There’s nothing that inspires us more than individuals who are fulfilling their dreams & that too successfully. With Buthaina Al Mazrui and Alamira Noor Bani Hashim, we’ve been avid followers of their incredible No.57 concept for a while now. From an exquisite cafe in Abu Dhabi to organising exclusive, bespoke dinner events for brands, this talented duo has been helming some of the region’s coolest projects. In awe of their journey, work & vision, we sat down with Buthaina & Noor to discuss all things No.57.

Team No.57: It was Buthaina’s idea to open a cafe and pulled Noor in. It’s been a wild journey with so much to learn. The Dinner Club, in fact, was born before the cafe, despite the idea of the cafe coming first. Neither of us had any food and beverage background so we had A LOT to learn.

Team No.57: Most of our dinners are held in collaboration with a brand, so we use the brand as a starting point. We want to make sure we keep the Dinner Club aesthetic alive and not have the dinner look like a corporate event for that brand. But we definitely explore that brand’s website, Instagram, and store designs if that applies, and understand their ethos.

Team No.57: We both have day jobs, so we balance between our day jobs and No.57. With Team No.57, we have the cafe to manage and The Dinner Club which means our days are never the same which could cover food tastings, communicating with clients, hunting for decorative elements for an event. Noor lives in Dubai and commutes everyday to Abu Dhabi and Buthaina has a daughter, so time isn’t always available to us. We’ve learned to get everything done via WhatsApp and voice notes. We’re extremely efficient and move quite fast. Also, working together for this long and this closely, we completely trust and get what each other is thinking and blindly go for it.

Noor: Ceramic Handmade Vases. Serax has lovely affordable ones.

Buthaina: Cutting boards (Wooden/Marble/Stone) – food always look beautiful on them such as roasted seasonal vegetables or a delicious marinated steak.

Team No.57: Get organised. Figure out your plan, write everything down and go power through it one by one. Otherwise, everything can seem overwhelming and you don’t know where to begin and end. This helps to lay it all out, be more efficient and to just do it!