TRIED & TESTED DUBAI RESTAURANTS

Izakaya, Le Cirque

This casual Japanese restaurant is one of the many dining outlets at the JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai and is very popular among locals, who voted it Favourite Japanese Restaurant 2017 in What’s On Dubai.

The venue offers an upbeat and slightly edgy vibe, with puns such as “We sushilize for the sake of it” peppering the entrance and green-haired “Wasabi girls” ready to mix fresh wasabi at your table.

The fish is sourced from Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, and the preparation closely follows Japanese techniques, resulting in dishes that remain true to Japanese flavours.

To start was an amuse bouche of toro arare fried at 210°C to arrive at the crunch without absorbing the oil. Next we enjoyed a trio of uramaki sushi (where the rice is on the outside and the nori filling on the inside) including tuna, yellow tail and salmon with fish roe varieties. The rice was moist and loosely packed – as it should be – with a light brush of soy sauce and wasabi that blended in well. As tasty as it was, it paled in comparison to the next course of partially seared salmon belly nigiri sushi, with a hint of sweet sauce and tangy yuzu (sour

Japanese citrus fruit).

The black cod was an excellent choice for the main course, marinated in miso for

24 hours before grilling. It came with a grilled lemon, but it did well on its own.

VERDICT

A good venue for casual corporate gatherings, great food and excellent service. Neha Gupta Kapoor