WAWA Dining — Restaurant in Dubai

I'd like to implore you to check out @wawadining, a Japanese Korean fusion food gem in Barsha.

Right from the time you see their façade, to entering after parting the Noren, seeing the walls adorned with unmistakable imagery, the cherry blossoms on the ceiling, and their friendly service, will all leave a lasting impression that virtually transfers you to an Izakaya in Japan.

Their bar is small and almost out-of-place but what comes out of it is marvellous. I enjoyed the Japanese Whiskey Highball which was refreshing and easy to sip on and the giant blue Wawarita with its upturned Asahi bottle (and the 1-minute challenge) is rather punchy and a must-try.

The dishes I tried were -

Suwon Wang Galbi chicken (Dh 58) - tastes a bit like teriyaki with Manchego cheese, garlic chips and peppers. Nice easy starter for playing it safe.

Salmon Carpaccio (Dh 56) - Thin slivers of salmon adorned with orange and truffle ponzu. Such a burst of zesty freshness. Every bit comparable to any star restaurants in Dubai and beyond. An absolute star and must order.

Hamachi Sushi (Dh 63) - Nice buttery texture with Quinoa and pickled ginger. Another easy starter you can't go wrong with.

Volcano Maki (Dh 53) - Shrimp tempura with crab meat along with spicy goma sauce and tobiko making it a heapful of delicious sushi on a plate.

Sapporo Steak (Dh 142) - perfectly cooked medium rare tenderloin with mushrooms, potato puree and chilly soya sauce that come together create a gorgeous rich and tasty dish worth ordering for the meat lovers.

I really enjoyed my meal at Wawa Dining. It's a great destination for post work drinks and a fantastic meal. The entire team including Terry (the MD), Bikram and Joyce were amazing. I would highly recommend you try this new restaurant. You won’t be...

We were excited to try this place because of the pictures and the ambiance of the place. I will be honest in saying that my expectation was high for this place as their food is on the pricier side as well. However, i got disappointed, dont get me wrong their food is not bad but its not great as well and to be average for the price point they have is abit disappointing. Lets start with the Ramen, its fancy with the bean sprouts and veges on top but the brotj itself is average and at AED70 price point this is not at par to Daikan (sorry to compare). Their sushi was surprisingly expensive at 50 at 6 pieces as well (may normal price point is around 30 to 40 so this is expensive for me, others might think otherwise but this is just my opinion). The sushi is massive almost like a Kimbap but again, average. The only saving grace of our meal was the Unagi Kabayaki, they were generous in having a couple of unagis on the claypot, its creamy, sweet, charred etc.

Maybe qe ordered the wrong things since its an izakaya kind of place but sushis and ramens are standard in a Japanese restaurant. Its average taste could have been acceptable if the price was average as well but with their higher than average price, we expected more and diners deserce more in terms of flavor and quality.

I mean no harm, just constructive criticism and value for money given that we are in a very unstable environment now, people deserve quality on every thing they pay.

Place and food is very instagrammable though sharing...

It's a great little place in the Barsha area. The food is incredible and the staff are amazing. My wife and I went there for dinner and over ordered and over ate cause the food was so delicious.

Must have dishes (basically all we got) Salmon Tacos - raw salmon on an avocado pure with a squeeze of lime and some cilantro. It's fresh and light. Salmon Carpacio - by far one of the best appetizers we had. The fish was super fresh and the flavor combo was wonderful Osaka Beef Gyoza - this was marinaded in a kabayaki sauce, chili garlic sauce, and ponzu. This was one of the best Gyozas we've ever had. Crispy Prawn - another great appetizer. Deep fried prawns with sour cream and chili avo sauce. It's a great burst of flavor. Miso Black Cod - this was our favorite dish of the night. Honestly, this was better than Zuma's and puts it to shame. It's must try. Wawa Negitoro Maki - this was my least favorite dish of the night. It's not bad per se, but everything else was on a different level. This dish had Wasabi, which I'm not a fan of. Jeju Island Cheesecake - incredibly fresh and creamy, with a flaky biscuit and the bottom.

I can't emphasize enough how wonderful this place is. The food is great and it's run by the chef which is always a great thing. Will definitely go again to try more dishes.

Update: went there for another time and got the Nabe this time around... It was phenomenal, another great recommendation,...