Saratoga Wagyu A5, Hokkaido sea urchin, ankimo, and a potato aged for more than a year. These were the ingredients listed on the menu. No, I wasn’t in Japan at a three-Michelin-star temple of kaiseki, but at ROW on 45 in Dubai, led by a British chef. A culinary journey through Japan was not what I expected—yet it turned out to be one of the evening’s greatest surprises.
Dubai is famous for its unapologetic approach to luxury and its ability to source the best ingredients in the world. Even with that in mind, this quality of ingredients came as a surprise.
ROW on 45 is located on the 45th floor of Grosvenor House. From here, the view stretches uninterrupted across Dubai Marina, the giant Ferris wheel rising in the distance—its scale inevitably recalling the London Eye.
The first four snacks immediately set the tone: a tour of Japan executed with confidence and finesse. Visually striking, technically flawless, and deeply satisfying. Herbs were aligned with almost obsessive precision, temperatures were carefully calibrated in the oyster dish where warmth and chill played perfectly together—and an ankimo tuile shattered cleanly with each bite. It was a dominant display of skill, ingredients, and control.
I was then guided into the main dining room and seated directly in front of the kitchen. On the menu in front of me, my name had been handwritten in immaculate script. I admired both the gesture and the craft behind it. My name has never looked more beautiful—and likely never will again.
The journey through Japan’s most luxurious ingredients continued. First came one of my absolute favorites: Hokkaido sea urchin. If you’ve never tried uni from Hokkaido, you should—it’s smaller, bred in colder waters, and remarkably sweet. Here, it was paired with a warm langoustine custard, langoustine tartare, sudachi, and a delicate mirin sauce. Balanced, elegant, and deeply indulgent—only a touch of yuzu zest was missing from perfection.
Next came a dish rooted in humility: soba. One of my favorite things to eat in Japan. ROW clearly respects Japanese craftsmanship and tradition, but wisely chooses not to imitate. Cold, hand-rolled noodles were served with king crab, while the broth was lifted with yuzu and wasabi—an intelligent nod to Dubai’s warmth rather than Japan’s chill. What made the dish stand out was how tradition and originality merged into something distinctly their own.
Custom chopsticks, carved with my name, were placed in front of me for the next courses. First: a king crab leg cloaked in a flawless tempura batter. Delicious—but it would soon be overshadowed.
Then came the dish. A potato. Humble by nature, yet here transformed into the undeniable star of the evening. It had been slowly ferments for more than 500 days in the snow which had slowly broken down the starch into sugar giving it a unique flavor. Cooked in ashes to achieve an impossibly fluffy, sweet interior, it was supported—not dominated—by otoro and caviar. The saltiness of the caviar and the richness of the tuna amplified the potato rather than competing with it. This dish will stay with me for years, and it has set a benchmark against which I will measure every potato I eat from now on.
From softness and delicacy, we moved to texture. Tilefish, a personal favorite, delivered exactly what I love most about it: scales fried to a shatteringly crisp finish. It was the perfect segue into the final savory course—a comforting yet complex dish inspired by the forests surrounding Kyoto. Venison, persimmon, dark chocolate, smoked bone marrow, and peppercorns created a composition that was at once familiar and surprising, grounded yet lifted by contrast.
Dessert arrived too soon—unfortunate only because I didn’t want the evening to end. It began with a cheese course pairing British blue cheese with white chocolate, presented with the same surgical precision as the opening snacks. Next came a deceptively simple dish: aged red miso with rose barley and sea salt. Savory, deep, and quietly powerful. The final dessert featured pristine Japanese Muscat grapes with sweet-and-acidic shiso kakigori—a fitting, refreshing conclusion.
In the lounge, as an impressive petit four cart was rolled out, it became impossible to ignore the thought that this was one of the most immaculately executed meals I’ve had in a long time. The quality of ingredients rivaled anything I’ve experienced outside Japan, and—more importantly—the chefs knew exactly how to treat them. Nothing was overworked, nothing forced. The potato, improbably, stole the spotlight from both otoro and caviar, while a humble bowl of soba delivered profound satisfaction. Taking on such a classical Japanese dish requires both courage and craftsmanship—and ROW clearly has both.
Throughout the evening, I found myself smiling constantly. When I spoke with the chef afterward, the only criticism I could offer—after genuine thought—was that multiple servers asked me the same two questions several times: Is this your first time in Dubai? and Which dish was your favorite? In the context of an otherwise near-perfect evening, it felt almost reassuringly human.
ROW stands for Refinement of Work, and ROW on 45 is exactly that: refined, confident, and deeply impressive.
Practical information
Location: Dubai
Menu: 15 course tasting menu
Website: www.row45dubai.com
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