Headline-hitting cereal cafe to launch in Dubai

A branch of Cereal Killer is opening in Dubai this May. Alastair Grant / AP photo

Remember the trendy, London, cereal-only cafe that briefly hit the headlines last September when it became the focus of anti-gentrification protests in its Shoreditch home? Well, it’s coming to Dubai.

Cereal Killer Café was attacked with paint and cereals by protesters angry at the cafe charging up to £4.80 (Dh25) for a bowl of cereals in a rapidly up-and-coming area where many local residents are being priced out of their homes.

Perhaps in the hope of finding more placid neighbours, the hipster twins who run the cafe’s two London branches have revealed to the UK’s Independent that they will open their third branch in Dubai in May. Alan Keery, who created Cereal Killer with brother Greg, said: “We’ve had huge interest from across the Middle East about setting up branches out there. We get a lot of people coming in from the Middle East,” he said. “They’re loving it because it’s like a dessert.”

Details, including a location, are sparse so far, though the brothers confirm a licensing agreement has been signed. If the London cafes are any indication, customers can expect to choose from around 120 different cereal options from all over the world alongside 20 toppings and 30 different varieties of milk. Cost-conscious customers needn’t splash out on the Dh25 speciality options — a small bowl of All Bran costs a mere £2.50 (Dh13) with basic milk in the British versions, although if you throw in a topping and speciality milk that could rise to closer to AED20.

As Alan notes, however, with the cafe’s retro decor and memorabilia, customers aren’t paying just for the cereal, but for the “experience.”