Quite a delicious experience with way too small tables: Restaurant Kinoya (2. February 2023)
Since the new list of the World’s 50 Best MENA had just been released, I was curious to try as many as possible during my stay in Dubai this time. The Kinoya is No. 7 of The World’s 50 Best MENA and I must say, I do partially understand why. I started with “spicy edamame” (26.00 AED), which were nice and spicy. Just as one would expect.
As a second course, I decided to go for “spicy fried chicken” (58.00 AED) and “ebi fry pank (deep-fried panko shrimps)” (56.00 AED). While I absolutely liked the chicken, since the sauce was somewhat wow-ing, i found the deep-fried panko shrimps a bit disappointing, since they were mainly crispy and the dip wasn’t too generous.
The “beef kakuni (sliced 38hrs braised short ribs, daikon, spinach, tamago)” (75.00 AED) was nice since it basically fell apart the moment you would touch it with your fork or spoon. And it was nice in terms of flavour too.
The “stir-fried rice with unagi” (68.00 AED) was a bit of a boring dish compared to the rest, since it didn’t really have a punch like the rest did. The unagi was nice, but the rice itself could have used some sauce to make it more exciting in terms of flavour profile.
The “Onsen egg on rice with dashi” (35.00 AED) could have been nice, but since we had ordered quite a few dishes (see above), the Onsen egg got cold, which made the dish not really enjoyable. Maybe an issue of ordering too much, but also an issue of timing the servings in a way, so one could actually finish one before moving on to the next one.
The “vegetable gyoza” (49.00 AED) were rather unexciting in terms of flavour, but still decent to enjoy.
What I enjoyed a lot was the “bluefin tuna toro” (70.00 AED) – the flavour of the tuna was intense and truly enjoyable. With a dash of wasabi and soy sauce, it was a great bite.
All in all, I absolutely liked the Kinoya since the food is great, and so is the atmosphere. However, there were a few things, which I didn’t appreciate too much. Firstly, when I had ordered a bottle of sparkling water, it took them about 15 minutes to bring it, despite the fact that it was literally just standing there 2 meters away from the table. Not sure, but it feels like this is not the way to go regarding the quality of the service.
Other than that, I liked the place, maybe besides the fact that the place is rather small and has only small tables, meaning, if you order more than a few dishes, you will end up not having space on your table since they don’t really time the servings, leading to a mess on the table. In any case, booking in advance is key, and you should make sure to do so sufficiently upfront.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Kinoya
The Onyx Tower 2 – Floor P2
Dubai (UAE)
Tel.: +971 4 220 29 20
E-Mail: reservations@kinoya.ae
Homepage: http://www.kinoya.ae
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
