Smaller, quieter, and open earlier. What the new room on Al Wasl Road is for, and what it isn't.
For about two years, the most common thing people said to us at the counter was some version of "I wish you were closer." Alserkal is a good place for a warehouse and a roaster. It is not a good place for a Tuesday morning if you live in Jumeirah.
So the second room is in Wasl Square, on Al Wasl Road, in a unit that used to be a florist. It is about a third the size of the warehouse. There are twenty-two seats, one espresso machine, a bakery counter at the front, and a very good west-facing window in the late afternoon.
It opens at seven, an hour before Alserkal, because the neighbourhood wakes up earlier. It closes at nine because the neighbourhood does too.
Everything is baked and roasted in Al Quoz and driven over before opening. The coffee is the same. The cardamom knots are the same, and they sell out earlier here, so consider yourself warned.
What it isn't: a copy of the first room. There are no plants hanging from the ceiling, because the ceiling is too low. There is no roaster to watch. It is a small, calm room to sit in, which is what we were asked for.