We had some amazing food in Dubai, but this was definitely my favorite. The executive Chef Ted and his beautiful manager were amazing. So friendly and came to chat with us to make sure everything was just right. The decor will have you looking at all the little details all night. And the food speaks for itself. I would definitely suggest the Spicy Fried Ramen!

Went for lunch. Overall the service sucks big time. Even though only 3 tables were occupied, waited longer than expected for someone just to take my order. After getting my tacos with chives on top, I asked if the other dishes come with it, to be removed. The English skills of the waitress were not great … and the next dish had it again. Had to return it.The food had great presentation, but nothing spectacular when comes to taste. Overall, I would not recommend it.

Very nice and chilled out ambiance. Food was great and service was perfect.Fresh cuts were amazing.Good variety of food and drinks options.

We went to this restaurant for lunch, expecting way more than we got ( based on other reviews). The only really tasty dish from what we ordered was the spicy ramen nudles, everything else was just average and not worth the price, food presentation was good and very pleasant to the eye.Now here is why I left them only two stars - service was very slow ( there was only one other occupied table), the staff didn’t speak good English and never asked for allergies, so I couldn’t eat my appetizer. I let them know I could not eat raw onions ( they never offered to make the appetizer again), but despite the fact, my main course also came decorated with raw spring onions, bit this time I sent it back!

What a fabulous Japanese restaurant where Ive been.All dishes are tasteful and staff are very kind and touchable:)

So here’s the thing !I loved my meal here, I hardly do ever give five star ratings to new places cause always always there’s room for improvement.First things first booking and parking were easy, first over the phone, second the hotel has plenty of self parking spaces.Second and most importantly, the place is warm and cozy! I loved the decor and the vibe. They’ve high tables & restaurant style cubicles & a lovely outer terrace ! So it’s perfect for a quick meal/ drink or a family night out. I did see kids in the restaurant so I’m supposing they are allowed.The menu is on point not twenty pages just a simple slide for what I think is there best dishes. There’s a business lunch, there’s a tasting menu for Wednesday nights and they will be starting brunch in June. For the first two I’ve attached images apologies on the poor lighting.So it’s licensed we ordered drinks instantly whilst we glanced on the menu drooling and deciding what we are trying today and what when we come back next.We were recommended, I do always ask for recommendations, this is my word of advice to you guys too when trying a new place ask the staff it helps.So we ordered :-•Kale & Avo salad•Hamachi ( raw )•Tuna Tacos•Cucumber Pickl• Tiger Prawns• 180 gms Angus Steak• Asparagus• Fried Ramen Bowl• CheesecakeThis is practically half the menu 🤪Everything we tried was delicious ! Again a rare occasion for a newly opened place. Hence the five stars.You can get a better idea of the dishes from my images.But I’ll briefly share my thoughts; I enjoyed the cucumber, the kale salad was a complete surprise giant portion and super crunch brillant ! The tacos are a minimum of two order and I think I wanna order like five orders next time cause they were delicious and finished way too quickly! The fried chicken is the only down item and it lacks the kick I was expecting it to have. Tiger prawns I would pass there’s many other things you can try. The steak is not to be missed off course!! Medium rare perhaps next time.The sides were asparagus and the fried ramen both very decent portions and bursting with flavor.The cheesecake is yuzu flavor and can be improved.#DineOutDubai

Visited for dinner a week ago. Service was good overall with some hiccups, im sure that will smooth over with time- as its still brand new. The food was good especially the nigiris- a few of the rolls had some strange tasting peppercorn looking additions, otherwise overall all was good. The kimchi fried rice was awesome. Music was a bit too loud for an average weekday night.

Does Dubai need another Japanese Izakaya-style restaurant? We seem to read about a new one popping up almost every other week. Well, renowned Dubai chef, Reif Othman (of Zuma, Play, Billionaire Mansion and Reif Kushiyaki fame…in case you’re from out of town…or from another planet) and the First Group seem to think so. Hence the newly opened Ikigai Restaurant and Bar on the 1st floor of the Millennium Place Hotel in Dubai Marina. It’s interesting, just a couple of days ago my friend, Bruce was telling me about this Japanese book he was reading called…Ikigai, the reason for being. And now I find myself dining at a restaurant of the same name – talk about stepping into the twilight zone – nene-nene nene-nene…Central to its handsomely decorated interior is an uncluttered panoramic bar which sets the laid-back, chill-after-work tone of the restaurant…which is what izakaya is all about. There are high tables closer to the bar and semi-cubicles against the outer walls (where we sat) and an outdoor lounging area which, surprisingly, was still in use at this time of year. A testament to Reif’s star-power, although only a few weeks old, the place was buzzing when Yousef and I got there. So, interior and ambiance – check. But what about the food?I’m not a fan of Reif’s Kushiyaki enterprise and came with low expectations. Perhaps that is why I enjoyed so many of the items Yousef ordered (Mashallah, he knows his Japanese cuisine). Highlights for me were the raw, thinly sliced carpaccio-style fish and meat, particularly the Tuna with Truffle Ponzi and also the Hamachi. The Spicy Tuna Tacos were good too if a little gimmicky. I regret ordering the Nigiri; they were oversized…prompting chomping rather than chewing. Next time I will stick to Sashimi. Another disappointment was the Kakiage Burger which was totally out of place. It was the only thing I did not finish. All this said, we both enjoyed our meal.Ikigai is managed by a Romanian beauty by the name of Madalina, a veteran of other Othman enterprises, including Zuma. Her friendly personality and attentiveness made up for whatever lapses in service we encountered (excusable considering that the restaurant has only been open a couple of weeks). Yousef and I both agreed, shortcomings aside, that we would be back. Ikigai – definitely worth a visit.

Wonderful hidden gem in Marinas Millennium hotel. Inspired and designed by chef reif.+Salmon nigiri and sashimiBurger was yumSeafood tacosSalmon Teriyaki-Ramen not really ramenKimchi rice was yum as a side but I wouldnt get it as a mainMatcha filene dessert was a pass

Saw the place on Instagram and decided to drop by for a girls’ night after yoga. The place is sort of like a bar, but not quite the traditional Japanese type. We saw they had Otoro (fatty tuna) and that was sort of the reason that we decided to come.Well we planned to have a feast but after we looked at the menu closely, we could not find things we are very interested in trying from the main section so we decided to order a round of starters first and see how it goes. We had Hamachi in a salad style and Otoro sashimi, followed by a soft crab maki. Otoro is nice by nature but not quite impressive compared to what we had in the past. Sashimi is extra thin and soft crab maki only tasted salty with the pickle inside. All portions are extremely small, even maki is sort of half of the regular size compared to market. We ended up deciding to leave and change restaurant instead of adding our planned main dish and wines. Would not recommend it for eating, maybe ok if you are looking to grab a drink with a bit of snacks? (Btw the cheesecake is good!)

I was there for a brunch but it is just average. Ambiance is good.

Fun night with friends! Had some great sake and food! Highly recommend!

Great atmosphere and beerA great place to have a few drinks

We had a lovely lunch yesterday at ikigai. Its one of the best Japanese restaurants i have tried so far in Dubai. Food and service was excellent. And special shout out to our server Andy, he was just exceptional. Also please do try out their sweet potato dessert it was amazing! Looking forward on visiting again.

Nice place with variety of as japanese cuisine

This place is excellent. The staff were super knowledgeable on the menu (that’s a welcome change from most places in Dubai!). The front of house was lovely and friendly. The food was fantastic and fresh. The cocktails were spot on. Will be going back for sure!

Average food and service.. Drinks were over mixed and diluted.. Did not taste good at all.. Not coming again

Celebrated a friends birthday here and it was fantastic! Amazing food, delicious cocktails and the staff couldnt do enough for us. Really nice ambience and great chill area outside. Cant wait to go back!

The decor and ambiance is warm and inviting, the music is enjoyable however doesnt fit with the theme of the restaurant. The staff are very friendly and attentive, there was never a time we had to flag someone down and get attention. If it wasnt for the staff, I would give this place 1.5 stars if it was an option. They charged 40 AED for water, thats 10 euros and super obnoxious. The water wasnt even a full size of 1.5L, just 750 ML. The food was pretty average at best. We are avid sushi and ramen eaters, and were excited to try the Sushi and Ramen night, and has high expectations from Reif, given the reputation. The sushi rice was seasoned well, however the Nigiri was mostly rice. They didnt have the Tuna, so we opted for Salmon and Hamachi, pretty fresh and nice, though second round, the salmon Nigiri had a funky look and it seemed the skin wasnt properly taken off. The Makis were good, but nothing wow. The ramen, which I was looking forward the most, we had chicken and need Ramen. The broth was super basic, almost as if it was just chicken stock mixed with water. There was no umami flavor, no use dashi or kelp. And no nori as a garnish. The ramen eggs were good perfectly. The beef was barely present, and it was super fatty, the chicken was to charred to be for Ramen, they didnt create a balance. So pretty much average, and I hope Reif is not using his fame to milk out 40AED waters and basic Ramen broths.

Great Venue! Fantastic food and friendly staff!!Very please with our brunch on Friday. Would definitely go back.

Finally a cute little casual Japanese place in that side of town. Loved everything about it

One of the best restaurant in Dubai. Dont miss out. Specially japanese dishes are absolutely the best taste!

Amazing food, helpful staff. Enjoyed the experience. Loved the decor.

Amazing food and cocktails, loved the decor and outside space. Staff were all very attentive. Will definitely be going back

The food was okay; nothing special. We ordered the Ikigai tacos and as highlighted in the menu, the order has to be for a minimum of two tacos. However, you are not allowed flexibility on the fillings and have to order two of the same for an order of two tacos which is fairly rigid especially when one would rather like to try different fillings. The other dishes we had ordered were the pickled cucumber, seared wagyu with truffle ponzu, prawn tempura maki roll and the wagyu beef hot pot. They were not bad but as mentioned earlier, there was nothing special to highlight about any of the dishes. If you are going, do try the Japanese cheesecake. It was great!Another detail I would like to highlight is that the restaurant only offers Voss water and a small one starts at AED 28. Even an aerated drink costs less (AED 22). Dubai has plenty of local water options and other foreign brands so it was definitely disappointing to have no choice and yet having to cough up for water.I would only go back for the cheesecake.

Amazing experience. From the staff to the food. Best sushi in dubai! Gem of a place!

Very good food and services at very reasonable prices

Superb venue, great staff and service, food is really tasty and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a lovely night out in Dubai.

Awesome food, excellent vibe and friendly staff. Love it

100% will be back!! Great atmosphere, drinks were amazing, food was TO DIE FOR. The team in the kitchen are impressive. We started with a round of Kirin beers, chicken goyza, chicken karrage, spicy edamame, the tuna tacos which we asked to be slightly seared as my husband is a bit fussy and they were more than happy to help out. We also had the Kale salad- crispy salty and citrusy with bug chunks of Avocado, We had 2 types of sushi, the spicy tuna and the soft shell crab- yum! The Korean fried rice along with the wagyu (which was incredible, melt in your mouth, done to the chefs recommendation, It was everything we’d hoped for- and more)Our server Bren knew the menu back and forward and chatted openly to us about wines and the menu in general. Ikigai have nailed this one in every aspect, super excited to hear they’ve added a brunch for Friday’s, will see you next week!

Favorite Place in Dubai!

Yummy yummyReally good food and a great little terrace for some tasty cocktails afterwards.

Out of this worldFood and cocktails top notch!

Awesome izakaya with fantastic service, tasty food & nice drinks. All very well priced too, Kanpai!!!

Fantastic food and great service!!

Pleasant experience, japanese style...

Nice Japanese street food .

Really Authentic atmosphere.....

Wonderful atmosphere

Killer food and drinks