Chocolate mousse, sprinkles and—My husband cuts me short. “They’ve probably memorised your order. You don’t have to tell them, anyway.” The ice-cream seller shakes his head. He is used to my evening orders.He hands me the cup, filled with ice cream topped with fudge. My ice-cream preferences are so inflexible that every shop I’ve lived near has memorised them.It’s chocolate. Thank you. .Beat the heat: Your UAE summer skincare guide, what to layer and what to skip in extreme heat .Ice-cream at night, always a win.Somehow, after a long day at work, it tastes even better. (Many of my colleagues would say I cave long before 4pm, but let’s stick to the evening narrative here.) A little sugar fix, especially before the weekend, has a relaxing quality that hot noodles just can’t match. And that’s saying something, I do like to believe I live the K-drama life.There’s something just so good about that cold, creamy fix, and more so, in the evening. Why, is a good question. I asked my colleague Soni Idrees the same question and before I even finished what I was going to say, she had a deadpan affirmation emphasising her seriousness on the subject.Yes, she’s an evening ice-cream eater.Wh—I was about to ask, when she said sternly, “It’s delicious.”That’s good enough reason. Elaborating more, she adds, that ice-cream just hits better in the evening, than in the morning or even afternoon. It’s the stress-buster. It’s also the companion that you need, when watching a film. And, it’s a form of connection too. You can share a lot more over ice-cream in the evenings. Maybe more than coffee, she explains.That last point might be subjective, but the sentiment clearly isn’t. Dubai-based homemaker Aprajita Das agrees: sometimes, you just need that comforting scoop at the end of the day. But ice-cream owners have a little more to say..The scoop after darkIn the UAE, it’s become a night-time ritual. As the city cools slightly after sunset and people look for ways to unwind, parlours like The Brooklyn Creamery and Temple Creamery are seeing a consistent surge in sales after dark.Shivaan Ghai, Founder of The Brooklyn Creamery, says the post-dinner period is a major driver of their business. “Late-night sales are consistently strong. Ice-cream has become a default post-dinner reward, a small treat to end the day. However, lunch peaks are also notable, as people order during work breaks or as part of a delivery meal.”It’s not just about timing. The flavour trends also remain steady throughout the day. Ghai adds that mood, not flavour, drives most purchases at night. .“Flavour preferences remain fairly consistent throughout the day. What we do see is a steady late-night demand across the board, driven more by mood than by flavour. People are simply looking for a satisfying treat to wind down, and they tend to reach for their go-to favourites, whatever the hour.”Over at Temple Creamery in Dubai, founder Zade Ismael has observed similar habits among his late-night customers. “We do most of our business after dinner. We get a good amount of people through the door during the day, especially on the weekends. But I’d say 9pm-12am is when we are busiest,” explains Ismael.And while both parlours agree that flavours don’t dramatically shift after sunset, they do notice some demographic patterns. “Definitely, we get a lot of young adults visiting at night, between the ages of 15-40. Mostly friends who are stopping by after dinner. In terms of gender, I think we get an even split between male and female,” says Ismael.However, for Ghai, the late-night ice cream craving cuts across demographics. “It’s less about age or gender and more about that universal desire for a sweet treat after a long day. Our promise of zero added sugar and fewer calories means consumers can indulge without guilt, regardless of who they are,” he says.Both founders point to weekends and special times of the year as high points in late-night sales. “Weekends are big for us, as are the end-of-month and start-of-month periods. It seems people love celebrating paydays with a scoop (or two) of joy,” says Ghai..How the calendar shapes these cravingsIsmael notes that the UAE’s culture and calendar also shape these cravings. “Yes, summer in and around the time school and university finishes. We tend to find that people start to stay out later and go out more. We also see a lot of people out more during Ramadan, we see a good uptick in sales because people are out late and eating. We try and capture as much of this traffic as possible by extending our opening hours to 2am for the whole month of Ramadan.”And of course, weather is a natural influencer, though its role isn’t always straightforward. “Weather plays a big role; hotter days naturally push demand up. But late-night cravings go beyond temperature. Ice cream is a mood booster, a small joy and that need doesn’t go away in cooler months. Our range lets people enjoy the indulgence, without the sugar spike or calorie guilt,” Ghai explains.Ismael adds that the UAE’s extreme summer heat has only refined how customers engage.“Summer is definitely our season; the heat doesn’t stop people’s appetite, so we do a lot of deliveries to cars to prevent customers from having to get out in the heat and come into the shop. I would say summer nights are our busiest.”