The restaurants we tend to return to have one particular dish, executed extraordinarily, that nowhere else does quite the same. At contemporary Japanese restaurant Roka in Dubai, that dish is a baked potato.

Before you get sceptical—hear us out: It’s called the bekudopoteto, or at least that is Roka-speak for baked potato with yuzu cream & chives, and it’s the delectable result of painstaking trial and error. It is served in deconstructed fashion, with its fluffy innards nested below a triple-fried skin, topped with a cream that registers at first as sour cream, but then reveals a richer, more playful depth. When it’s delivered to your table, it’s mashed together in front of you. Just a note—try to savour at least one bite before you inhale the entire thing.

Roka first opened at the Opus by Omniyat in Business Bay a year ago, 16 years after chef Rainer Becker opened the chain’s flagship branch on Charlotte Street in London after the success of Zuma, aiming to focus on creative use of the Japanese robata grill. Roka has stood on its own in London and, so far, Dubai has been no different.

Lucky for the potato-hungry, the restaurant is made for the repeat customer—a high-quality mid-range spot where it’s easy to grab a quick cocktail in the neighbourhood with a loved one or a larger group, or choose from a selection of malt beverages imported directly from Japan that aren’t available anywhere else in the country, savouring their best dishes under an impressive view of the Burj Khalifa, from the balcony of the stunning Zaha Hadid-designed building.

COVID-19 protocols mean that the DJ has been ditched for the time being, but the house music remains. For us, the conversation is better inside without it, but it will be hard to resist the view, so the music you’ll have to learn to enjoy.

Bring a few close friends, and here are the dishes you must try: the warm eggplant with sesame miso, topped with katsuobishi flakes that dance as they react to the eggplant’s warmth; the rosuto bone marrow, served with garlic confit you should mash onto a miso bun before adding the savoury bone marrow atop; and the sea bream fillet lightly covered in ryotei miso and red onion, which has a texture, tenderness and smokey flavour that will immediately make clear why the robata grill is so renowned both in Japan and around the world.

Leave the sushi, however, to Roka’s sister restaurant, Zuma, who does it better. While it may not measure up to its big sister in every way, if you work through its menu right, you may end up having more fun by the end of the night.

Roka, The Opus by Omniyat, Business Bay, Dubai. Tel: +971 4 439 7171 rokarestaurant.com