5 Things to do mid-week in the UAE: Ladies night out, carting, and Bollywood games night

Dubai: The week does not have to be something you survive until Friday. If you do not already have sadhya and plans for Onam, here are five other things to do that you can slot into your mid-week.

When: Every Wednesday from 7pm Where: Iris Harbour, Dubai Harbour Price: Dh210 per guest, three-hour free flow

Iris Harbour has given its Ladies' Night a proper overhaul, and the new menu gives you options depending on what kind of evening you are in the mood for. You can go with two starters, or pair one starter with dessert and work through Iris's signature bites at your own pace. If the group leans Japanese, the sushi platter is the move, seabass nigiri, salmon nigiri, shiso hamachi roll and more built for sharing.

When: 23 to 30 August Where: Rohini, Dubai Price: Dh200, buy one get one for brothers and sisters

Raksha Bandhan deserves better than a voice note sent between time zones, and Rohini's Sibling Stories set menu is the argument for making the effort. The buy-one-get-one offer runs for siblings dining together from 23 to 30 August at Dh200 per set menu, which makes it one of the better value dinners in the city this week.

Outside the Raksha Bandhan window, Rohini has enough happening to justify a mid-week visit on its own. Tandoori Tuesdays run a veg kebab platter from Dh89, a chicken platter at Dh139 and a non-veg spread at Dh199, available every Tuesday from 5pm to 11pm. The 90s Retro Live night, Cassettes, Curry and Kulcha, goes every Thursday from 7pm for Dh99. Ladies Day Out on Wednesdays offers a main course for Dh99 from noon. And for a lower-commitment outing, Chaat and Chatter does one tea or coffee plus one food item for Dh49 on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday through Sunday from 3pm to 7pm.

When: Every Thursday and Saturday from 9pm Where: ZEA Dubai, Level C, Emirates Financial Tower, DIFC Price:From Dh260 per person

PAREA by ZEA is a Mediterranean dinner experience that does not really end at dinner, and the menu is built to match the ambition of the evening. Start with the Seafood Tower, tuna and avocado tartare, premium oysters, poached prawns and salmon ceviche, then move through wagyu beef carpaccio, chicken anticuchos, ZEA guacamole and a quinoa and pear salad with crispy kale. Mains run to Australian wagyu beef tenderloin, baby chicken with Peruvian chilli or asparagus risotto, with charred broccolini, truffle parmesan fries and a signature ZEA dessert platter to finish. Packages from Dh260 can be tailored across dining and beverage options.

Once the plates are cleared, live percussionists, dancers and DJ Mishti take over and keep the energy going until 2am, all set against ZEA's contemporary Mediterranean interiors in the heart of DIFC.

When: Until 30 September, Tuesday to Wednesday Where: Chaos Karts Dubai, Al Quoz Price: From Dh128

If the group needs something more active, Chaos Karts in Al Quoz is running its augmented reality karting experience through to the end of September. The concept is exactly what it sounds like: real go-karts on a real track, with digitally projected environments wrapped around you so that you race through Arabian deserts one lap and the cosmos the next, no headsets required. Twenty minutes of track time, six AR environments and a cafe to decompress in afterwards. Good for a Tuesday or Wednesday evening when the week needs breaking up.

When: Every Wednesday from 7.30pm
Where: The Permit Room, Majestic City Retreat Hotel, Al Mankhool, Bur Dubai

Created by Dubai radio personality Chirag Lakhiani, House of Bollywood at The Permit Room is part games night, part Bollywood celebration.

The format covers a Bollywood Quiz, Bingo, Dumb Charades and Who Am I?, where clues lead you to iconic Bollywood personalities. The signature round is Main Hoon Actor, where guests perform legendary dialogues while acting out a randomly assigned emotion. Results vary. Laughter is guaranteed.

Weekly prizes include Dh1,000 worth of vouchers, luxury staycation experiences and surprise giveaways, with The Permit Room's award-winning Indian cuisine and creative beverages running throughout. The concept evolved from Lakhiani's Games Night with Chirag, which sold out nine of its first ten editions in 2025.