Dubai isn't short of Japanese restaurants, but genuine teppanyaki counters are surprisingly rare. That's the gap Taiga is stepping into. The new opening on Bluewaters Island comes from the team behind Takahisa, the well-regarded Japanese fine dining spot at Banyan Tree Dubai, and it applies the same ingredient-first thinking to a more theatrical format.
The layout makes the point immediately. A 19-seat teppanyaki counter runs almost the full length of a dim, minimalist dining room, with each seat lit by its own spotlight — the idea being that every guest gets front-row tickets to the cooking. There are a handful of regular tables too, plus a private dining room for up to eight, and a wall of wine fridges stocked with unusual labels.
The kitchen leans hard on provenance. Fish arrives from a specific supplier at Tokyo's Toyosu market six times a week, and the signature steak comes from Ozaki beef, a rare wagyu-style product from a private breeder who sells only 300 cattle a year. The tasting menu is framed around "Itadakimasu", the Japanese expression of gratitude for nature and producers, which in practice means the ingredients — not heavy sauces — carry each course.
A recent review walked through the omakase: a chilled sweet potato soup from Chiba, seasonal sashimi with melt-in-the-mouth tuna belly, foie gras and truffle, and the showpiece — Ise Ebi spiny lobster, flambéed at the counter before half is held back for a later course. The Ozaki sirloin, cooked medium-rare, was singled out as the best of the night, described as so buttery it essentially dissolves. Dessert means a move to a separate table for a hand-made grape sorbet served with dry ice, then strawberry ice with genmaicha tea.
Now the number that decides everything: the omakase runs Dhs2,500 per person, and even à la carte will set two diners back roughly Dhs1,300–1,500. That puts Taiga firmly in special-occasion territory — birthdays, anniversaries, or a one-off splurge for serious food lovers. The verdict from the review was positive: a couple of courses tip into over-richness, but the cooking precision, storytelling and sense of occasion at the counter outweigh them, and it's billed as home to some of the finest beef in the city.
Practically speaking, Taiga sits at The Wharf on Bluewaters Island and opens daily from 12pm to 12am. If you go, book a counter seat rather than a table — the flambé moments and the running commentary on sourcing are the reason to choose teppanyaki at this level. Bluewaters itself makes an easy evening of it, with the Ain Dubai wheel and the island's waterfront dining a short stroll away.
Review by What's On Dubai.
