Dubai
Dubai International is structurally a single-airline airport. Emirates operates the largest hub in the Middle East out of DXB Concourses A, B, and C, and the Emirates lounge system is the entire drinking story. Concourse A's First Class lounge is the largest airline lounge in the world by floor area — over 11,000 square metres, with a champagne bar, a cigar lounge, multiple restaurant-grade dining rooms, and direct boarding gates that mean you never see the public terminal again. Concourse A's Business lounge is one tier down and still excellent. Both are accessible only to Emirates premium-cabin passengers or oneworld Emerald (since the Qantas tie-up).
Marina · $$$
100 Anvers draws a steady local crowd in Marina. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
JBR · $$
1701 Sheesha Lounge draws a steady local crowd in JBR. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$$
40 Kong sits on the 40th floor of the H Hotel with one of Downtown Dubai's most direct views of the Burj Khalifa fountain show. The horseshoe terrace wraps the
Jumeirah · $$$$
Anasa at Saadiyat Beach draws a steady local crowd in Jumeirah. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
The cheat code at DXB is the Dubai International Hotel — directly inside Terminal 3 (the Emirates terminal), accessible without leaving the airport. Cigar Lounge on level 4 has full cocktail service and the only post-security cigar bar in any Middle Eastern airport. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira's bar Mimi Kakushi is 35 minutes by car (DXB has no metro link to most of the city) and one of the best cocktail rooms in the Gulf.
Plays for Dubai Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
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Looking beyond Dubai? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.