Kinoya is Representative of Diversity in Dubai

Kinoya is a Japanese Izakaya located in Dubai. It is currently listed in the Michelin guide with a Bib Gourmand designation; in other words, it offers high-quality food, at a reasonable price. To me, the restaurant represents the benefits of diversity in a city. When I was first told about this place, I had doubts about how good ramen could be in Dubai. Upon entering, I was pleasantly surprised by the authentic feel of the place, and the diverse customer base. This could of been a Japanese restaurant located somewhere in North America! Here was the menu:

As I sat waiting for my food to arrived, I started looking into the chef, and that’s when more surprises came. The chef is an Indian-born lady, who grew up in Dubai. She is also entirely self taught from reading books and trips to Japan. Brilliant! We started with the chicken katsu sando (being in the UAE, nothing on the menu had pork). It was very good.

…and same for the gyoza:

The surprise however, was the ramen (also chicken based), which was delicious. The broth had depth and was well developed. The noodles were cooked properly.

This was not just a good meal for serving Japanese food in Dubai, but basically, it was good period. The service was good, but the lady at the front counter was rude. She would answer the phone mid-conversation, without saying “excuse me”, and continue the phone conversation even though I was standing right in front of her. Our server though, was good. I would return and recommend this place. It shows the benefits diversity brings to a city food-wise (88% of the population of Dubai are expats). Just don’t ask the receptionist anything beyond a table request!