FANCY JAPANESE FOOD AT THE FAIRMONT?

Our Thorough Café Sushi Review

Oldie-but-goodie Fairmont Bab Al Bahr recently refreshed some of its restaurant selection to include the minimalist Café Sushi. Modest with light wood furniture, its main visual attraction is the centre bar which takes you to bustling Tokyo with its rolling conveyor belt of “fast food” sushi, whipped up by chefs inside the ring.

There’s lots of fun in a Shabu-Shabu dining experience (where you manage your own hotpot of ingredients), but we had to challenge the chefs and saw more attractive ways to do it, such as with the elevated miso soup with soft lobster and added spices – a classy sip for this winter season.

Even more heart-warming were the pillow-y prawn and black cod dumplings, which literally tasted like comfort. A portion of one of their signature rolls could fill you on its own and it was tough to let go of our remaining Green Dragon rolls, starring ample unagi and avocado.

We were so relieved by the sea-to-service freshness of our plump yellowtail nigiri, which melted on its way down our throats, and the super smooth salmon belly, lightly blowtorched and adorned in smoky breadcrumb strips.

Everything was daintily garnished and had real life and colour to it, served with fresh accompaniments, by the way.

And dessert isn’t just green tea ice cream. Try their Anmitsu assortment for a fresh finish – it’s got delicious, lightly dusted and doughy mochi, creamy ice cream, wagashi jelly cubes, red bean paste and sliced fruit all in one big bowl.

We’re still rooting for Café Sushi and can’t wait to see what they deliver during their Thursday night “Buranchi” (Brunch) experience.

CAFE SUSHI |  Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Khor Al Maqta

[email protected], +971 2 654 3238