Taiko Dubai Restaurant Review: Where Middle Eastern flavours tango with Japanese recipes

Khaleej Times

26-03-2025

Each dish is a dance, between cuisine, culture, the international influences that seem to slip into a recipe without warning or warring with the original flavours. It's an introduction to something new, yet something ancient – a bite of, well, singularity.
Taiko Dubai, the first international echo of the award-winning restaurant in Amsterdam, is a quiet giant at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk, and recently put together a menu that saw Middle Eastern ideas tango with Far East nuances on a plate.
The ambience lent itself to the vibe of elegance - leather chairs and dark tables stood inviting guests as yellow lights infused a warm glow to the space.
The feast, concocted by chef Pedro Banzuzi – whose list of credits includes 20 years in the industry and a winning stint at Taiko Amsterdam – awaited.
The Wednesday (which is when the new offerings are available) was going to be eventful.
Getting to Taiko requires a little planning, even with the arterial system of the city (the Metro) connecting its general area with the rest of Dubai; in the evenings, it can get pretty busy. So when they give you a reservation, we suggest you take traffic bottlenecks into account as your navigate your way to Wafi.
Dubbed 'A taste of Taiko', the detokkusu and wagyu menu – available only mid-week - will leave you little refreshed and detoxed (detokkusu translates to detox in English), yet decidedly pampered.
Our first course (the snacks) served us wagyu gyoza, with a dollop of fried garlic, chili and negi. The result was a melt-in-your-mouth bite of meat with the zing of fried garlic flakes; the wrapper just thin enough to contain the protein and just juicy enough to carry flavour without turning into a mess at first bite. Next up was the Akasha roll – which featured green asparagus, takuan, shiitake and sesame. Third in line was the miso black cod nigiri that was delicately plated seasoned with an exotic swell of saffron.
When it came time for the starters, our appetites had been whetted and we were ready for little more experimentation; Taiko didn't disappoint. The carpaccio on a bed of crispy rice noodles was an ode to the term appetizer. The iced avocado that came next, was a swirl in a literal bowl of ice and had the distinct flavour of cool wasabi (interesting, but an acquired taste, I'm afraid).
Chopsticks now separated and ready to dig in, the next round brought a chirashi bowl with prickled ikura with the delicate flavours of Hamachi and salmon. Our servers moved like well-choreographed dancers, placing dishes on one side, while flitting away the empty ones from the other; placing each beverage that was paired just so with each course – set down at the right temperature, barely touched by human hands (so that the glass would remain cold or ambient). And then there was a vision that had all of us – sat around the chefs who prepped the food – gasping. There were little puffs of smoke with the distinct flavour of apple floating about. The scent intensified as we were served black-and-red bentos. The top had aburi wagyu (foie grass) maki rolls and under the second layer, a puff of smoke dispersed to show us wagyu nigiri that had been smoked with a shisha.
For the robata (or barbeque portion of our meal), we were given a similar-shaped shawarma that exercised our taste buds with its wagyu twist on protein. A warm and comforting wagyu ramen with rye noodles and miso broth followed the menu.
Senses satiated (things looked, smelled, tasted, and felt delicious), we waited for dessert – and the option to eat a mandarin and Japanese donut.
If food is a dance, this one was a tango; a melding of rhyme and flavour.