The Review
Mimi Kakushi is named for a 1920s Japanese bob — the asymmetric cover-the-ears hairstyle worn by the Moga, the Modern Girls who danced to jazz in Ginza while traditional Japan looked on. The restaurant, opened at the Four Seasons Resort on Jumeirah Beach Road by the RIKAS Group, is a 300-cover love letter to that exact moment: Osaka caught mid-modernisation, where kimono co-existed with Charleston and avant-garde art reshaped taste. The reference is specific — the Mavo movement, Japanese avant-garde — but the execution is restrained. Dark lacquered millwork, deep banquettes, art deco mirror, a long bar along the back wall, a DJ booth that picks up at 10pm. It is the rare themed restaurant where the theme whispers instead of shouts.
The room runs at two tempos. Early-evening, it is a Japanese restaurant — sushi counter, considered pacing, the diffident choreography of Four Seasons service. By 10:30pm it has become something else: a candlelit supper club, the DJ a little louder, the cocktail list taking over. Both versions are worth the visit, and most tables rotate through both across a single evening. Mimi sits in the MENA’s 50 Best list and has been selected by the Michelin Guide Dubai every year since its debut. In World’s 50 Best Bars 2025, its bar programme ranked No. 36 globally — the city’s highest-placed Japanese bar.
The menu is built around playful spins on Japanese classics, designed to share. Hot and cold starters — sashimi, sushi, tempura, gyoza — arrive in the order you order them and work their way around the table. The larger dishes are where the kitchen’s ambition shows. Black cod with miso — a dish every luxury Japanese restaurant has on a card somewhere — is Mimi’s closest thing to a signature, and it is better than most. Kagoshima wagyu, cooked at the table, is the upgrade order. The brunch menu on Saturdays doubles as a Dubai institution in its own right, with live music and a bottomless programme that turns the restaurant into a carnival.
Expect AED 500–900 per person for a proper dinner with drinks — fair value for a restaurant of this calibre on Jumeirah Beach Road. The front-of-house team is one of the best in the city, reflecting the Four Seasons standard, and the wine list is serious without being punishing. Reservations are essential Thursday through Saturday; weeknight walk-ins at the bar are possible and under-used.
Best for First Date
Mimi is, to many Dubai regulars, the city’s most reliable first-date restaurant. The room flatters everyone; the lighting is calibrated; the shared format means no one has to perform the ordering. The 1920s theme is specific enough to supply conversation and subtle enough to avoid gimmick. As the evening moves, the soundtrack builds and the room loosens — a second drink at the bar after dinner is the natural next beat. For birthdays it is almost too good, with a group menu that scales from six to twenty. For team dinners, book a rear banquette and pre-order the chef’s selection.
Signature Dishes
The black cod with miso is the kitchen’s calibrated anchor — a dish where Mimi competes directly with Nobu and holds its own. The Kagoshima wagyu tataki is the table-centre order. The spicy tuna tartare, served with crispy rice, is the most-photographed dish in the restaurant and is on every table by 9pm. The sashimi selection — particularly the kampachi and the o-toro — is cut from daily-flown fish and is noticeably better than most Dubai Japanese at the price. Desserts are famously eclectic; the yuzu cheesecake is the one to order if you order one.
What to Know Before You Go
Mimi Kakushi is in the Restaurant Village at Four Seasons Resort Dubai on Jumeirah Beach Road. Valet parking is complimentary; public parking is available at Four Seasons. Dress is smart elegant — Mimi has a clear dress code and the room runs smarter than most Jumeirah restaurants. Reservations are essential for Thursday through Saturday dinner, available up to 60 days ahead via SevenRooms. Opening hours are Monday to Sunday, 12pm to 2am, with the restaurant transitioning into supper-club mode after 10:30pm. The Saturday brunch is a separate, ticketed programme and should be booked three to four weeks in advance.
Also in Dubai, explore Zuma Dubai for DIFC-business Japanese, Nobu Dubai for the original black-cod kitchen, and Kinoya for ramen-led modern Japanese. For all First Date occasions globally, see our dedicated guide. Read more in our editorial on Dubai Japanese dining.