La Cantine du Faubourg is a fantastic restaurant. It is also a liar. Because hidden within its French fine-dining walls lies another, secret kitchen and dining area. In short, the restaurant has its own, underground mini restaurant that goes by the name Gohan.
Entry is permitted by one of two ways: during the day you can find Gohan via a rather unassuming door (zero branding) along a hallway in Dubai’s Emirates Towers. But in the evening, you’ll have to make your way to a secret passageway between two of La Cantine’s wine fridges.
Once inside, the mood changes entirely. Gone are the white walls and plush red sofas of La Cantine, instead replaced with neat little checkerboard tables and the feel of a traditional Japanese dining room (complete with what looks like its own wooden pagoda area near the back). It’s small – no more than thirty diners at any one time – but that’s no bad thing. It adds to the intimacy of it all; it is supposed to be a secret restaurant, after all.
Unlike La Cantine, Gohan does not serve fancy French cuisine; it serves a high-end version of Japanese street food. Think skewers, sushi, gyoza and ramen – but using some seriously high-end ingredients: sushi is paired with caviar, and dumplings are stuffed with foie gras. The food is delicious, if somewhat overshadowed by the fact that you entered via secret door.
Of course, the city of Dubai is terrible at keeping secrets – or at least, we are terrible at keeping them (hello dear reader!) – and so Gohan will not remain underground for that much longer. If you want to check out what a lazier writer would term “La Cantine’s best-kept secret” then you should probably get yourself to that secret passage between the wine fridges sooner, rather than later.