Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Dubai Hills: We Deserve This (Archives)
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki Dubai Hills extends Reif Othman’s success, reminding imitators that he’s still the one to beat.
I am sharing some posts from the archives [with updates]. You can also read the original article on EatGoSee. If you like or love this review, why not like it, share it with a friend and subscribe!
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Dubai Hills: We Deserve This
Not long ago, there were only two reasons to come here: you were en route to Al Qudra, or you were in the market for a villa.
And boy, are there villas.
Farms of villas sprout like brush, vying for your sweet, sweet deposit.
With villas come residents, wants and expectations. Schools, a business park and, eventually, Dubai Hills Mall, which—hot take—is the best mall in Dubai IMHO.
Yet despite all this there are very few places that I can heartily endorse. [Update: The scene improved considerably since this article was originally published.]
I would know. I put down roots in this part of town [six] years ago. Lowe was the only thirst-quenching oasis in a drought. Lowe’s wood-fired sesame bread is ‘worth a special journey’ IMHO.
“Wait, Liam, if you go into Studio Cit—”
I said what I said. For too long, residents in this area endured dining mediocrity packaged and presented as good. I would munch something so-so around here when I couldn’t hack it out to Jumeirah, Downtown or somewhere better.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki fills a gaping void in the neighbourhood
It was a matter of time until someone answered the call. Step forward: Reif Japanese Kushiyaki. I wrote about the original Dar Wasl location back in 2019. Many, many visits to RJK (and TERO) later, countless “Reif” imitators sprung up across Dubai. You know who you are.
A place that distils sensibility, shrouds complexity with simplicity and shuns both pretentiousness and the gaudy tantara Dubai often gorges on. There’s no dry ice. No dinner-and-a-show. Reif’s is just a nicely decorated restaurant offering solid cooking and solid service. A space where quality speaks for itself, as if we’d forgotten that’s enough.
Reif Othman stands head and shoulders with Dubai’s best
Reif Othman, the chef who helmed Zuma Dubai for years and then pivoted to this devil-may-care, modern Japanese Kushiyaki that others–-imitators, we call them where I’m from-–hungrily chase down for a slice of Dubai’s insatiable appetite for Japanese or Japanese-adjacent.
They want Reif’s Midas touch. The good ones openly consult with him (hi, Mimi Kakushi) while others proffer versions that circle without landing.
The point is this: Reif is one of Dubai’s most accomplished (and self-financed) chefs. His plaque lies waiting to be hanged in the hallowed halls of Dubai’s culinary greats.
With all my frothing praise, one could assume Reif Japanese Kushiyaki is an ultra-fine dining experience or a death row meal for speed dial. A kushiyaki, by nature, is decidedly casual bringing some neighbourhood warmth to Dubai Hills.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki is, indeed, a neighbourhood restaurant made smart. You can see it in the service, the decor. The high ceilings, the woods, the solid tables. The attention to detail from an experienced team long into their stride.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, a shrine to delicious things
Classic favourite dishes like Reif’s wagyu sando and the 18-hour steeped ginger chicken rameng sit shoulder to shoulder with newbies: a miso burrata (which
praised) and grilled avocado with seaweed butter. The hearty mushroom clay pot rice finds a home here too. A dish that single-handedly makes the case that vegetarian eating is some of the best in Dubai.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki’s menu is divided into smaller morsels before getting into more substantial kushiyaki skewers and, of course, Reif’s well-known hearty and star dishes. Prices can stand out, like a marble bun of A5 kagoshima, otoro and bacon jam (yes, bacon jam).
However, Mrs EatGoSee and I find ourselves rolling around like Violet Beauregarde for a bill that, once you take the booze out, came to AED 350 for five dishes split between two people where the priciest dish–-a deliciously-gentrified prawn toast that sings of bright, gently spiced yuzu togarashi mayo and lightly seared prawns that probably went to a good finishing school. This is why Reif has a Bib Gourmand.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki is licensed!
Wait, did you say booze? Oh yes, the Dubai Hills edition is a licensed good neighbourhood restaurant and NOT in a hotel.
A parade of dishes arrives at our table.
The baby corn and sweet corn espuma charred then awakened with yuzu that dares you to not lick the plate. Our cauliflower kushi on a plate scarred with a viscous black sesame sauce, so good, I trace it with my fingertips around the plate fearing not to leave any behind. A duo of red snapper and scallop kushi in an umeboshi brown butter that moonwalks that line between cooked and not. The crispy squid kushi katsu is as good as it was all those years ago with a memorable crunch.
The R.F.W. fried chicken wing is not the only thing that’s stuffed as we cautiously order a banana passion that would make Warhol chortle with approval. Banana cream cools the tangy passion fruit curd encased in yuzu white chocolate that satisfyingly shatters under a fork. A white bud silver needle tea brings us to an end and hopefully staves off gout.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Would I Come Back?
Hard yes. Reif Japanese Kushiyaki answers the brief we need in this part of town. A place casual enough to roll up in shorts (but not in the evenings), jeans and my finest Giving Movement swag. A restaurant that knows I want to eat well. I want my wife and friends to enjoy it, have a drink and not take longer than 20 minutes to get home.
A place that distils sensibility, shrouds complexity with simplicity and shuns both pretentiousness and the gaudy tantara Dubai often gorges on. There’s no dry ice, no dinner-and-a-show, no projected hologram around your plate. (Yes, we are doing this now). Just a nicely decorated restaurant offering solid cooking and solid service. A space where quality speaks for itself as if we’d forgotten that’s enough.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Who Should Come?
Residents of Dubai Hills stretching down Al Qudra to DAMAC Hills 2. Lovers of Reif Otham’s cooking. Casual neighbourhood restaurant seekers. Modern Japanese cooking fans. Dubai Hills Mall shoppers looking for better.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Dubai Hills Business Park, Building 3, Dubai. Also, Dar Wasl Mall, Al Wasl Road, Al Wasl, Dubai. All information is true as of publication. You can find the latest information on Reif Japanese Kushiyaki’s website or call +971 4 255 5142.
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications. You can follow Liam on Substack, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky.
The kimchi melon is a cheat code
This post has reminded me of the goodness that is Reif's prawn toast. I need to get back ASAP!