Dinner and a show in the traditional sense isn’t often available in Abu Dhabi, but in the absence of a West End or Broadway production, it’s a nice novelty to enjoy a dab of entertainment while you eat.
The Japanese robata grill Inakaya, the UAE debut of a chain that was founded in Tokyo in 1970, ticked the boxes for such distractions as soon as we stepped inside its distinctly Far Eastern surrounds.
The staff cheerfully hollered greetings in their native tongue, with a translator on hand to decipher (most) of what the chefs and waiting staff were shouting.
We headed for the best seats in the house: an open counter directly in front of the gregarious grill-master chefs (also known as yakikata). The robatayaki style of cooking is a similar, but not quite as hammy, experience to what Abu Dhabi diners might have soaked up in the city’s teppanyaki spots.
In short, the chefs are a focal point of the evening, passing main dishes directly to diners on long, oar-like paddles. The baskets of fresh vegetables in front of us weren’t just for show, either – the chefs reached across to pick out the raw produce required for our order.
Before our starters arrived, we were treated to a mochi-pounding ceremony. We politely declined to contribute to the manual labour, but shortly afterwards, a complimentary, bite-sized mochi-rice cake apiece arrived. We also gladly accepted a (paid-for) additional pre-starter of spicy edamame, which was probably the best that my dining partner and I had ever tasted. The sauce left our lips tangy for a good five minutes afterwards.
The relatively standard choice of maki rolls was given a real dose of Inakaya flair: enter the “dragon” rolls, a bright-green creation of avocado and eel, and the crunchy California rolls, topped with tempura flakes. We demolished most of the 14 pieces (eight of the former; six of the latter) and insisted on having the remainder boxed for takeaway.
After being informed that most of the robata dishes were “tapas” sized, we decided to go large, rather skewing the overall cost of our dinner by ordering Inakaya’s signature dish: the Dh370 kinme-dai Japanese golden eye snapper (although the juice leaking from its peepers was distinctly grey). The whole, bright-orange fish was a sight to behold – it’s meaty white flesh, while not overabundant in quantity around its thick spine, was impressive in quality.
The separate vegetable accompaniments were no mere sides, either. In descending order of tastiness: satoimo (a salty, yam-like Japanese vegetable), sweet potato and chewy gingko nuts.
The Kobe beef skewers, though requested medium, were a touch tough, while we entirely forgot that we’d ordered a yellowtail fillet, which arrived a few minutes after the rest of the mains selections – by which point, we were well on the way to bursting point.
Not quite bursting enough to forgo dessert, however. Neither the deliciously tart yuzu sorbet or the cute, Mini Babybel-scale morsels of mochi ice cream (we tried pistachio and green tea) could be faulted. Should you be the kind of diner who prefers to hide away in the corner of a restaurant and blend into the wallpaper, Inakaya has the potential to be your worst nightmare. But for everybody else, it’s a whole heap of fun – with the culinary chops to back up its showmanship.
• Our meal for two at Inakaya, Venetian Village, within Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal, Abu Dhabi, cost Dh1,126. For more information, call 02 404 1921. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito
aworkman@thenational.ae
