Kinoya — Restaurant in Dubai

Wish I had tried this place earlier. I underestimated it. Really good food, and the ramen is probably the best around. I loved the ramen bar, it’s very cozy and you see your ramen prepared in front of you and served immediately. The bar seats are not for everyone though.

What I like about the chef (Neha Mishra) is that she’s quite serious about ramen. She got all the details right, which is even more impressive knowing that she’s not Japanese and the fact that ramen in Japan is predominantly made by men, so kudos to her for standing out. In fact, Kinoya is not about ramen only. The wagyu skewers, the miso eggplant, and the gyozas were all very delicious and executed very well to the point where I think you could totally skip the ramen (but of course, you shouldn’t). The miso eggplant was my favorite. The bonito flakes go really well with the eggplant (but don’t overdo it with the bonito flakes). Anyways, don’t come here expecting that it is purely a ramen joint. They have a lot of other options as well, including dessert (highly recommend the Hokkaido cheesecake!)

As for the ramen, we had the shio paitan ramen, spicy miso ramen, and the duck ramen. The duck ramen was surprisingly good, especially the side: duck leg in a sweet sauce. It sets Kinoya apart from the competition. The sweet sauce is not just “sweet sauce”. I feel like it deserves a better name. It’s an interesting sauce made from duck fat, and it packs an Umami punch. Try mixing some in the ramen “little by little throughout” (as recommended in the menu) and enjoy your ramen getting more and more delicious! The server said “do not mix the sauce with the ramen” without elaboration. You should not mix the ENTIRE sauce as the ramen will get too sweet. That is definitely true. But you can mix a little bit until you get the perfect balance. Believe me, it will make the broth tastes better. I got that tip from the menu. The duck ramen is indeed pricey, but because it’s “Silver Hill” duck (regarded as one of the best in the world) and they’re generous with it. The other ramens were great, too. The spicy ramen packs more flavor, but I also really enjoyed the shio ramen. If you’re looking for something non-standard, go for something different from the shio ramen. But you won’t go wrong either way. Other than the broth, I have to say that the noodles itself here is way better than any other ramen noodles I tried in the UAE. This place ramens.

The lady preparing the ramen for us (her name is Donabell if I’m not mistaken) was very meticulous and professional. I enjoyed watching her prepare the ramen with great care. Our server (Leo) was helpful and prompt with all our requests. Thanks a lot! I will come...

Let me start by saying the Burnt Butter Scallops are heavenly! it comes with two scallops, these lovely mushroom that we're cooked to perfection it tasted like steak for 50 AED, i think it's worth it. The scallops we're charred at the right amount on the outside and tender inside. This is one of the unique dishes Kinoya has to offer.

Of course, one of the highlights of the restaurant is their Ramen! We tried the Shoyu Ramen and their Spicy Miso Ramen. The noodles we're the right amount of bounce and stretch. You can absolutely tell the amount of sweat, blood and tears that went into this dish. The spicy miso ramen was a little harsh on the throat and i didn't really enjoy the chicken it came with, it felt a little too fatty. The shoyu broth was nice and mild, and very well balanced, it also came with just two pieces of beef, i would probably ask for extra next time but I'd definitely order the Shoyu Ramen next time!

The Negima was a familiar taste, but what sets it apart is how they cooked it so well! the right amount of char and smoke gave this dish it's own uniqueness. My favorite is dipping the Negima on the burnt butter scallop sauce.

The Wagyu Tsukune was seasoned perfectly and the sauce brings it all together! however it was a little too soft for more taste.

Lastly we ordered Uni Sushi which was a weekend special at the time at a whooping 200AED for two pieces, uni is a delicacy! so this was expected, just keep that in mind when you order specials - as most would be unique delicacies that might be expensive!

We had the strawberry parfait for dessert and it was really good! the strawberry gelato was amazing and the mousse made it so much better!

Update Nov 2021: We just tried their Duck Ramen special and it was honestly the best food i've ever had. it was so amazing that i still dream about it to this day. The side that it comes with was the best part. it was about 90 aed and it comes with a side.

Update Dec 2021: Absolutely love the christmas vibes at Kinoya right now. We tried their late night bar menu and we were sat at the ramen bar - it was such a nice atmosphere and we loved being able to sit next to each other rather than in front of each other. We tried their Chongqing Spicy Ramen special and the oxtail melted in my mouth it was absolute...

🍽️Food: 5/5 🤵🏽‍♂️Service: 3/5 🪑Ambiance: 5/5

📝Notes: I came across this restaurant as it’s listed #11 in MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants (Previously at #7 in 2023). At first I was really excited and was hoping that they would accept walk in reservations. But then they told me to wait for 20 minutes to maybe see if someone would cancel or not. That bummed me out. As soon as I was about to head out, luckily they were able to get us a table :)

The ambiance is so detailed, a combination of bar seating, indoor/outdoor seating and of course, zashiki which is awesome since you get to sit on the floor 😁 Apart from the hip-hop music, I really felt like I was at a restaurant in Japan, but Kendrick kept reminding me that I was not 😆

The service that night wasn’t the best, I’ll be honest. And no it’s not because the hosts asked me to wait for 20 min, thats a small part as they are the first person I meet from the restaurant staff, but it does add up. For me it was the fact that we had to wait around 10 minutes just for someone to take our order, and the spacing between the appetizers and main also adds up. Lastly to ask for the bill. I had to ask two different staff members, it definitely was packed but for a restaurant to be in the top 15 MENA restaurants, I expected a better service. They were nice but its the little things thats adds up

As for the food, I cannot express how much I highly recommend the Wagyu Tsukune 😍 It is the best beef skewers I’ve ever had, and with the egg yolk on the side, you cannot miss out!! Both the Burnt Butter Scallop and the Miso Butter Eggplant are good, I would try something else just to see what else they have thats good.

As for the Spicy Miso Ramen, it’s good and creamy but its not my cup of tea when it came to the ramen itself (it felt very hard to break down as the noodles were stuck together)

Overall, it was a combination of great things as well as areas of improvements, I will definitely be coming back here to try out their other ramens as I heard the Shio Patian and the Tantamen are...