the city’s unofficial seasonal traditions.
When: Until June 22
Where: Saddle Trucks, Saddle Cafés and Feels locations across the UAE
Book KIGO’s One Night Only Omakase
International Sushi Day falls on June 18, and KIGO is marking the occasion with an experience designed for serious sushi lovers. For one evening only, Head Sushi Chef Daihachiro Ebata will present a 12-course omakase menu featuring some of KIGO’s most requested dishes, from Akami and Chu-toro to Uni and Anago.
The experience embraces the true spirit of omakase, which translates to “I’ll leave it up to you”, with each piece prepared to order and served exactly when Chef Ebata intends it to be enjoyed. Taking place at KIGO’s intimate sushi counter, there are only eight seats available per seating, making this one of June’s hardest reservations to secure.
When: June 18, 6 to 10pm
Where: KIGO, Four Seasons Hotel DIFC, Dubai
Price: AED 1,500 per person
Reset Inside ARTE Museum with Charge Circle
Wellness events are everywhere in Dubai, but this one comes with a museum to yourself.
On June 18, Charge Wellness is taking over ARTE Museum for The Charge Circle, an immersive 60-minute session designed to help participants slow down and switch off. Led by founder Silvina Joseph, the headphones-on experience combines guided visualisation, immersive audio and relaxation techniques within ARTE Museum’s digital surroundings.
The evening also includes full museum access and refreshments at the Tea Bar, making it equal parts wellness session and unusual night out. With just 15 spots available, this is one you’ll want to book quickly.
When: June 18, 7pm
Where: ARTE Museum, Dubai Mall
Price: AED 270
Browse the Brand Booster Collective at Orto
If you’ve ever wished you could browse independent regional designers without scrolling endlessly online, this might be your chance. For the first time, Brand Booster, the Dubai-based platform known for supporting emerging designers across the GCC, is opening its community event to the public with the Brand Booster Collective at Orto.
Taking place over two days only, the event brings together a curated selection of independent fashion and lifestyle brands in one space, giving shoppers the opportunity to meet the people behind the labels and discover pieces they won’t necessarily find in traditional retail settings.
When: June 19-20
Where: Orto, Dubai
Entry: Open to the public
Try Ear Seeding
If your algorithm has been feeding you videos about nervous system regulation and alternative wellness practices, here’s your chance to try one for yourself.
Yinli, the UAE’s first traditional Chinese medicine-inspired beverage brand, is hosting an Intro to Ear Seeding session alongside Dr Jennifer Sadler, a DHA-licensed acupuncturist and certified nutritional practitioner.
Ear seeding is a needle-free acupressure practice that involves placing tiny seeds on specific pressure points of the ear. During the session, participants will receive a brief one on one consultation followed by the application of ear seeds tailored to them. The experience also includes TCM-inspired bites prepared by Chef Saher Shaikh of The Purple Chef.
When: June 19, 10 to 11:30am
Where: Akari, Dubai
Price: AED 270 per person
Shop Local at Jones the Grocer’s Community Market
Making its Dubai Silicon Oasis debut, the market brings together homegrown brands, independent makers and community favourites under one roof at Radisson RED. Spend a leisurely afternoon browsing handmade finds, chat with the people behind the businesses and inevitably leave with something one of a kind. If you want to turn it into a full outing, get there early for Jones the Grocer’s all you can eat breakfast.
When: June 20-21, 12pm to 6pm
Where: Jones the Grocer, Radisson RED, Dubai Silicon Oasis
Bonus: All you can eat breakfast from 8 to 11:30am for AED 89
Taste piehaus x Chef Hadrien’s French-Inspired Phyllo Pies
Alserkal Avenue favourite piehaus is back with the second edition of its Counter Culture series, this time teaming up with Chef Hadrien Villedieu of Chez Wam.
Available until June 21, the menu reimagines French comfort food through piehaus’ signature handcrafted phyllo. The savoury Croque Monsieur Pie takes the classic sandwich and layers it with veal ham, comté cheese and béchamel, while the Pom Pom Pie leans sweet, filled with apple and cinnamon compote, salted caramel, walnuts and vanilla cream.
Whether you’re already a piehaus regular or just looking for an excuse to spend an afternoon wandering around Alserkal Avenue, this is one of those “get it before it’s gone” experiences at its best.
Where: piehaus, Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse 22A, Dubai
When: Until June 21
Let Dubai’s Weather Decide Your Discount
If you’ve ever complained about the UAE’s soaring temperatures, China Tang Dubai has found a way to make them work in your favour.
For the remaining Mondays in June, the restaurant’s Temperature Series ties your food discount to Dubai’s daily temperature. The hotter it is outside, the bigger the saving on the à la carte food menu, with discounts capped at 40 per cent off. It’s a clever excuse to finally book that Cantonese dinner you’ve been meaning to try, whether you’re craving dim sum, Peking duck or a table full of dishes to share.
When: June 22 and June 29
Where: China Tang Dubai
Offer: Food discounts based on Dubai’s daily temperature, capped at 40% off
Enter Rowley’s Competition to Win Free Steak for a Year
As Rowley’s prepares to open its first Abu Dhabi outpost at Yas Bay Waterfront, the restaurant is giving one lucky winner free steak and fries every day for an entire year. All you need to do is register through the link in Rowley’s Instagram bio before June 30.
Alternatively, track down the restaurant’s Yas Bay construction hoarding, snap a photo and tag @rowleys.uae for the chance to win a meal for two when the restaurant officially opens.
For now, however, the focus is on one question: how much steak can you eat in a year?
When: Entries close June 30
Where: Online via @rowleys.uae
Challenge Your Friends with Nerd Herd Trivia Wars
Every friendship group has one person who somehow knows every obscure movie fact, remembers capital cities they learned in Year 5 and insists they would’ve won Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? if given the chance. Now they can finally put their money where their mouth is.
Launching in the UAE this month, Nerd Herd Trivia Wars is a fast-paced trivia game created by the team behind QuizBiz. Packed with more than 1,000 questions covering everything from music and movies to geography, sport, history and pop culture, the game turns living rooms, dinner parties and family gatherings into mini quiz nights.
Designed for two or more players, each round takes just five to ten minutes, making it dangerously easy to fall into the “okay, one more game” trap.
When: Available now
Price: AED 99
