KIGO: Chef Izu Ani opens a new Japanese restaurant in Dubai
Whether you've eaten his ridiculously good seabream carpaccio at GAIA, his crab salad at La Maison Ani, or his elevated burger at Time Out Market Dubai, the man's name is practically a guarantee you're in for something interesting.
Now, he's turning his attention to Japan — specifically, to the worlds of omakase and kaiseki — with the launch of KIGO at Four Seasons Hotel DIFC this September.
KIGO is the latest concept from Fundamental Hospitality and aims to channel Japan's deep reverence for seasonality into an intimate, counter-style dining room. The idea is that you sit back, trust the chef and let the menu unfold in real time. It's going to be led by head chef Akinori 'Aki' Tanigawa, who has more than three decades of kaiseki mastery under his belt, and sushi head chef Daihachiro Ebata, fresh from spending the last five years at the Sushi Wakon in Kyoto.
The name comes from Japanese haiku poetry — kigo means a seasonal reference — and the menu follows suit, with ingredients served only at their peak. That could mean snow crab in winter, ayu sweetfish in summer, or something so fleeting you might only see it once.
The setting is as considered as the food: a 44-seat space built around an aji stone sushi counter, with a minimalist dry garden entrance and a Rimpa-style artwork by Eiki Kimura. Beverage pairings include rare Japanese rice grape exclusive to the region and mixed drinks tied to the seasons, each served with its own little poetic backstory.
Come September, Chef Izu and his team will be serving Dubai a taste of Japan's seasons, so stay tuned and get those reservations in from Monday August 18.
Opening soon. Four Seasons Dubai, DIFC, fourseasons.com/kigo (04 270 7960).
Want to make a reservation in the meantime
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