Restaurant review: Mikado Cafe in Khalidiya

Mikado Cafe is a new homegrown Japanese cafe and Japanese bakery located in Khalidiya. It's the only one in the world and offers some unique items on the menu. Delores Johnson / The National

Rewind three or four years, and Khalidiya residents weren’t overly blessed with dining options. For a brief period, I was one of those people. Nowadays, however, a trip to the corner shop or a late-night Subway sandwich are far from the only options, thanks to the emergence of a host of independent dining spots, many with a takeaway slant. As the traffic queues snaking into the one-way ­system through Khalidiya’s central hub on most evenings attest, it’s fast becoming a go-to food ­destination.

While sporadic drive-through diners do pick up orders from Mikado Cafe, taking a seat inside the cute Japanese eatery for a full meal is the most rewarding option, perhaps more so than any-where else in this densely populated, mini restaurant ­district.

The team behind the cafe claim its aim is simple Japanese comfort food, but that’s doing a disservice to the presentation of an expansive menu. Snuggled in a booth surrounded by lightwood partitions, with mirrors artificially extending the modest dimensions, we kept things light in a starter selection of sashimi and nigiri. If simplicity is indeed the game here, it wasn’t immediately obvious: the dishes were laid out with fine-dining flair you might expect at a five-star hotel.

The kani (snow crab) sashimi was served with lemon atop five small cucumber bases; the squid nigiri was four rolls using the calamari as the outer wrap around rice, plus two chopsticks’ worth of baby squid on the side; the tamago (Japanese sweet omelette) and unagi (freshwater eel) nigiri were each a pair of larger morsels. Aside from the slightly bland snow crab, everything had us considering second helpings.

We decided to share three mains: grilled salmon in teriyaki sauce, plus two hot small plates of chicken “karaague” (Japanese-style deep-fried chicken with barbecue-sauce dip) and “willow leaf” fish (five sardine-sized whole shishamo on an actual leaf – but not one from a willow, confusingly). Nothing truly disappointed, although the barbecue sauce was somewhat sour.

We were intrigued by the tebasaki (shiitake-stuffed fried chicken wings), but sadly they were temporarily off the menu. That was a forgivable transgression. A double side order of onsen tamago wasn’t. The slow-cooked eggs were so stone-cold that we began to wonder if this was how they were supposed to be served. A personable waiter confirmed that wasn’t the case and apologised, yet we were still charged the full Dh20 each.

Dessert o’clock compensated ably with two inventive takes on familiar dishes. The shokupan bread pudding with white chocolate sauce was piping hot and hearty; the ­chocolate-mousse-filled Toblerone crêpe was presented as an adorable Santa-sack-esque parcel.

The size of the dishes at Mikado do make it challenging to concoct a filling three-course meal on a budget. Yet the sheer breadth of the menu – we didn’t even have a chance to try the tempura, cold small plates, salads, “donburi” rice bowls or “nabe” hotpots sections – means you could comfortably enjoy dinner here from Sunday to Saturday without ordering the same dish twice.

As we departed, a group of Japanese tourists were also leaving, all sated, satisfied and chatting with staff – something of a ­ringing ­endorsement.

• Our meal for two at Mikado Cafe, Al Hana Tower, Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi, cost Dh505. For more information, call 02 667 7557. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito