Things to do in Dubai this weekend: a family-friendly Halloween, Nordic brunch and the return of Ripe Market

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The heat has finally broken and the city is back outside. From a free Halloween takeover on Sheikh Zayed Road to Swedish meatballs on the Palm, here is what is worth your time this weekend and into November.

There is a week every autumn when Dubai changes gear. Terraces that sat empty since May fill up again, the weekend markets wheel their stalls back out, and the question at the school gate shifts from “where’s cool?” to “what’s on?” That week is now.

This weekend has Halloween at its centre, and Dubai does Halloween its own way: less gore, more glitter, and almost always aimed at children. Around it, restaurants have rewritten their brunch menus for the season, a new crop of salons is chasing the autumn colour crowd, and the city’s best indoor play spaces are bracing for the rush. We have picked out what is genuinely worth going to, with the details you need to plan it.

The Halloween weekend

Haunted Timesylvania at Times Square Center

If your children like their Halloween more giggly than ghoulish, this is the one. For three days, Times Square Center on Sheikh Zayed Road turns into “Haunted Timesylvania”, and it is all free.

The headline act is Magic Phil, whose Frank-tastic Magic Lab mixes tricks, slapstick and plenty of dragging grown-ups on stage. He is followed by The Ghoulty Towers Hotel, a live stage show, and a Monster Party that is essentially a disco for the under-tens. Between shows there is face painting, a craft table turning out masks and bat wings, and games with small treats as prizes.

The two moments to plan around: a trick-or-treat trail through the mall on Halloween afternoon itself, and a children’s costume competition on Sunday evening with prize bundles. If you only go once, go on Saturday.

• When: Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, 12pm to 7pm
• Trick-or-treat trail: Saturday, October 31, 2pm to 4pm
• Costume competition: Sunday, November 1, 5pm
• Where: Picnic Square (first floor) and the ground floor atrium, Times Square Center
• Cost: free
• Instagram: @timessquaredxb

Where to eat this weekend

Ella’s Eatery goes Nordic for brunch

Dubai is not short of brunches, but it is short of brunches that taste of anywhere other than a hotel buffet. Ella’s Eatery on Palm Jumeirah has leaned into its Scandinavian roots for its new weekend menu, and it is a welcome change of pace.

Expect Toast Skagen, the Swedish prawn-and-dill classic, alongside goat’s cheese croquettes to start, then proper Swedish meatballs or Norwegian salmon, and a gooey kladdkaka chocolate cake to finish. The drinks package leans on Scandinavian flavours too. It runs for three hours from 1pm, Friday to Sunday, which makes it one of the more relaxed options on the island.

• Price: AED 250 with soft drinks, AED 440 with house drinks
• Bookings: 04 557 0984, ellaseatery.com
• Instagram: @ellaseatery

Tapas and Tipples at The Strand

Thursday is the new Friday for a lot of Dubai, and The Strand at Palm Views West has a midweek deal built for it. AED 385 gets two people four tapas plates, a bottle of house wine and a dessert to share, with seafood, meat and vegetarian choices, served from 5pm to 11pm with the Palm as the backdrop. Unlimited cocktails are AED 159 a head if the evening runs on, ladies get two cocktails on the house, and a premium wine upgrade is AED 75.

Mama Crumble at Ripe Market

Ripe Market’s return to Academy Park is one of the surest signs that the season has started, and among this year’s newer stalls is something British expats in particular will want to seek out. Mama Crumble, which bills itself as Dubai’s first British crumble bakehouse, was started by mother and daughter Yasmin and Zoya Kidwai, and the pitch is refreshingly simple: warm crumble, proper custard, no over-the-top toppings. There are new seasonal flavours, plus matcha and coffee to go with them. They also deliver across most of Dubai, including the corners the big apps do not reach.

• Where: Ripe Market, Academy Park, every day
• More: mamacrumble.com
• Instagram: @mamacrumble.ae

Days out with the children

X Distrikt, Dubai Festival City Mall

X Distrikt is the answer to the eternal problem of children who are too different in age to entertain in one place. Spread across more than 62,000 sq ft, it puts four very different attractions under one roof: woo-hoo!, an interactive museum for little ones; DARE, a climbing and obstacle zone with mixed-reality challenges; multiVRse, where over-tens can disappear into virtual and augmented reality; and Xstrike Outpost, a team combat simulation that tends to be as popular with parents as with teenagers. There are more than 100 activities in total, and it is a strong shout for birthday parties.

• Hours: 10am to 10pm Monday to Thursday, until midnight Friday to Sunday
• Where: second floor, Dubai Festival City Mall
• More: xdistrikt.ae
• Instagram: @xdistrikt.ae

Lemonade Play and Discovery Centre

At the other end of the scale, Lemonade is for the youngest children, from six months to 10 years, and it is built around a simple idea: children learn by doing, not swiping. There are zones for building, inventing, dressing up and make-believe, plus a separate area for babies and toddlers so parents can sit down with a coffee instead of hovering. It works as a quick energy burn or a whole morning.

• Where: Arabian Center (Al Khawaneej) and Triple 777 Center (Jumeirah), plus Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi
• More: lemonadeplay.ae
• Instagram: @lemonadeplayuae

Time for yourself

The chocolate manicure at March14 Residence

If there is one beauty trend defining this autumn, it is brown nails, from milky latte to glossy espresso chrome, and March14 Residence has built a whole “Nail Art Theatre” around a library of more than 1,900 toxic-free shades. It doubles as a one-stop beauty address, with a L’Oréal Hair Studio for an autumn colour change, plus lashes, brows and tanning.

• Open: daily, with weekend appointments
• More: march14-beauty.com
• Instagram: @march14.dubai

Tara Rose’s new Wellness Voucher

For anyone who keeps meaning to book in and never does, Tara Rose Salons has come up with a prepaid answer: a Wellness Voucher in three tiers worth up to AED 5,400 in salon credit, with extras including birthday treatments, home care kits and credit you can gift. It is valid across its Dubai and Abu Dhabi salons, redeemable in the emirate where it is bought.

• Instagram: @tararosesalon

A pit stop in Al Ain: The Loft Fifth Avenue

Heading to Al Ain for the cooler weather? The Loft Fifth Avenue has opened at Al Jimi Mall with separate salons for women and men, and a menu that goes well beyond a haircut: colour, nails, a Japanese head spa and a traditional Moroccan bath.

• Open: daily
• Bookings: 03 785 8775, theloftfifthavenue.com
• Instagram: @theloftfifthavenue

One for the shoppers

Boom & Mellow

If you are tired of seeing the same five brands in every mall, Boom & Mellow is worth a detour. The concept boutique stocks jewellery, accessories and clothing from independent designers, many of whom you will not find elsewhere in the city, and it is the kind of place where you go in for a browse and come out with a gift sorted. Branches at Town Centre Jumeirah and The Springs Souk.

Coming up

November is when Dubai’s events calendar really gets going, with the winter markets and festival season landing in the next few weeks. Dubai Week will have the full November guide next week.