Okku, Dubai's home-grown Japanese restaurant, set to return

The original at The H Dubai closed in 2018. Now, it is preparing to reopen on The Palm this year

Okku was known for its Japanese dishes, including freshly prepared sushi and sashimi. Photo: Okku

Okku is coming back to Dubai.

The popular Japanese restaurant closed its doors at The H Dubai hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road in 2018, but is set to reopen in the first half of the year.

Ramzy Abdul-Majeed, the restauranteur behind Okku and Claw BBQ, announced the restaurant is hiring on LinkedIn. Speaking to The National, he confirmed the restaurant is opening on The Palm Jumeirah, with no more specifics about the location.

Describing it as "Okku 2.0", he says it will be coming back to deliver a "spectacular dining experience" for customers, with the "same great vibe" it had before closing in 2018.

The advert mentions Okku is looking for managers, supervisors, bartenders, waiters, chefs, receptionists and hosts, as well as members of the guest relations team.

Okku was open at The H Dubai from 2009 to 2018. Photo: Okku

"Do you have what it takes and want to be part of this incredible team and journey ahead?" the LinkedIn post reads.

Okku was known as a popular home-grown Japanese restaurant, which had a lively atmosphere and served reliably good sushi and robata dishes.

There is no word, yet, whether the jellyfish-filled aquarium wall will be making a comeback, or if we'll see old favourites return to the menu, including the popular O-style ginger salmon sashimi, yuzu-saikyo miso black cod or the O-style dynamite kani, which was two whole baked king crab legs with a spicy mayonnaise dressing. For carnivores, the past menu featured a number of steak dishes, including a rib-eye robata and Wagyu Himalayan shioyaki, cooked on a salt stone with a garlic, soy and ponzu sauce.

The original Dubai restaurant launched in 2009 and a regional outpost opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2018.

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