SMOKED ROOM DUBAI — Restaurant in Dubai

If you're looking for food infused with smoke flavours, particularly red meats, this place isn't for you.

This is a seafood restaurant with no smokey flavours of any description that you eat in front of a fire that is there for decoration only. You'd have to be a food detective to find any trace of smoke. Don't get me wrong, the food is excellent - high quality, cooked well, creative dishes. But it's not what it describes on the website. The branding is a muddle and misleading - smoke is not the main theme of this culinary experience.

The lack of meat was very disappointing. We had 11 courses of mostly Japanese-inspired seafood dishes, with only one meat serving - the tiniest slither of duck breast. There are 14 seats in the restaurant, and all 14 of them can share a single duck breast - that's how thin the slice is. But not to worry, because as you're served the duck an impressively marbled wagyu beef is paraded in front of you - only to be told that this isn't included in the AED 1,000 pp charge and would cost an extra AED 250 or so for a piece smaller than a golf ball. This shameless upselling lacks class and really soured the mood.

The wine pairing was nice, albeit over-priced. The wine list in general was staggeringly over-priced. The Chinese rice wine wasn't for us, and the final dessert wine was like drinking maple syrup. The other six 50ml glasses were fine but nothing to write home about.

Service in the restaurant was excellent. However, service during the booking process was appalling. The day before our dinner the restaurant called to say they couldn't seat us at 9pm due to an issue with their booking system, despite us booking weeks earlier and paying in advance. We pushed back on this and they said they would see what they can do and call us back to confirm. They never did, we had to call them. The staff then lied and claimed some other problem with the booking system, which the manager debunked and said there was no such issue but that he would look after us on the night. Unfortunately, no one did - no complimentary drinks or discount. At the end of the meal we contacted the same manager, who then offered us a complimentary drink - but only after us having to chase him. Pretty shambolic from a...

We are foodies. We love the smoky flavors and the umami in our food. This place sounded like the perfect place for an elevated dinner experience. The setting is great, perhaps a bit dark but allows the open fire to be the center stage of the open kitchen. We chose the larger Omakase menu for 900 AED per person. Expectations are building, however the experience did not live upto it. The cocktail list was short and uninspiring, the wine menu heavily overpriced. The glass of wine between 180 and 380, noting that they serve the glass with 50 cc.... 2 sips according to the sommelier.... It gives the guest the chance to try various grapes throughout the dinner. Not at this price. It seemed like the prepaid menu was taken as a bait to offer mediocre wine for incredible prices. We then were offered to "upgrade" our menu with certain dishes. I was not willing to consider this, given it was our first visit to the restaurant... But again it seemed that increasing the bill was at the forefront of this venture. The food, presentation a solid 4, the service nice but not amazing in a city in which service can be impecable. The dishes looked nice enough to the eye but ultimately lacked flavor and variety. Fairly sea food based for a restaurant names Smoked Room. At the end of the evening the food remained an underwhelming experience and I wasn't able to quite shake off the impression that this place overpromises and overcharges their customers. Probably...

Impeccable service, intimate ambience, and sensory-defying levels of molecular gastronomy, Smoked Room serves hit after hit in an 11 course menu.

I've tried a lot of great omakases and tasting menus back when I lived in New York and here in Dubai, and this consistently ranks among the best of the best for me. This was my second visit and it was even better than the first with the iteration on key dishes and the warm service that remembered my past visit almost a year ago.

The Sturgeon mousse wrapped in squid ink sitting on top of a bed of horseradish cream and caviar was my favorite if I had to pick just one, which is really hard to do since each dish brought something really unique to the table.

Great cocktails as well and the desserts round out the experience in a beautiful way. I have a reel on Instagram (@theadarshsinha) that showcases the firsthand experience but suffice it to say that it is one of the most memorable and food coma-ing experiences in Dubai.

I've had a lot of not-great but annoyingly expensive omakases, but the value here is more than justified by the quality of ingredients and ambience as well as attention to detail in service and presentation. It's also just really a sheer amount of gastronomical food that makes this...