The tricky thing with Japanese cuisine is its scale. With so much reliance on freshness of produce, devotion to quality and exquisite technique, the cost of eating at the upper-end of things can skyrocket quickly. Now, while Dubai has high-end Japanese restaurants pretty well covered, regularly dropping thousands of dirhams on dinner is a habit that we’d recommend is best kept under control.
Unsurprisingly, Japan has plenty of cuisine options that do not require taking out a new credit card, which is exactly the purpose of the new Dubai Marina-based restaurant Ikigai.
Inspired by Japan’s casual-dining street taverns, Ikigai is an ‘izikaya’ style restaurant – so there is extra emphasis on creating an easy-going vibe in which to offer patrons Japanese street food and an extensive cocktail and sake menu.
Inside the space the wooden interiors, moody lighting and graffiti murals, help to create an upbeat, and social atmosphere with the surrounding artwork inspired by Japanese urban streets. There’s a mix of high and low seating, as well as cozy booths to watch all the action of the venue from the sides. A panoramic bar takes up the centre of the space, while an outdoor space lends itself to alfresco dining in the cooler months.
Ikigai is the latest Japanese-led concept from the brain of notable Dubai-based chef Reif Othman. Despite his relatively young age, the Singaporean chef is already considered a bit of a journeyman within the city’s food industry, having formerly been the head chef of Zuma Dubai and operating the Reif Japanese Kushiyaki brand, which has multiple outlets in the city. So if there’s someone who knows a thing or two about the specifics of Dubai’s Japanese restaurant scene, it’s Othman.
“Ikigai fills a gap in the Dubai Marina area, where there isn’t a licensed izakaya restaurant,” says Othman. “For me what makes it interesting is that it’s an independent, homegrown brand developed by UAE-based restaurateurs. I was excited to consult and curate the contemporary and affordable menu by adding my unconventional spin to dishes affordable menu.”
While Othman has created the menu, it is head chef Minho Ted Shin who is charged with running the Ikagai kitchen on a daily basis. True to the brief the combination of Japanese classics with an unconventional spin is on display. The friendly and clued-in staff serve up offerings of Sashimi and Maki Rolls, alongside some rather curious concoctions of crispy tempura burgers, and Ikigai salmon tacos. While the quirkier dishes are a surprising hit – and serve the purpose of catering to a crowd that is looking to kick-on with their evening plans – the standout dishes happen to be the tuna sashimi dishes, proving that even in an izakaya, Japanese cuisine lives and dies by its commitment to quality produce.
Find more here.
