From its inception on the 6th of May 2011, Bikers Café was a very daring concept, an innovatively themed one-of-a-kind restaurant, the like of which no one had ever laid eyes upon in the UAE, or the Middle East for that matter. We gently nurtured it and savoured every minute of its progress, and now, on this very day, two years later, we take huge pride in saying that the ground-breaking café is a cheeky two years old. And what better way to celebrate the birthday than to have a big party, with all those customers and fans who’ve been with us all through, and the new ones who’re coming in for the very first time! And so it was yesterday, with a massive turnout of bikers and non-bikers attending the festivity.

As a nod to our loyal customers, Bikers Café gave away cool tees, gift hampers, awesome stickers and even exclusive gift vouchers for our other newly opened outlet, Hugo Café. With the weather still pleasant enough for dining outdoors, guests truly adored the BBQ Night, with some preferring to dine inside the motorcycle-themed café. And of course, there was a raffle draw, with our lucky participant taking home a cool iPod Touch. Once again, a big shout out to all our guests and friends for making our birthday bash a smashing success.

The Circuito de Jerez welcomed a huge crowd as the first European race of the season took place. Lorenzo had been the rider to beat for much of the weekend, comfortably sealing his second pole position of the season on Saturday. He would share the front row with the Honda duo, with Pedrosa knowing that a quick start would be vital.Confirming Lorenzo’s worst fears, Pedrosa overtook as the 27-lap race began. The lead was immediately snatched back, but Pedrosa made the move stick as he passed at Dry Sack on Lap 6. As the Yamaha rider dropped into the clutches of Marquez, Pedrosa maintained a steady pace en route to his first win since Valencia last year.Marquez’s race was a dramatic one, having entered as the joint championship leader with Lorenzo. Having quickly demoted Valentino Rossi to fourth place after the Yamaha rider overtook at the end of Lap 1, the 20-year-old charged up to the back of Lorenzo and attempted several different lines in a bid to distract the current title holder. The eventual move ironically came at the newly-named Jorge Lorenzo corner at the end of the very last lap, with Lorenzo left fuming after contact was made.Once dispatched by Marquez, Rossi had a lonely ride to fourth place on the second Yamaha Factory bike, with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow overcoming GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista for a top five spot at the end of a difficult weekend which featured two sizeable accidents on Saturday. Ducati Team duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso made the top eight while test rider Michele Pirro enjoyed a strong first ride of the campaign to 11th on the squad’s GP13 Lab chassis.Hector Barbera and Avintia Blusens’ impressed by qualifying tenth on the lead CRT machine, but on race day the Spaniard fell to 12th as Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro took CRT honours for the third time in as many races, finishing ninth from Tech 3’s Bradley Smith. As Blusens’ Hiroshi Aoyama tumbled to 18th in the closing stages, Michael Laverty scored the first points for PBM’s own-built bike by coming home 13th and ahead of Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards, who also scored for the first time in 2013.Five riders failed to make the end of the race, notably Stefan Bradl who compounded a tough three days for himself and LCR Honda MotoGP. The German, like Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone, retired on the fourth lap. Iannone’s teammate Ben Spies did not compete, advised by doctors to rest and solve a problem with a pectoral muscle, while Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham pulled out after Friday due to suffering too much pain with his broken right collarbone.In the World Championship, Marquez becomes the sole leader just three races into his premier class career. He now leads teammate Pedrosa by three points (61 to 58), with Lorenzo just a further one in arrears. Rossi and Crutchlow complete the top five while Espargaro has extended his CRT advantage to ten points over Barbera.After witnessing three different winners in the first three races, the season continues with Round 4 in two weeks’ time, as the MotoGP™ community returns to legendary Le Mans for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France.

As the red lights went out yesterday at the Red Bull Grand Prix of Americas, both Marc Marquez and teammate Dani pedrosa pulled away into the distance. It was the latter who stuck on to first place, staying there till lap 13, when Marc dove on the inside of Turn 7 and got the better of his partner, thereby placing himself in first place and finally clinching the chequered flag. Marc Marquez now becomes the youngest ever MotoGP.

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won his second straight Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, beating Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean in a display that will bolster his chances of winning a fourth consecutive championship. Paul di Resta came in fourth, while Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Mercedes as Fernando Alonso rescued eighth after suffering a rear wing failure. Red Bull, which has won the last three constructors' titles, goes to Europe leading Lotus by 16 points followed by Ferrari 32 points back.

Needless to say, with Formula 1 at 4pm followed by MotoGP at 11pm the same day, Bikers Café was packed to the brim with enthusiasts.

Bikers Café participated in a food competition last Saturday as part of the Dubai Marine and Heritage Festival. The week-long event, being held under the patronage of Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Chairman of Dubai International Marine Club, opened on Saturday to host traditional dhow sailing, rowing races, heritage events and activities. For the cooking competition, each team had to build a small cooking station, and prepare three portions of Jesh or Shaari Eshkeli fish preparations for the Judges and 40 small tasting portions to give away to the public. Numerous hotels took part, with the Bikers Café team completing their signature dishes in about 45 minutes, and sending them out for judging just as the sun was setting over the horizon.

Having started from pole, Jorge Lorenzo pulled away from the pack, keeping the other riders at a distance. He managed to pull off a proper start, helping him pull and keep himself out of danger and competition.

“I’m really happy, really pleased and really proud of myself and the team,” the Yamaha Factory Racing rider told motogp.com. “This weekend has been quite perfect, especially in the race as we were very strong from the beginning.”

“I made a good start and I knew that that and pushing over the first laps were key. I opened up two or three seconds of a gap which gave me the focus and allowed me to stay calm. This is a perfect result for Yamaha and the team and I’m really happy for Valentino, who had had a very bad situation over the last two years. He has demonstrated again that he is a very quick and complete rider. Let’s see what happens in Texas!”

Bikers Café was on Dubai Eye’s (103.8FM) Lunchtime Live talk show from 12.30PM to 12.45PM on Thursday. Mr. Ibrahim Al Mughrabi, Business Development Manager, Bin Hadher Hospitality, was interviewed by Sarah Cocker from Dubai Eye. He talked in-depth about the original concept of the café, how it all started and progressively went on to become the hugely successful outlet that it is today. Ibrahim also elucidated on the innovative apparel store, the various events hosted by Bikers Café, as well as the several charitable programmes it is involved in, both directly and indirectly.

We were fortunate to have His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at Bikers Café for the second time. Dropping by on Saturday (30.03.2013) morning in his gorgeous Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Sheikh Mansoor enjoyed a selection of traditional food inside the café with his friends.

The Malaysian Grand Prix had a great start with lots of close racing action between the teams. The day’s highlight had to be Lewis Hamilton wrongly pitting at McLaren, his former team, before realising his mistake and driving further ahead toward the Mercedes pits. There was intense competition between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, with the latter overtaking his Red Bull team mate with just 10 laps to go, and that too, discarding strict team orders to remain in second place. After winning the Malaysian GP, Vettel admitted his fault and hopes things will be better between him and Webber. Nevertheless, here’s a shout out to Seb Vettel for winning the race!

A big shout out to our newest guests from the Kuwait Scooter Club (www.kuwaitscooterclub.com), who rode Vespas over an incredible 1360 kilometres all the way to Dubai, UAE! The original plan was to ride from Kuwait to Italy, which was cancelled as they had to cross Syria, and with all the issues brewing in the country, it didn’t seem like a good idea.

So it was back to the internet again for our friends, who did a thorough research on the next available options, googling the best biker hotspots in the UAE and finally zoning in on Bikers Café. In Dubai till the 25th of March 2013, the eclectic bunch have no support from sponsors, but like the main rider Mr. Nezar Makhseet - who runs a small business by the way - everyone has taken it upon themselves to see each other through the journey. The idea this time around was to spread the adventure over three days, even riding through the dark and lonely nights, bolstered by numerous cups of hot coffee.

Conceived by Nezar - a paramedic by profession - three years ago, it took them two months to get organized and ready. On a sweet note, the scooter was a gift from Nezar’s wife, who flew with him to Dubai, took him to the Vespa dealer and said “Here’s your gift!” She did not believe him when he mentioned a long ride was on the cards though.

The five scooter convoy had a van follow them through their journey, stocking fuel, parts, supplies and then some. The journey was, understandably, adventurous, though without any mechanical glitches or issues. The riders said Dubai takes the cake for having the best roads, while Saudi Arabia was apparently the toughest leg with dangerous roads and a mix of people either laughing at them or staring in utter shock and disbelief. Having started from Kuwait Tower, the guys hit Salah in the wee hours of morning, at around 4.30am, settling up camp in a hotel till 3.30 in the afternoon, before finally reaching the iconic Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 2:30am. See the tower to tower connection there?

What does the crystal ball say about the group’s future plans? Well, they hope to travel through the entire GCC, visiting important landmarks and monuments along the way. And this time, they would require professional photographers to ride along with them as well, for live shots and video footage. Amazing job guys! Have fun and ride safe. God speed!

The latest reportage by Dubai Media Incorporated’s Sama Dubai television channel comes hot on the heels of a recent string of media coverage on Bikers Café. The vibrant Arabic channel chose the innovatively themed café as not just ‘the’ place for motorcycling enthusiasts, but also as a very popular hangout to spend quality time with friends and family. CEO Mr. Khalid Bin Hadher was available for the interview, and gave a detailed rundown on Bikers Café and its activities, especially the latest edition of the Instagram Photography Competition, which piqued the interest of the Sama TV crew. Mr. Khalid also elucidated on the popular BBQ Nights as well as the multitude of international biking apparel and merchandise available at the Bikers Café store.

The withering winter played along beautifully with yet another awesome BBQ Night at Bikers Café yesterday, 4th of March, 2013. This time, we were honoured to have Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Mr. MubarakHamad Al Muhairi (Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority) and Mr. Khalifa Bin Nasser Al Mansouri with us.

Several interesting motorcycles were seen pulling up at the café, including a T-Rex and several Can-Ams. With MTM Powersports displaying the latest Can-Am models at Bikers Café, from 1st March to 15th March, we also had a few tables reserved exclusively for those riders. Another smashing evening of great food and friendship, as you can see from the photo of the Can-Am group along with our CEO Mr. Khalid Bin Hadher.

MTM Powersports set up a small display, comprising of a pair of awesome Can-Am Spyder motorcycles, at Bikers Cafe. The 15-day display period also encompasses two flags right outside the café, related brochures and promotional video clips that will be played all throughout. While the just-launched 2013 Spyder comes in RT (touring-specific seating and ample storage), ST (blend of sport and touring) and RS (more geared towards performance) variants, the ones on display at Bikers Café are the exclusive limited edition Spyder models.

Since the launch of the Can-Am Spyder Roadster in 2007, thousands of people have already discovered the thrill of riding on three wheels. The unique Y shaped footprint of the Can-Am Spyder roadster gives it more stability and control. Every Spyder is powered by a proven 998cc Rotax V-Twin engine providing the rider with 100 hp of crisp acceleration and plenty of torque. Transmission options are manual 5-speed or semi-automatic transmission using paddle shift like a sports car.

The Spyder ST represents the right blend of comfort and sportiness to set it apart from the other two Roadster lines. The sleek lines and stylish look offer protection from the elements on those long rides with an adjustable windshield, a relaxed foot position with floor boards, 44L of front storage and a comfortable handle bar position. The seat is specifically designed for riders who demand sport-touring performance to allow plenty of movement for carving around corners.

MTM Powersports is part of the reputed Al Masaood Group, and you can see the entire range at their showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road, Exit 46, next to Western Furniture.
Or give them a call on 04 346 8000.

Bikers Cafe made a grand entry into the Dubai French School Fair event with a fine display and a selection of mouth watering dishes offered to the numerous attendees of the Fair. With the stand based at the school's main entrance, Bikers Cafe was well placed to attract parents and students looking for a quick but tasty bite. Offering a choice of pastas and sauces, Mongolian Barbecue, a variety of hot dogs and falafel sandwiches, this was by far the most popular food stall at the event.

Bikers Cafe is a member of the fast growing Bin Hadher Hospitality group that manages Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa, its 14 outlets and the newly introduced Hugo Cafe. The group also specializes in outdoor catering and a range of corporate or private events.

Winner of our 2012 Bikers Café Instagram Photography competition, Mr. Abdulla came down to the café to receive his gift - an awesome yellow Vespa - from Mr. Khalid Bin Hadher, owner and CEO.

Bikers Café hosted a scooter meet, the first-of-its-kind in the UAE. The gathering, which invited scooter owners across the UAE, was aimed at promoting the scooter as a viable mean of transport, promoting the chic lifestyle of scooter riders and bringing like-minded people together, while at the same time offering scooter dealers the opportunity to display their products and related merchandise.

Guests started arriving by 12 noon, and were treated - in addition to exclusive reserved parking and tables - to a sumptuous buffet brunch and special discounts on Bikers Café apparel and products. The receding winter weather played along perfectly with the relaxed and informal atmosphere, set amidst a backdrop of contemporary graffiti on the walls and community tables, the latter an innovative concept that has recently been gaining in popularity globally. Companies who took part in the event included Honda, BMW, Vmoto, TGB Scooters from Taiwan and of course, the Vespa dealer Duseja Moto, who gave out free T-shirts to the attendees.

Most riders stayed well past 3PM, catching up on the latest scooter trends and generally having a good time. Post the meet, Group Marketing Manager Zlatko summed it up: “Bikers Café is proud to have hosted yet another innovative event, a catalyst for further enriching the booming scooter culture in the UAE. We hope this, and future meets, will serve to spread the trend, and look very much forward to hosting even bigger gatherings soon.”

Bikers Café once again had the honour of hosting His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who was accompanied by His Excellency Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It was a regular morning until the moment we recognized the familiar Dubai number plate 'No. 1' drive up in front of Bikers Café.

Mr. Khalid Bin Hadher, the CEO and owner of Bikers Café welcomed our special guests.

We have been honoured once again by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum visiting Bikers Café this morning. The weather was unbeatable, with light rains and puffy clouds setting the stage for a dreamy day. As usual, Bikers Café was the place to be, as evinced by our customers who loved the outdoor ambience. The day was made even more awesome with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum arriving at his favourite spot inside Bikers Café. We hope His Highness enjoyed his breakfast with us on this blissful rainy day. It couldn’t have been any more perfect!

Finally, it's out! There has been a staggering response to our Instagram Photography Competition and innumerable snaps, ranging from subtle to stunning, have flooded our inboxes. At the end of the day, we had a really tough time choosing between all the entries and deciding on the winners. Win some, lose some. A big shout out to all participants. Thanks guys!

Here are the toppers:

1. Eman_alflamrzi > 5725 Likes (locked at those likes) > Vespa
2. Abdulla2010 > 1700 Likes > iPad Mini
3. m_faraj > 1683 > Ipod Nano
4. reembeljafla > 1225 Likes > Bikers Cafe T-Shirt
5. crank&piston > 565 Likes > Bikers Cafe T-Shirt

A day for the sweet tooth it was. Bikers Café and Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa displayed a few outstanding Luqaimat dishes at the Emirates competition held at Meydan on the 4th of January 2013, which witnessed the highest number of participating chefs, thereby gaining entry into the famed Guinness Book of World Records. Dressed in their pristine white uniforms, our chefs wowed the crowds with their live cooking demos and traditional Emarati Luqaimat dishes at the custom-designed stall, which was specifically designed to showcase the local UAE culture.

We are proud to have been a part of the Emirates competition and look forward to the next show and the opportunity to break the World Record of Chefs Participating with Guinness.

We are honoured to have His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for supporting new local businesses in the United Arab Emirates.

His Highness arrived in the morning for the special Bikers Cafe breakfast, and we’re sure the food was to his liking.

We wish His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the very best and look forward to their future visits.

On 25th December 2012, at 11:30AM, we had Santa ride down to Bikers Cafe on Jumeirah Road - on his Vespa 300GTS no less - with a bag full of goodies. With fellow motorists and passerby cheering him on, and numerous camera phones clicking away, it was quite a sight, one that most people have experienced in the UAE. With Christmas greetings pouring in not just at the café, but all along Santa’s route, we’re glad to have been able to put a smile across people’s faces. Quite obviously, the customers at Bikers Cafe were thrilled at having Santa amidst them, handing over the goodies.

Following His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's visit to Bikers Cafe, we had the opportunity to welcome Rashid bin Hamdan Al Maktoum yesterday, the 11th of December.

He visited the cafe at around 4PM with his friends, enjoying the beautiful winter weather and savouring a few of our scrumptious specialities. We're sure they had a great time, as our honoured guests spent the whole evening at the cafe, till about 8:30PM.

Team McLaren will be losing a great driver and friend. Lewis Hamilton will be leaving team McLaren to join Team Mercedes from January 1st 2013. The team had their final goodbyes, with both Hamilton and Button saddened over the fact that they will compete against each other in the coming season.

Hamilton said “Now that the season is done and dusted, I feel a bit numb. It's been a day of mixed emotions, and I'm sad I didn't finish the race.”

“But I'm excited about the future. I'll miss my friends and McLaren, but I'm optimistic about what lies ahead for me. I feel comfortable going into this winter because I feel I did a good job this year. I gave 2012 everything I had. I couldn't have done anything more. It's been a brilliant experience to be a part of McLaren over the past six years. I want to thank everyone, and sincerely wish everyone the very best for the future. 'They've been fantastic, so supportive, and they continue to do an amazing job, so to everyone at McLaren, I'll miss each and every one of you.”

The United Arab Emirates celebrated its National Day on the 2nd of December, with the following day also being a holiday for government organisations and the public sector. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai visits Bikers Cafe. Thanks to his vision, Sheikh Mohammed has competently authored the Dubai success story in record time and put the United Arab Emirates on a unique course, which nations around the world compete to replicate. Since becoming the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, groundbreaking initiatives have been rolled out at an astonishing rate. It was indeed a great honour to have him with us at Bikers Cafe!

With an action-packed evening at Bikers Café, the Brazilian Grand Prix was not missed by any of the petrol heads in Dubai. The place was filled with energy and screams from all corners, cheering their favourite driver and teams all along. It was intense to say the least!

Sebastian Vettel finished sixth to take the World Championship. But, we’re also hearing that Ferrari is appealing against an overtaking manoeuvre by Seb at Sunday's chaotic Brazilian GP, which could see the German stripped of his title. The video shows Vettel overtaking under the yellow flags, which is not permitted. We’re also waiting for the final say on this. Watch this space.

Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo received his MotoGP World Champion trophy at an end-of-season awards ceremony in Valencia on Sunday.

The Spaniard won his second MotoGP title at the Australian Grand Prix in October, although he failed to end the season on a high after crashing out of the final race in Valencia. Lorenzo has now overtaken Alex Criville to become the most successful Spanish MotoGP rider in history.

Sebastian Vettel clinched the world championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix yesterday, the 25th of November 2012, by just three points. Fought in wet weather conditions, the Brazilian GP was a tough race, but Vettel fought from the back of the grid to finish in sixth place, following a collision on the first lap.
Jenson Button won the race, with Fernando Alonso in second and Felipe Massa in third. Alonso looked disappointed as he was a few points from taking the title, but as we said before, Sebastian vettel fought his way all throughout and finished in sixth place just enough to take the title. He is now the world's youngest to win three world titles.

Final Brazilian GP Top 10
1. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:45:22.656
2. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari +2.754
3. Felipe Massa - Ferrari +3.615

Final F1 Driver's Championship Standings Top 10
1. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull 281
2. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari 278
3. Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus 207
4. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren 190
5. Jenson Button - McLaren 188

Seems like Bikers Café is not just popular with the local populace, but is also the first point of contact for all bikers and cyclists who travel from outside the UAE. Take the case of Guillame P and Holger M for instance; we met up with them while they were in Dubai, at the café of course, en route to Oman from Iran. They are not your average leisure-time cyclists either; while the Frenchman used to drive taxis in Dublin, Ireland, the German occupied himself by handing out newspapers. Both of them shared similar passions, including cycling, travelling, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures; so they bid adieu to their routine jobs and decided to explore the world on, guess what, cycles. The sole aim was to move around and discover, hence they kept to a low budget, even sleeping near bridges when possible.

It is not exactly a project or something that is done according to a strict schedule. Instead it’s a way of life, where there are no sponsors or no time constraints, simply hanging the hat when you’re tired and resting when you want to call it a day. Guillame talks of Iran as having hospitable people, albeit curious and interested in what they’re doing. As for food, the duo place their bets on spice-rich Indian and Pakistani food. Bikers Café will be keeping track on their escapades, so keep coming back to check on their newest stories.