Bull & Bear sits on Level 18 of the Waldorf Astoria in Dubai International Financial Centre, the signature steakhouse and bar of the hotel and one of the higher rooms in the banking district. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Burj Khalifa, and an Art Deco fit-out gives the room a Manhattan supper-club polish.
Who would love it: a diner who wants a special-occasion steak and a serious cocktail with a skyline behind it. Who might not: anyone after a casual, low-key drink, because this is a dress-up room with prices to match its DIFC postcode.
The name carries a story, and the room leans into it. Bull & Bear takes its identity from the original Waldorf Astoria in New York and the bull and bear of Wall Street, a lineage Time Out Dubai notes in its review, right down to the massive golden bull and bear sculpture that greets you at the entrance. It reads as a deliberate New York transplant rather than a generic hotel grill.
Priya Nair's read: book a window table near sunset and treat the bar as the opening act. The cocktails carry the same NYC backstory as the room, the wine cellar runs deep enough to justify a sommelier conversation, and the Burj Khalifa view does the rest. Come for the occasion, not the quick stop.
The space is the draw before the menu arrives. Designed around that golden sculpture and the Art Deco palette, the dining room and bar share the same wall of glass, so the city skyline is part of every seat. Esquire Middle East flagged the floor-to-ceiling Burj Khalifa views when the Waldorf Astoria DIFC opened the restaurant, and the room has traded on them since.
The drinks lean classic and considered. Start at the bar with one of the signature cocktails, each tied to the venue's New York roots, before moving to the wine list, which the kitchen pairs with premium cuts under chef Marc Hardiman. The bar program is built to stand on its own, not just to fill the wait for a table.
The kitchen is a steakhouse at heart. Premium cuts take centre stage, handled simply and paired with brasserie classics, while the prawn cocktail gets a wasabi-and-slaw update and the butter-poached lobster linguine reads as the standout non-steak order, per Time Out Dubai. It is a menu built around a long, unhurried dinner.
The crowd is a DIFC mix of finance professionals, hotel guests, and special-occasion bookings, and it skews polished. Weeknights run on business dinners and after-work drinks, while weekends fill with celebrations and date nights chasing the view. Service throughout the venue is consistent, a point Time Out Dubai singled out as impeccable.
Timing matters for the light. Arrive in the early evening to catch the skyline at golden hour, when the Burj Khalifa is at its most photogenic from the bar, then settle in as the room shifts to its night mode. Reservations are essential, especially for a window table on a weekend.
Bull & Bear sits at the centre of DIFC's dining cluster, which makes it an easy anchor for a night among the district's best rooms. See where it lands in our guide to the best bars in Dubai, and browse the wider Dubai cocktail bars roundup for nearby options. For a skyline-first nightcap, the Dubai bars with a view list points the way.
Pair this bar with
For an Argentine steak-and-Malbec night in the same district, compare Gaucho DIFC Dubai. For a sleek Japanese room with a famous bar nearby, try Zuma Dubai. And for a rooftop view to close the night, Gold on 27 Dubai makes the natural next stop.
Sources
Time Out Dubai · Esquire Middle East · DIFC · Bull & Bear official site · OpenTable (Jun 2026)
Reviewed by Priya Nair, barsforKings. Published November 19, 2025. Last reviewed Mar 10, 2026 · How we pick bars.
