Katana’s Summer Menu – Is it worth the heat?

We have been roaming around quite a lot lately. The tiny person that normally controls our lives is back in India getting pampered beyond belief by her grand parents. That leaves the husband and myself gazing into oblivion, wondering what the hell to do with all the time we are back home after work. Suddenly, there is too much of time to do EVERYTHING we have been procrastinating for a whole year – but we just don’t want to budge our rear from the comfort of our couch.

One night, we called off the laze to take a trek to downtown dubai. The destination was Katana, an uber chic Japanese fine dining restaurant, strategically placed for a spell binding view of the…wait for it…the Burj Khalifa! How could you have possibly guessed that! Lol.

Well, Katana is a robata grill and sushi bar that is made up of splendid ambience, dim lights and pleasing, well-informed service. We were welcomed to the bar with a Japanese cry by the servers, which I later learnt to be the equivalent of “Welcome, have a nice time!”. Two of the special cocktails on the summer menu were a peach martini and a watermelon martini. The lighting was beautiful with crystal specks hanging from the ceiling, adding a rich element to the interiors.

Once taken to our tables, we were served Edamame to keep ourselves entertained before the summer menu was rolled out in all its glory.

What I loved: Salmon Carpaccio. Super thin slivers of salmon came carefully sprinkled with feta and shimeji mushrooms. The entire combination was an absolute knock-out on the palate. Delicate. Addictive.

The summer salad was light and fresh, drizzled with a soy based dressing. I enjoyed the crunch of the greens with the salt of the soy. The husband did not. Not a soy lover, that man.

Next up from the robata grill was the Angus rib eye, the Jumbo prawns in chilli garlic sauce and grilled asparagus. The platter came accompanied by a trio of Katana special sauces- Soy mustard, ginger & ponzu, one each as meat, fish and vegetable dip. The men at the robata evidently knew their grill business, as was duly noted in each bite of the perfectly done prawns.

The sushi bar produced the Yellowtail spicy tuna sushi and the cucumber and avocado sushi, both enjoyed appreciably. There were more given than was necessary, considering this was a tasting menu – but yes, we did our best not to cause wastage. Though I must admit, we were partial to the rather wonderful spicy tuna rolls. The next to arrive was the vegetable tempura. As far as tempura would go, both of us were unimpressed. Fried rice with egg, chicken & prawns didn’t give us anything to complain nor rave about. The sautéed green beans with garlic sauce, on the other hand was delicious.

Of special mention would be the Short ribs in Asian marinade. This was perfectly tender, easy to eat and so full of flavors. But here again, I point out that you need to like the Asian flavors (obviously) to appreciate these dishes. For someone like me, who jumps on the cuisine like a starved monkey, would absolutely love it. But for someone like my husband, who feels “meh” and “hmm” to Asian tastes, this dish was quite unmoving.

I’ve been to enough Asian restaurants to realize that the desserts on that side of the town, doesn’t quite entice me. So while I was intrigued by the “Azuki beans brownie” on the menu and marked it for my probable next visit, what was included in the summer tasting menu was the Apple Banana Harumaki. Chopped apples and banana came wrapped in bread that was fried and rolled generously over sugar and cinnamon. I’m sure this would have been liked by those not too demanding on their sweet levels. But for someone like me, who has secretly exchanged vows with all kinds of chocolate, meringues and the like, this dessert was more like an evening tea accompaniment. The sorbets that came along (litchi and lemon what we ordered) were very well-presented on a bed of icecubes and rich in their respective fruity flavors.

Having said that, they weren’t dessert-y enough for me, and I just had to finish off such a good dinner with a slice of cake or so (as I managed to from the nearby café – God, I’m such a spoilt brat!)

Katana was every bit a good experience. A fine dining restaurant with exceptionally good views and service, which you will abundantly enjoy if you like Asian cuisine. They have a good menu, lovely cocktails, sheesha outside where you can watch your smoke rise up from the very base of Burj Khalifa, all the way to the top, with of course the fountains dancing in unison. A place well worth a visit if you are looking for a relaxed, enjoyable night out.

Katana – The Pricing Story:
Aged rib eye from the Robata Grill – Aed 50
Shrimp with Tarragon Butter – Aed 23
Grilled asparagus – Aed 13
Short ribs in Asian marinade – Aed 110
Sauteed green beans with garlic sauce – Aed 25
Salmon Carapccio – Aed 55
Vegetable Tempura – Aed 55
Spicy Tuna Rolls – Aed 50

Katana is located at the Lakeside in The Promenade, The Address Downtown Dubai. For reservations – 04 2778808. FoodKissed was invited to try the summer menu, without any strings attached. So you can be assured that this review is super honest & to the point! Any feedback welcome 🙂