When it comes to eating Nobu’s ubiquitous black cod, there are myriad ways to tuck in.
You can do so at a table in the world’s tallest skyscrapers, at a bar in the busiest capital cities or where it all began, in the Big Apple — the brand was born in New York in 1994. There may be more than 50 venues spanning five continents to choose from, but there is only one where you can munch down a miso-glazed fillet in your trunks, teetering on the edge of a palm tree-lined pool.
Enter Nobu by the Beach, the brand’s first beach club sitting at the heart of Dubai’s landmark hotel Atlantis The Royal. With that in mind, I tear up the rule book and fine-dining dress code, dig out the swimmers and flip-flops and dive straight in.
Where to sit, what to expect
Having opened in January, Atlantis The Royal still has that new hotel smell — its lush lobby carpet has plenty of spring, the chrome interiors are effortlessly shiny and the staff are clearly well into the swing of service.
Nobu by the Beach is accessed via the hotel’s main entrance, through the back doors and to the left of its excellent fountain show, which gives new meaning to Modernism-meets-Brutalism architecture styles. It’s imposing yet elegant, an extension of the cubes that form the building blocks of the hotel’s dominating shape.
The club itself continues the theme of clean lines, jagged steps and right angles — as if it’s been pieced together by a Tetris diehard, only with a splash of Dubai glamour thrown in. Either way, it’s a blockbuster and we bed in on a shaded double lounger. It’s like something out of a Jay-Z music video.
The menu
This is a beach club (though the beach is actually about 20 metres away), so expect one-bite plates to match the preened and bronzed clientele. This Nobu takes its Japanese cuisine roots and fuses them with its globetrotting nature by offering a round-the-world selection of dishes.
Tacos are served alongside tempura, sushi alongside sliders. There are pockets of elegance, too, with caviar, Wagyu, lobster and truffle poking about, while the drinks menu offers a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.
Plates are “refined” and made to share. In other words, they’re small, though I’m grateful the kitchen helps me avoid the brunch-style indignity of overeating at the buffet before howling in pain in the paddling pool for the rest of the day. As are my fellow diners.
We order with our affable South African waiter, before plunging into the vast pool, shared by three private beds and their occupants, which overlooks the main pool.
There are ‘gramming guests on beds, wealthier clientele retreating to private pool cabanas on the edge, a DJ bopping along to his own deep house playlist and a troupe of capably cool waiters whisking out dishes and drinks.
There is also an indoor-outdoor restaurant with a central bar for those who don’t wish to eat in their cossies, while those who do can take a pew on dozens of the other sunbeds dotted in the middle of lush greenery. It’s an elegant, Miami-style afternoon all wrapped into one delicious nori parcel — and I’m armed with chopsticks to tuck in.
I size up the pool and decide to build an appetite, my activity of choice is lying at 180 degrees in the half-in, half-out water sunbathing area and doing nothing. It’s a hard life here.
Soon, it’s time to refuel as the chicken tacos — sweet, crunchy with a touch of heat — are rolling out of the kitchen. As are the chicken wings, which have an oh-so-moreish umami coating, and the added benefit of almost being deboned by chefs before serving. The spicy tuna maki, as well as the salmon avocado jalapeno version, are as well-executed as expected.
Top marks to the kitchen whizz adding roasted peanuts to the edamame (“Why doesn’t everyone serve them like this?” the wife quizzes in between handfuls, very fairly) and the black cod is given a beach-body reinvention … more on this below.
There’s just enough room for a regal fruit platter before returning to my horizontal workout, because where’s better to sleep off a knockout Nobu meal than in the shade at Dubai’s newest triumph?
Standout dish
Alongside its revolving door of A-lister diners in the noughties, and a certain Robert De Niro co-founder, the miso-glazed black cod put Nobu on the map; it’s on every menu in one form or another in every location for good reason.
Here, it’s sliced into chunks, all lip-smackingly marinated, before being served in lettuce cups — a healthy riff on the taco and a fun makeover for the brand’s signature dish, all while keeping glitzy guests’ gym diets in check.
A chat with the chef
If there’s one cook who can take the Nobu name and elevate it, it’s chef de cuisine Belkacem Boubekeur.
He has spent 10 years at the company, and a further 10 working in kitchens around the world. He hails from Toulouse, South of France, and has worked at the company’s outpost in Monte Carlo, Monaco. His favourite cooking style is, as expected, Asian fusion. Translation — he knows how Nobu ticks, even revealing: “I love rules. My philosophy is always to keep motivation and standards high.
“My favourite cooking style would be Asian fusion. I enjoy how we mix and cook the ingredients together, and how they result in incredible flavours, aromas and textures.
“That said, the menu at Nobu by the Beach is inspired by Nobu’s universally beloved Japanese-Peruvian cuisine served with a bite-size twist.”
The dishes you cannot leave without trying? He picks the beef carpaccio, “an excellent choice” for carnivores; the sea urchin or octopus for pescatarians; and the crispy rice avocado for vegetarians.
Price point and contact information
Dishes are all served sharing-style, ranging from Dh40 to Dh240.
The adults-only pool is open daily from 9am-7pm and the family-friendly restaurant from 11.30am-7pm. Entry price is from Dh250 Monday to Thursday, and Dh300 from Friday to Sunday. More information is available at atlantis.com.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
