The Best Japanese Restaurants And Sushi In Dubai

Dubai has its fair share of gourmet dining destinations, whether you’re looking for luxury or a fabulous location. We’ve listed our pick of the restaurants in the city that focus on sushi, sashimi, and the rest of the Japanese culinary repertoire.

Okku

Restaurant, Japanese, Sushi, Asian, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free

Boasting an embarrassment of awards, this luxury Japanese restaurant within Dubai’s 5-star H Hotel offers only the finest food, service, and design for its patrons. Okku has a cocktail bar, mezzanine lounge area, VIP dining rooms, live sushi bar, resident DJ, an 8-meter tall “jellyquarium,” and a culinary team with 134 years of experience among them.

Toko

Tokois a modern take on the izakaya dining concept, where food (mostly dishes to be shared) is served continuously throughout the evening, accompanied by drinks. They serve meat and seafood from a robata grill as well as salads, tempura, sashimi, and sushi in the nigiri and maki styles. They also have signature rolls, like the eel version with star fruit, chopped chives, and sweet soy sauce, as well as a tranquil Japanese garden filled with water features and bonsai trees. A chef using a teppanyaki grill | © Giorgio Minguzzi/Flickr

Miyako

Restaurant, Japanese, Sushi, Asian, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free

For a traditional Japanese dining experience, look no further than Miyako at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Diners can sit around a sushi bar or in specially designed rooms in which the floors are lined with tatami mats, while a nine-course kaiseki menu is served cooked on teppanyaki grills. The fresh sushi and sashimi is always impeccably presented.

Sushi

Aptly enough considering its name, Sushihas a simple, succinct menu full of quality items and free from ostentation. As well as sushi and sashimi prepared in front of the customers, there are also udon, tempura, and yakimono. Make sure to take advantage of the lunchtime set menus, which feature a mixture of sushi, sashimi, or tempura along with miso soup and steamed rice. Onigiri | © Janice Chan/Flickr

Kisaku

Restaurant, Japanese, Asian

Located on the 10th floor of the Al Khaleej Palace Hotel, Kisaku is a favorite of Dubai’s Japanese community, which is a testament to its authenticity. Whether seated on tatami mats in private dining rooms, at tables, or around the sushi bar, you’ll be able to sample all the aforementioned dishes while watching some wonderfully bizarre Japanese TV programs.

About the author

Josh Wright

Josh is a graduate of the University of Leicester’s English and American Studies program, and spent the third year of his degree abroad at the University of Oregon. It was there that he indulged his long-held interests in archaeology and the American West, and developed a new one in Mexican food. He hopes to pursue all three and return to the U.S. in the future, and perhaps forge a career either out of writing or wandering around the woods all day.