Nezesaussi Grill sits inside Manzil Downtown, a quiet souk a short walk from the Burj Khalifa, and it is the rare Dubai sports bar that names itself after three rugby nations. New Zealand, South Africa and Australia give the place both its name and its temperament.
The bar opened as the Antipodean answer to Dubai's hotel pubs, and the formula stuck. Time Out Dubai describes it as a sports bar that draws a crowd even though the surrounding Souk Manzil often runs empty, which tells you the screens and the pints do the work, not the footfall. A second branch later opened in Dubai Marina, but this Downtown original remains the one regulars name first.
The room reads more grill house than barn. Dark wood, leather booths and a long counter face a wall of screens that carry rugby, cricket and football across the Antipodean calendar. The Old Town setting keeps the noise contained, so a Super Rugby kickoff feels lively without spilling into the boulevard outside.
Order a craft pint and the lamb chops, the two things the kitchen leans on, and add the boerewors if a South African fixture is on. The grill carries the menu, and the beer list runs deeper than most Downtown rooms, with rotating taps that suit a long afternoon over a single match. Prices sit in the mid range for the area, below the fountain-view terraces a few minutes away.
Manzil Downtown is a five minute walk from Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro on the red line, which makes Nezesaussi an easy meeting point before or after a match without driving into Downtown traffic. Doors open at 3pm midweek and from noon on weekends, running to 2am. An evening kickoff fits cleanly; a late-night Southern Hemisphere fixture may start after midnight, so check the time difference before committing.
The crowd is a settled mix of expat rugby and cricket followers, Old Town residents and Downtown office workers after the whistle. It fills for a Springboks or All Blacks test and empties into a calm grill dinner just as easily. Best time to go is early on a fixture day, before the booths go to reservations.
Esquire Middle East has praised the venue's weekend breakfast as much as its match days, a reminder that Nezesaussi works beyond the rugby calendar. The grill and the all-day trade give it range that a screens-only sports bar lacks, and the Antipodean theme keeps it distinct in a city full of Irish and British pubs.
The Marina spin-off, opened in 2017, gave Nezesaussi a second address, but the Downtown room kept the original character. Regulars treat the Manzil location as the proper one, the quieter of the two and the better seat for a Saturday test match.
Food holds its own against the screens. The grill turns out steaks, burgers and Antipodean plates that reviewers rate above standard sports-bar fare, and the all-day kitchen makes the venue an easy lunch as well as a late one. The breakfast trade, praised by Esquire Middle East, gives it a daytime life few sports bars bother to build.
Nezesaussi suits anyone who wants a proper rugby room with a grill to match, away from the marina price tag. For a beachside alternative, pair it with Barasti in Dubai Marina, or Fibber Magee's off Sheikh Zayed Road for the Irish-pub register. For a no-frills neighbourhood option, the Boston Bar in Satwa covers the same ground. Nezesaussi is one entry in our guide to the best sports bars in Dubai and the wider Dubai match-day round-up, part of the full Dubai bar guide.
