Mimi Kakushi, Dubai: Audacious & Where The Good Times Roll

The partnership between Giles Bosquet, Executive Chef, and Reif Othman works. La Cantine group powers the eponymous La Cantine du Faubourg, the Arabic Neverland Ninive and the charmingly casual Lana Lusa. You are immediately struck by the impeccable decor execution, yet, it is familiar. I sense the discerning La Cantine management team once sauntered into Indochine, sat down and exclaimed “make it this, but with a better menu”. On decor alone, Mimi Kakushi is certainly deserving of Mrs EatGoSee turning up in a fabulous dress and heels wielding a martini.

There is a cool swagger about Mimi Kakushi. A deliciously glossy bar is evocative of early 1900s glamour that radiates throughout Mimi Kakushi’s cavernous space. Shanghai’s then trendy Bund when Chaplin sunk Singapore Slings at the bar. I know the Bund is in China, just go with it.


First: Mimi Kaksuhi’s bar area; then low mellow lighting throughout

Mimi Kakushi’s food menu

Reif Othman’s fingerprints dance across the menu. A totemic 70+ item menu stretches like an accordion playing between gyozas, sushi and more. Familiar spins on signature dishes like the wild mushroom donabe rice pot with seaweed butter and fresh truffle (120 dhs).


Samples of Mimi Kakushi’s menu as of March 2021

A cornucopia of dishes lands on the table each with a Paul Smith-like makeover: a parade of well-known classics reimagined through a contemporary lens. Bedsheet-thin gyozas lysing with wagyu and foie gras with pickled cucumber is steeped in a pool of truffle soy butter (70 dhs). I dredge the gyozas back and forth in sauce greedily snuffling them all. The Kagoshima wagyu maki rolls reinvigorate an often tedious menu section (130 dhs) with much needed crispy renkon chips plunged into a silky bath of chopstick-whipped onsen egg.

The most discussed dish was the perennial oven-baked sweet miso-marinated black cod with citrus miso sauce (195 dhs) as successfully balancing sweetness without ingesting syrup. Our king crab cold salad with fresh mizuna offers generous slabs of king crab coupled with crispy potatoes and an aromatic wasabi dressing that balances sweet, spice and pepper (125 dhs).

A light crispy fried squid is dredged through a warming Japanese curry dip (55 dhs) eases us towards the heartier braised short ribs with sweet garlic soy, ginger wasabi relish and pistachio miso (395 dhs). The incandescent sheen off the short rib is glossy enough for Mrs EatGoSee to re-apply lipstick between courses.


First: Wagyu & foie gras gyoas with pickled cucumber & truffle soy butter (70 dhs); second: kagoshima wagyu with onsen egg dip (130 dhs)


First: Oven-baked sweet miso marinated black cod with citrus miso sauce (195 dhs); second: King Crab with fresh mizuna, crispy baby potatoes & wasabi dressing (125 dhs)


First: Braised short ribs with sweet garlic soy, ginger wasabi relish & pistachio miso (395 dhs); second: crispy fried squid with jalapeño & japanese curry dip (55 dhs)

Mimi Kakushi’s pricing

What you should not gloss over is the menu pricing. Small plates have a nasty habit of leading to big bills. Mimi Kakushi offers several dishes below 60 dhs yet the mains stagger between 140 dhs to 680 dhs. Still, anyone coming to the Four Seasons Dubai Jumeirah looking for a value for money night out should quickly take a PCR test.


Grilled toro with crispy leeg and spicy wafu (95 dhs)

Diners could play in the shallow end of the cost pool and eat very well. Order the refreshing smashed hamachi with yuzu guacamole and crispy nori (85 dhs), the sticky spears of tako togarashi marinated octopus (65 dhs) and the grilled toro with crispy leek & spicy wafu (95 dhs). Flank these small dishes with towers of grilled sweetcorn with chilli ponzu butter (32 dhs). I will not creep up a menu’s value chain if I cannot find value in the lower price range. My view is that a restaurant does not deserve more value out of me if I cannot find great value at the lower end.

The dessert menu does stay below 55 dhs for the most part with a dessert sharing platter spiking at 295 dhs. This dinner was (very generously) an invite. Some back of the envelope math landed our food bill in the 2100 dhs ballpark (without alcohol and service) elevated by notable dishes like the 18 piece Geisha Sashimi Chef’s Selection. We did not get to meet a Geisha chef.


First: Smashed Hamachi with yuzu guacamole, crispy nori, myoga and garlic yuzu soy (86 dhs); then Tako togarashi marinated octopus with chivne & yuzu togarashi glaze (65 dhs)


First: Japanese grilled sweet corn with chili ponzo butter, sesame, lime and shisho leaves (32 dhs); then Mimi Kakushi’s sake display


First: Tokoroten with koramitsu granita, mochi dango and adzuki beans (45 dhs); then Kori-Kori chocolate mi-cuit, crunchy peanut butter an coconut ice cream (55 dhs)

Would I Return to Mimi Kakushi?

Very likely. Mimi Kakushi feels exciting with an electric atmosphere that I have not sensed since the dark hand of COVID took hold. The Four Seasons Dubai Jumeirah location almost promises a steady diet of high-value customers ravenous for all things Asian dining.


Grilled broccoli with seaweed butter and crispy onion (32 dhs)

Who Should Come To Mimi Kakushi?

The trendy decor, chilled cocktails and upmarket proposition places Mimi Kakushi at the crossroads for many. Think date night to impress, special occasions, large group get-togethers, fans of contemporary Japanese dining, business dinners lined by corporate expense accounts. Fans of Indochine’s decor, Reif’s deft hand and La Cantine’s fastidious attention to mood.