At Cherry House in Al Safa, guests can watch roasting, baking, and coffee-making unfold around them through an modern design-led experience
In a city filled with cafés, Cherry House is trying to turn coffee into something guests do not just drink, but fully experience.
The newly opened venue in Al Safa recently drew attention after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, visited the café, with the brand sharing photos online and calling the moment “the beginning of something special.” But beyond the royal visit, what stands out most inside Cherry House is the way the entire coffee-making process has been built into the space itself.
At the centre of the café is the region’s first overhead belting system, where freshly roasted coffee beans travel through transparent pipes suspended above guests’ heads, moving from the in-house roastery across the venue.
The theatrical setup transforms roasting into part of the atmosphere, allowing visitors to see the journey of the bean happen live around them.
Founded by Emirati entrepreneur Mohamed Matar Alkoas, the mind behind Saddle and Feels, Cherry House combines a specialty coffee roastery, bakery, and all-day dining concept under one roof.
The space has been designed around openness and visibility. Rather than hiding the process behind kitchen doors, the café keeps its roasting machines, espresso bar, and bakery within full view. Throughout the day, guests can watch pastries being shaped, bread being baked, and coffee being roasted while sitting inside the venue.
Its bakery, called The Grain Room, focuses on artisanal breads and pastries made using certified organic French-milled wheat, while the roastery sources beans from Colombia, Ethiopia, Brazil, Indonesia, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Speaking about the opening, Mohamed Matar AlKoas AlFalasi, Founder of Cherry House, said, “Cherry House is the result of years spent travelling, tasting, and studying some of the world’s most respected coffee and bakery traditions.”
The Emirati entrepreneur explained the vision behind the new trendy cafe: “My vision was always to create a global destination where Emirati hospitality meets world-class coffee and artisanal baking. At Cherry House, every detail, from the green bean to the final cup, from the grain of wheat to the loaf on the table, is shaped by the same belief in delivering only the best.”
Speaking to media, the café’s manager said the idea for the overhead coffee bean system came from a simple conversation the owner once had with a friend.
According to the manager, the friend mentioned that he wished there was a café where customers could actually watch coffee being made from the very beginning, while seeing roasted beans move above their heads as part of the experience.
The comment stayed with founder Mohamed Matar Alkoas, who later decided to turn the idea into a challenge for himself while creating Cherry House.
“He wanted people to experience every step of the process instead of just receiving a cup of coffee at the table,” the manager said. “The goal was to make the craft visible.”
Deep cherry tones, natural lighting, and an open-plan layout give the café a warm but modern feel, balancing the atmosphere of a design-forward destination with the comfort of a neighbourhood gathering space.
