If you’re looking for something different and a little bit special when it comes to dining out in Dubai, Mimi Kakushi should shoot straight to the top of that list of options. The 1920s Osaka inspired bar and restaurant recently ranked 20th amongst the region’s top restaurants during the first-ever MENA’s 50 Best Restaurant awards.
Assorted Vegetable Tempura
The eatery, situated in the heart of the city at the Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah Beach Road, offers an immersive experience that transports visitors back to an oriental age when jazz was swinging into 1920s Osaka. Stirring up a culture clash, Mimi Kakushi combines the taste of the East with the rhythm of the West, merging modern art and western fashion into the nightlife and streetlife of Japan.
With Chef Vladimir Kim and Chef Gilles Bosquet, two maestros at the top of their game, joining forces in the kitchen, Mimi Kakushi reimagines contemporary Japanese cuisine with a snazzy spin. An eclectic menu of Japanese favourites is elevated with playful and modern twists, starting with a refreshing selection of sashimi, nigiri sushi and signature maki roll creations. While one maki roll sees spicy tuna paired with yuzu tobiko, lime tenkasu and chilli ailoi, another enhances crispy softshell crab with yuzu guacamole, yuzu kosho mayo and bell pepper chutney. Additionally, the kale mamenori with crispy quinoa and black gomadare dip packs in authentic flavours of the East and offers the perfect vegetarian alternative, just like the truffle miso shiru with tofu, shiitake, mizuna wakme and spring onion soup.
An array of small plates, cold bites and flavourful salads includes the likes of a crispy fried squid with jalapeno and Japanese curry dip, octopus carpaccio with red kosho vinaigrette, pickled shallot and shio kombu and kaiso sarada seaweed salad with yuzu apple chips and sesame dressing. Then there’s the selection of warm preparations of tempuras, gyozas and kushi that are sure to prepare your palette (and appetite) for stellar dishes like the grilled seabass with spicy honey and tamarind glaze, spicy wasabi and tomato relish, which hits the perfect umami sweet-spot with its medley of flavours. Hero dishes include the sanchoku wagyu ribeye bone-in, which comes with seaweed butter, jalapeno relish and crispy renkon and the seasonal mushroom donabe rice pot, accompanied by seaweed butter, shiso leaves and fresh truffle. Seafood lovers, meanwhile, are encouraged to try the steamed king crab leg with ponzu butter and red kosho dip.
Geisha Chef’s Selection of Sashimi
To end the evening on a delightful note, diners have options like the signature kori-kori chocolate mi-cuit, which comes with crunchy peanut butter with coconut ice cream and the vibrant tokoroten with kuromitsu granita mochi dango and azuki beans. The caramel purin tart with kahlua espuma, vanilla sponge, yuzu and mikan and the mango & matcha cake with pina colada ice cream and mango tuile also hit all the right sweet notes.
The name Mimi Kakushi draws inspiration from the iconic yohatsu Western hairstyle that was introduced in 1920s Osaka. And the venue’s interior, conceptualized by acclaimed London-based design studio Pirajean Lees, aptly illustrates this concept. The chic colonial-style interiors really transport you to a vintage private members club. With a spirited and lively atmosphere that evokes a feeling of joie de vivre, Mimi Kakushi is popular with those who love to see and be seen as well as foodies.
