It is too hot to make complicated plans, so we have done the thinking for you. This week, catch an exhibition before it closes, settle in for a Spanish feast, make your own Emirati coffee blend, slow down over pottery and ikebana, then spend six hours dancing it all off. Sunday breakfast is already taken care of too.

Where? Lawrie Shabibi

There are only a few days left to visit Cross Scripts at Lawrie Shabibi, so use Tuesday wisely. The summer group exhibition brings together artists and designers whose work refuses to stay neatly inside a single category. Painting meets furniture, jewellery becomes sculpture, and traditional techniques are pulled into completely contemporary forms.

The line-up includes Hamra Abbas, Sarah Almehairi, Nada Debs, Nadine Kanso, Timo Nasseri, Omar Al Gurg and many more. Go for the beautiful objects; stay for the slightly existential question of whether something is art, design or both — and whether the distinction matters at all.

Cross Scripts runs at Lawrie Shabibi until July 31.

Where? Casa Falafel

Chef Ahmad Halawa has recently returned from Spain, and fortunately for us, he brought dinner inspiration back with him. For one night only, he is joining forces with CarniStore for Let’s Fiesta, a Spanish-inspired evening built around generous sharing plates, good conversation and the UAE arrival of Rubia Gallega beef.

Dinner starts with tapas, followed by seafood paella and a serious centrepiece: Rubia Gallega Tomahawk and T-Bone. There is also mango Basque cheesecake at the end, which feels like an important detail to know before committing.

The dinner takes place at Casa Falafel from 8 pm and is priced at AED 550 per person. Seats are limited, so this is not the evening to make spontaneous plans at 7.45 pm.

Where? SUSHISAMBA

A visit to SUSHISAMBA already comes with the feeling that you are floating somewhere above the rest of Dubai. Now, So Much Trouble has moved in for the summer too.

The new Wild Summer Soirée combines limited-edition SMT drinks, colourful décor and a selection of Hermès pieces from the So Much Trouble collection. It is glamorous, slightly over the top and exactly the kind of Thursday evening that can make you briefly forget it is still extremely hot outside.

The Wild Summer Soirée runs at SUSHISAMBA Dubai until August 21.

Where? Studio Al Thuraya, Zayed National Museum

Okay, technically this one requires a drive to Abu Dhabi, but it is worth temporarily expanding the geographical limits of a Dubai guide.

At Zayed National Museum’s Studio Al Thuraya, the Dhiyafa: Creating an Emirati Coffee Blend workshop explores coffee through the traditions of Emirati hospitality. Participants will learn how different ingredients are prepared, grind them using a traditional menhas and create a personal Arabic coffee blend to take home.

The workshop takes place on Wednesdays and Fridays until August 28. Consider it a more meaningful answer to the usual question of what souvenir to bring back from a museum.

Start the morning at Al Huzaifa’s Al Wasl flagship, where part of the showroom has been turned into a summer lounge for the month-long Summer Lounging: A State of Mind programme.

Saturday’s session, The Art of Waiting, brings together ikebana, pottery and creative conversation. The idea is simple but easy to forget: waiting does not always have to be dead time. Sometimes it can become a space to make something, notice something or simply stop rushing for a minute.

The complimentary session runs from 10 am to 12.30 pm. Places are limited, so RSVP in advance.

Then forget everything we just said about slowing down.

At 9 pm, Secta returns with DJ TOOL, whose sets move through high-energy techno, trance and psychedelia. A co-founder of Berlin’s Mala Junta, he is known for long, relentless performances and closings at clubs including Bassiani, Basement and Fold.

The night takes over two rooms at P7, with music running until 3 am. There will also be an intimate vinyl session, an Art Hub programme featuring Mrinal Sunil and a freshly restocked vinyl store. Six hours should be enough time to find at least one record you absolutely did not plan to buy.

After Saturday, Sunday should involve no workshops, no major decisions and ideally no alarm.

Head to Gerbou in Nad Al Sheba for a slow breakfast surrounded by thoughtful local design. The contemporary Emirati restaurant combines regional flavours with more modern ideas, and the breakfast menu covers everything from chebab with honey, balaleet and khameer to date and burrata sourdough and bun maska with karak.

Order something sweet, something savoury and one more thing for the table. Sunday is not the day for restraint.