Mandarin Oriental’s first hotel in the Middle East opened its doors in February this year, bringing with it some additional luxurious dining options to Jumeirah and Dubai in general. One of these new offerings is Netsu a Japanese restaurant from Chef Ross Shonhan.
Netsu really makes an impact as soon as you walk in when you spot the centrepiece that is the Warayaki grill which features 900°C flames that reach two metres high. The grill represents a traditional Japanese cooking style where meats, especially tuna, were cooked over straw fires to sear effectively on the outside and leave a rare centre. The menu is very extensive with a whole range of dishes including sashimi, sushi, tempura and, being a Japanese steakhouse, some appetising selections of beef. To simplify our choice we opted for the 5 course signature tasting menu which features 4 courses of 3 different dishes per course and finishing off with a dessert platter.
The portions were perfectly sized to give you a decent taste of as many dishes as possible. Some of the stand out dishes were the Korean Fried Chicken with a slightly spicy and sesame seed coating, the soft shell crab maki roll which were stuffed full with the tasty crab and a succulent piece of spicy miso sea bass. If you are a fan of beef then you won’t be left disappointed with the tasting menu, which included wagyu beef gyoza and a very generous portion of wagyu beef short rib.
Presentation of all the dishes was excellent, even down to the dessert platter at the end, served on a dry ice effect with a good selection of fruit, yoghurt sorbet, chocolate fondant, strawberry cheesecake and an absolutely amazing ginger and date pudding.
Netsu is a bit on the expensive side, which should not really surprise anyone and does not mean it isn’t worth it. The food, setting and experience make it somewhere to consider for a special occasion with a group of friends or even just the two of you.Signature tasting menu is Dhs 550 per person not including drinks. Call 04-7772232.