Hakkasan Dubai — Restaurant in Dubai

Hakkasan is the first place that comes to mind when everyone thinks of authentic Cantonese cuisine in Dubai and I was excited to have the opportunity to visit them for Friday brunch. Not only do they serve Brunch, there are events happening throughout the week, all day every day, from business lunch to set menus at dinner and of course, al a carte.

The there is a wide variety of flavours to select from off the menu and all the dishes are skillfully crafted by one of the 30 chefs that Hakkasan employs. Can't say I was surprised that all the Chefs were Chinese, as that is the only reason that the food tasted the way they did. All the chefs appeared to enjoy their work from what I saw and there were dedicated chefs for each section of the menu and that is all they were responsible for, which allows for them to master their craft. If you understand the kind of work that goes into preparation of certain items on the menu, you will appreciate the works that the chefs did in the kitchen, not only were the food delicious, but tasty and visually appealing as well.

The dishes range from tradition to slight fusion and everything in between. With slightly fusion dishes, the chefs prepare a traditional dish but adds a small spin to it, to tailor to the pallets of the local audience while remaining authentic.

I would recommend going with someone who knows what to order off the Al A Carte menu as there are a number of fantastic dishes. It was a bit of a shame that I saw a few tables eating spring rolls when there are much more exciting things on the menu.

Normally I am not a fan of duck dishes, but I found most of the ones that I had were fabulously seasoned and prepared. Especially the peking duck. The duck skin was crispy and nicely skinned from the meat, the meat itself was still tender and juicy, even 20 minutes after it was served, thats when I had the last piece and it tasted as fresh as the first.

Being a premium outlet, Hakkasan also incorporated a delicacies like truffle and caviar a select number of dishes. These 2 ingredients are not usually found in Cantonese cuisine but were a welcomed addition. The premium brunch menu was quite nice, as it offers all the dishes that one would be considered to be best of the best when it comes to Cantonese dishes, including Abalone, Xiao Long Bao and Foie Gras.

The portion sizes are moderate which allows you to try a number of dishes without overfilling your stomach. It is best to go with a group so you can a large amount of dishes that Hakkasan has to offer. It would be nice to see some Chinese desserts to finish off the meal, as the present choices are catered to the local taste buds.

With a fantastic terrace to enjoy during winter and equally impressive indoor seating, Hakkasan is the place to...

Hakkasan Dubai, what more can I say except wow, just wow. This Michelin restaurant was located at the Palm Atlantis and boy was it a magnificent experience. Once of the most noticeable is how elegant the logo design was, the simple H and K infused together made set the tone for this Cantonese dining establishment. When your first approach the restaurant the back drop of Atlantis takes your breathe away and establishes the mindset for what you are about to experience. When you walk into the restaurant you are greeted by 3 hostesses, I was impressed not only by how quick they attended to us but how quickly we were seated for a 9pm reservation. Knowing that it was our anniversary dinner, they made the effort to sit us towards their quiet section in the back that had many tables but was away from the noise of the DJ and the bar. The layout of the restaurant was very much like a maze, twisting and turning around dimly lit corners created a certain mystery to the whole experience. The center of the restaurant was surrounded by ceiling high see through walls, with unique designs in the center. It gave a privacy to those dining in the middle. We were sat by our hostess at a table for 4 and about 2 minutes later Rodrick our host showed up. He had the menu prepared to a specific section for my wife, which showed her vegetating options. He took the time to explain all the meals and paid close attention to her allergies. The extra attention to details was much appreciated. Now on to the food.

Food: Wagyu Short Rib - 10/10 - This was such an interesting meal. The beef was so tender and smooth, cooked to the right temperature. It was my first time having Wagyu and I could tell the difference immediately. I am usually a goat or lamb person due to how tender they are, but the Wagyu was certainly tender enough I almost didn’t have to chew it. The quantity was incredible. Is as pleasantly surprised as two could have shared the short rib. The mala spice and pumpkin crisp was perfect on the meat. Overall such a flavorful dish.

Edamame Egg Fried Rice - 9.9/10 - Simple yet delicious this meal was. It was not incredibly busy as you tend to find some Fried Rice. It was done with a brown rice and had some carrots and egg. Simple and tasteful.

Vegetarian Dim Sum plater - 10/10 - A very nice collection of dim sum, this was just small enough to hold you though as an appetizer, however if you have a small stomach, you can order this as a full meal. Delicious mix of chives, radish and wild mushrooms. Fantastic.

A wonderful experience for my first Michelin restaurant certainly well worth it.

Total spent on food and...

We're guests with half board included at the Atlantis Hotel and very much looked forward to visiting this 1 Michelin star restaurant. Sadly the visit to Hakkasan was a great disappointment. When we arrived we were seated at a table that was super wobbly and asked them to fix it. They tried but concluded that the table was in need of a repair. While trying to fix our table we were asked to sit at the table right next to us where a family with a small child was seated at the table beside us. The child was using a tablet with the volume set quite high. The loud noise from the tablet mixed with the loud noise from the house music played in the restaurant was a really disturbing combination as talking to each other was hard enough as it was. We asked to be moved to another section of the restaurant, which we were. After switching tables to one closer to the bar we soon discovered that guests were allowed to smoke at the bar. Not pleasant at all to be inhaling their smoke during our dinner to be honest. As mentioned the music is quite loud in the restaurant, and being seated close to the bar with all the mixing and shaking of drinks didn't help with the level of noise. The restaurant is also really dark and reading the menu is difficult. Do bring a flashlight! The service is far from what I expect at a Michelin star restaurant. The service we received can be compared to a beach side restaurant or bar and is nothing close to the attentive service I expect from a 1 star restaurant. It felt more like going to a club with good food than to a Michelin restaurant, and we have visited several Michelin star restaurants. Because of the noise it's also hard to hear what the servers are trying to say to you. Also, they have a long way to go in attentiveness. I could go in detail, but there are so many issues with this restaurant. I really wonder how on earth they got that Michelin star!? The food we received was good, but compared to the quality we would expect it was really over priced. Again, beach side restaurant is what I would compare it to. Dubai is a city full of excellent restaurants. I would recommend spending your money elsewhere. Even the other in house restaurants (without Michelin stars) that we have tried are better than what we experienced...