Nothing says ‘the weekend’ like a leisurely stroll around a garden centre followed by a brew and a slice of cake.

Hidden within the Dubai Garden Centre in Al Quoz, just off Sheikh Zayed Road, Roseleaf Café is a secret sanctuary. Overlooking the outdoor display of flora and fauna, the cafe has seating both inside the garden centre and out in the conservatory. The small cafe was buzzing with people treating themselves to freshly made wraps, quiches, cakes and tarts. For two people, if you’re both having a spot of lunch, cake and coffee you can expect to pay about AED 120 in total, which is pretty reasonable in comparison to a lot of other coffee haunts. A lunch on a budget while surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers, what more could you ask for? Here’s our favourite bits…

1. The no-nonsense display of food

Like many places, Roseleaf has a selection of salads, sandwiches, quiches and treats at the counter for you to choose from or alternatively you can choose off the menu on the wall at the counter. This no-nonsense approach to ordering food is ideal if you’re on a lunch break from work and time is limited or simply if you like to see your food before you eat it. They did have table service too (and very friendly table service at that), just in case you want to order an extra slice of cake…

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2. The Setting

After selecting our lunch, we made ourselves at home in the corner of the conservatory and sat down on Hans Wegner inspired wishbone and wicker benches. It really is as picturesque as it gets in here (think white picket fences), the sun was shining in and we had the ideal spot for a little bit of people watching (as you do) while we waited for our meal and reclined into the sun’s delicious warmth. This is also the ideal spot to bring a book and leisurely read it over a cup of their Columbian fresh brew or whilst nibbling on some of their delicious homemade muffins.

3. Smoothies without the excess sugar

So many places have a habit of piling in a load of sugar, thinking that’s what the customer wants. Thankfully, when it comes to smoothie-making, Roseleaf have got it right. They use fresh, seasonal produce to make delicious and natural smoothies. We had the Red Berry smoothie which costs AED 25. Presentation was on point (it even had a sprinkling of white chocolate) and made for a fab Insta pic. Taste wise it was delicious. It tasted natural with just the right amount of berry kick to it.

4. The delicious homemade desserts

To finish off our lunch of Harissa chicken and rocket pesto and scrambled eggs on rye bread, we treated ourselves to some cake from the dessert stand. Between us we had the berry and rose tart and the rocky road cake. Suckers for chocolate, the rocky road was the winner. Oozing marshmallowy goodness, it melted in your mouth and was the perfect treat to satisfy our sweet tooth.

5. Expert Baristas

This is the sort of cafe you’d bring your mother for a cup of coffee and slice of cake or your girlfriends for a relaxed catchup on the latest events. Their coffee is delicious and the perfect accompaniment to a bit of a gossip. They offer the usual assortment of artisan coffees: latte’s, espresso’s, macchiato’s, piccolo’s, as well as some specialities. After lunch, we had a the Columbian fresh brew alongside my dessert. This medium-strength coffee was brewed excellently by the baristas.They can burn the coffee in some places, so it tastes no different to being dispensed from a vending machine, however, these guys did a superb job – the sweet berry notes of the Colombian coffee bean came through perfectly and worked a treat with the rocky road cake, I was busy enjoying.

Oooh and don’t forget to grab these delicious pistachio and fudge bites on your way out