360 Bar & Lounge in Dubai has carved a niche for itself by offering some of the best club music in Dubai. It was voted Top 100 clubs in the world for three years running by DJ Magazine, and earlier in 2013, 360 also scooped the Time Out Dubai Nightlife Award for ‘Best Club’.

Cocktails at 360 Lounge & Bar

But for me, what makes 360 Bar & Lounge special are its views. It’s split over two floors – an indoor ground level and an alfresco upper deck where there are lounge seats dotted around its circumference. Its circular perspective means that you get spectacular views from wherever you sit, which were particularly impressive during our sunset visit. The music is every changing, but for our chill out it rotated between a DJ set and a live jazz band. It was all very cool, and the magic of sunset over Jumeirah Beach and Burj Al Arab made for an incredible experience.

Sunset at 360 Lounge & Bar

Being a bar and lounge, there are a string of drinks to tickle your fancy. The cocktails we tried were good and there were a selection of light bites as well. Vegetable spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce (AED50 – about £8.50) were crunchy and tasty, but steamed vegetable dumplings with hoi sin sauce (AED65 – about £11) could have been better as the filling was quite mushy.

Spring rolls & veggie dumplings

We liked the Peking duck pancake rolls (AED 70 – about £11.80) as the duck was tasty and authentic, although slightly more meat in the filling would have worked better.

Peking duck pancake rolls

To some seafood plates, and the deep-fried Calamari (AED65 – about £11) was tender, but the batter was too thick and overwhelmed the calamari. Prawn satay skewers (AED50 – about £8.30) were good, but the peanut sauce was too runny.

Calamari

Prawn satay skewers

The prawns in a dish of wasabi prawns with a mango salad (AED80 – about £13.50) were really tasty, although the batter could have been crunchier. The sauce also needed a touch more wasabi.

Wasabi prawns

Although not a gastronomic destination, the bar food did the trick in terms of filling the tummy. But one really goes to 360 Bar & Lounge not for the food, but for the fantastic venue itself. The amazing panoramic views, the stunning Jumeirah Beach backdrop, the chilled out vibe, the chic and sophisticated ambience and the funky music make it a great Dubai hotspot, especially for sunset.

Later on in the evenings 360 Bar & Lounge morphs into something with more of a clubby vibe. Although not strictly a nightclub, there is an area where people can dance. 360 Bar & Lounge is hugely popular so it’s important to get yourself onto the guest list in the evenings. The service was really accomplished, if a little busy at times.

Summary Information:

Food rating: 3/5
Service rating: 3.5/5

Prices:
Bar snacks range from AED50 to AED85 per plate (about £8.30 to £14)
Cocktails are about AED75 each (about £12.50)

Prices are inclusive of tax and service.

You may hire sofas and tables at 360 Bar & Lounge. These have minimum spending requirements which vary depending on the time of day and the day of the week. Check with the venue for specifics.

Website: https://www.jumeirah.com/dubai/restaurants/360-bar-lounge/