The Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood has a cluster of small cafes and coffee houses in its restored courtyards that serve traditional qahwa — cardamom-spiced Arabic coffee — alongside date sweetmeats, fresh juices, and simple snacks. These are not tourist enterprises in the way the nearby souvenir shops are: the clientele includes neighbourhood residents, local artists, and the staff of the cultural centres nearby.
XVA Art Hotel has a courtyard café that is a pleasant and unusually quiet place to sit in the middle of a city that never stops moving. The Bait Al Kheir Society cafe is another reliable option. These are some of the few places in Dubai where you can sit at a table in a genuinely old building without paying a hotel premium for it.