Zuma - Restaurant Award Winner

We try the Friday brunch at this popular Japanese spot 21 Reviews

Meal Deal

Zuma

Dhs325 non-alcoholic. Dhs495 with free flowing champagne. Children under 11 free Timings: 12.30pm-4pm (Friday)

Zuma

Enjoy a set lunch for Dhs110 Timings: 12.30pm-3pm (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

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There’s a reason Zuma is Dubai’s premiere nightlife destination. In the evening, the exquisite light fixtures twinkle over an expansive space packed with scenesters. The view from the inside is what brings people back night after night. It’s a whole other story in the daylight hours. When there isn’t an eager crowd of Zuma-lovers to distract you, the sheer expanse of the restaurant really hits you, as does the unfortunate views of scaffolding and construction out the windows.

Still, because it is Zuma, the Friday brunch manages to draw a crowd, albeit a diminished one. This is a somewhat surprising feat given the brunch’s exorbitant Dhs325 price tag, which couldn’t help but raise my expectations. Might this, I thought, beat Al Qasr for best brunch? I mean, it’s Zuma, after all. Clearly they were going to pull out all the stops given how much they were charging. Sadly, they didn’t.

For what you pay, the brunch is pretty modest. We got a starter of edamame, miso soup and Zuma’s famous crispy fried squid with green chilli. The first time I had tried the squid, at Dubai’s Festival of Taste last November, it was light, tender and still sizzling. This batch, by comparison, was luke warm, chewy and overburdened with pepper and chilli. It would have made a passable bar snack, but had no place in an overpriced fine dining venture. There is also an all-you-can-eat buffet with sushi, cold salad and a live cooking station manning Japanese-style kebabs from off the robata grill.

Even so, neither my date nor I were overwhelmed by the quality of the offerings. Tender, melting sushi and sashimi were definitely the best pick, as were some beautifully fresh oysters with a zesty yuzu marinade. The grilled items, however, were a bit hit or miss, depending on how long they rested on the grill before we got to them. The skewers of steak we plucked immediately from the grill were juicy and nicely smoky, while other items were disappointingly tough. Little of what we gathered, however, left much of an impression.

Diners are also presented with a truncated version of the dinner menu – though all the Zuma classics are there. This is not an all-you-can-eat à la carte affair, however; customers can choose one main each. My qualm here is not with the quality of what’s presented – in this instance both the miso black cod and lamb chops were as good as I had remembered; the cod was almost like a savoury pudding and the lamb juicy and perfectly rare. The issue, I felt, was that, again, for Dhs325 (Dhs495 with alcohol), choosing only a single item off the menu felt a bit stingy. The meal ended with the waiter bringing over a selection of desserts, handpicked by the chef. These were good; I’ve always loved Zuma’s green tea cake, which came served with ice cream, an accompaniment of macaroons and a gooey chocolate mousse with a sweet yuzu filling.

Perhaps inflated expectations were to blame for our disappointment in what felt like an overpriced and lacklustre meal. Regardless, I couldn’t help but feel cheated by the whole Zuma brunch experience.

By Daisy Carrington
Time Out Dubai, 11 October 2009

• Previous reviews
  • 22 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 13 October,2008- reviewed by Daisy Carrington

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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.

Posted by: ahmad on 26 Oct ' 09 at 15:23

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Been there for dinner. it was jam pack & full house. service was ok not that perfect but i understand why they behave that way. big scale of restaurant... basically its not noodle chain restaurant but this is how they want it to be i suppose. need to improved on the service only.

food was perfect. fresh & worth to pay for. i put full stars on value as i know what im paying for as they are not a local fishes from the market. its all overseas & surprise they can maintain it well to keep it fresh. i rather come here often as i know the food will always be fresh due to a high volume of people dines in. to all the people out there. see it to believe... Nobu is too old now!!! need more enegry.. this is the real thing. ZUMA is the best....

Posted by: joker on 15 Oct ' 09 at 11:31

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

i never seen service so bad in my life - dinner 900 for 2 + 700 wine ... been asked to leave in less than 2 h and move to the bar - carp - wont ever go back there and will tell everyone this

Posted by: Lara on 07 Sep ' 09 at 08:50

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I love the restaurant... the ambiance, food, drinks, service just perfect

They need to work on the music though!

Posted by: Fakina on 12 Aug ' 09 at 12:45

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FoodAmbienceValue

Awesome, service is awesome, food is awesome

Posted by: Swati Pant on 01 Aug ' 09 at 05:44

OverallService

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Been there before and I like the food however got so so put off by the person confirming my table this time that decided not to go. Tables only for 2 hours and I asked her what if I dont finish my meal by then? Well if there is no booking we won't push you to leave was the response? That I think is ghastly - PUSH me to leave? I am a paying customer and i thought this was about customer service. While I understand the need for higher customer throughput ,we are not discussing a noodle canteen here. for all those people who say lots of UK restaurants operate this way - firstly this is not UK and having dined in the UK several times, I wonder what restaurants are they talking about. Rushing someone through a meal in two hours at a reasonably expensive place is not acceptable anywhere in the world unless you are perhaps at a fast food chain.

Customer service is defined by places like Reflets and seriously restaurants need to take some lessons from them.

So i guess it is goodbye Zuma for me. The food is not that great to put up with this rubbish !

Posted by: Maria on 30 Jul ' 09 at 07:07

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The food is great, the ambience is unlike any other place in Dubai, the staff is friendly and attentive, yes, no one is perfect, but they do their jobs quite nicely! - Yes, I am a ZUMA FAN!

Do any of the revieweres that said they wouldn't go back because they were asked to leave the table ever Listened to the receptionists explaining this over the phone when the booking was being made, or the second reminder when you are being taken to your table???...In UK many high end restaurants opearate this way?

Also, there is no starters or main courses at Zuma, it's a first made-first-served dish policy, emphasizing in sharing food! - which suprisingly enough it is also explained to you at the table bythe wiater -If all dishes came at the same time, quality of the food served would be compromised and you'd be eating in Yo-Sushi!!!

Maybe I've been very lucky during all my visits....but it also helps to pay attention to staff, rather than just ignoring them while we talk away with our friends or try to impress our new lady/man/colleagues!

Just sit down, enjoy the food and stop whinning!

Posted by: Sharad on 18 Jul ' 09 at 09:54

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

It is expensive and classy. If you don't have the wallet for it, then please don't write nasty reviews. It has a 100% occupancy rate at any given time.

Posted by: Saadia Khan on 11 Jun ' 09 at 08:26

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

when it gets busy, the service gets sporadic and the hot food often arrives vey tepid/cold- this is esp true if you eat in the lounge area upstairs. but my biggest gripe are the ridiculous prices which unfortunately let this sleeky designed, buzzy place down...heaven help you if you decide to have a few drinks with your meal.

Posted by: Yamada on 26 Apr ' 09 at 08:24

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I am Japanese and my friend took me here. As Japanese, we dont really expect decent Japanese food in Dubai, but my friend and I were very happy about the quality of food and the staff. They actually care about the real way of presenting Japanese food and the Japanese service in details, which I was very surprised. So I think if you are non-Japanese, you will be surprised how the food looks or tastes different from other `Chinese-Japanese rentaurant..' because the food in here are actually much more real(or similar) in Zuma..

I would not say all the food are exactly the same as the one in Japan, but they still use lots of real Japanese ingredients and present it in a very artistic way and sometimes surprise us with the very delicious fusion of Japnese - western food. And we can experience the fancy atomosphere and be served by very profesional & friendly staff.

The only thing is the Ambience outside of the restaurant. It was a shame there was not a good view from the window...and since my friend paid for me..I think the price would be expensive for me to afford.. ..But definitely would recomend anyone who are willing to pay and experience somethings new in Dubai.

Posted by: Sam on 19 Apr ' 09 at 17:38

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The food is excellent. I find the set lunch extremely good value for the quality of the food. The sushi is fresh and the sushi rice is well prepared. The grilled dishes are autherntic. I agree the waiters do not know when to clear the plates and when to leave them. A good place for expense accounts.

Posted by: Smruti on 15 Apr ' 09 at 09:37

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Loved my experience at Zuma. Went there for drinks -- decided to have dinner and we were seated immediately at the sushi bar. Food was great and service was exceptional. Both the sushi chef and another member of staff took the time and seemed genuinely interested in answering all my questions, even though the restaurant was packed. In fact to the amusement of my friends I ended up in a 15 minute conversation with one their staff on the sourcing of their fish.

At many restaurants you can expect and be delivered really tasty well presented food, but the difference is truly in the staff -- and at Zuma I found the staff to be engaged, friendly, and knowledgeable. A real treat! Plus the food was very good!

Posted by: ayesha on 05 Apr ' 09 at 16:07

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

very good food! though expensive! like the place.

Posted by: Martin on 01 Apr ' 09 at 20:22

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Now I must say Timeout should review who is on their panel to give Zuma the best japanese restaurant award!

Disgracefully poor service, definitely overpriced as some people commented, and the staff have no clue of what is hospitality is all about!

I was moved out of my table and was given the option to go to the bar before I was able to get to my desserts! Disgraceful! I had a 1200 dhs bill (2 people) . I can confidently say that visit had my last contirbution to Zuma's overly priced food!

Posted by: julian skyrme on 01 Apr ' 09 at 07:07

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

The best you must be kidding, we had a reservation and everything went well untill we were hounded off our table. We had not finished our meal plus a rather pricey bottle of wine. We were then asked to take the bottle to the bar. This type of service will never survive in Dubai. By the way to the manager who removed us from our table, drink carries the highest margins who are you trying to kid, thats why you served the bottle of wine and 5 mins later refused the order of additional food. Long live Nobu and i hope Zuma hits the wall.

Posted by: Heather on 01 Apr ' 09 at 06:57

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Has to be the best restaurant in Dubai abeit at a cost. Everything sampled was delicious and having been 3 times with hungry boys, believe me we've tried most dishes!

The decor is fabulous and comfortable. The table under the stairs should be removed, for the prices they charge, you really do not wanna be sat there, it removes from the otherwise superb dining experience.

2 hour time limit on the table is annoying but this is something that is voiced loudly at the time of booking and fairly standard in these types of restaurants.

My favourite place in Dubai without a doubt.

Posted by: Anne on 17 Mar ' 09 at 12:47

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Probably one, if not the worse dining experience I've ever had! Me and my husband enjoy fine dining and therefore have experienced some of the best restaurants around the world. Zuma Dubai is an extremely pretentious restaurant trying to mimic the likes of Nobu but with great fail on all aspects: food, service and value. It can much better be described as a bar/ pick up joint than a quality fine dining restaurant and yet you end up with a blown up bill as if you had eaten at a top gastronomic restaurant. The advice I can give is, if you're not looking for three course meal go ahead, as their "2hours" only dining gap barely takes you to desserts! In our case, we were served our 600 AED wine bottle just five minutes before our "two hours" was over which lead us to not being able to order additional foods, obviously not finish our wine and skip desserts!!!! And may I add all for a 1900 AED bill after 2 hours. I understand the restaurant industry needs to be profitable but during these two hours we had been ordering a considerable amount of food and were only trying to get our desserts! This kind of mentality goes against what hospitality industry stands for and restaurants of this sort should not be allowed to practice. The whole experience was highly embarrassing as we were dining with guests.

Posted by: Yann on 10 Mar ' 09 at 18:01

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Chris on 17 Feb ' 09 at 04:59

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I went in the evening, but I think this place would be great for a lunch. Food was very good, and service was not as bad as previous reviews. They tried to give us one of the 1st tables by the stairs when one of our party had booked one far from the entry by the windows, but this was quickly sorted out. Waiter was nice guy from Zuma London, which put me at ease..he was charming, friendly and efficient. It is expensive, don't order too much like we did.. if you're still hungry you can order more dishes as you go along..I would def go back, one of the more stylish places in Dubai for sure, mind you my view was out the window and not into the restaurant, so no idea what the crowd was like..

Posted by: Brett Scyan on 09 Feb ' 09 at 09:03

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Extremely overpriced when you can have similar if not a LOT better dishes in a restaurant in Souk Al Bahar, Old Town, think its called Momotara....

The traditional Gintara Miso in Zuma, very well cooked although the accompanying sauce is too tangy and definitely not the right one for the dish. Service was just OK, absoultely nothing personal about it, they seemed to know what they are doing although not well versed with the menu when it came to making recommendations. From the reviews read above, it seemed that waiters did not know when to clear a dish or serve one in time, they were either too slow in serving or too fast in clearing, things like that could definitely be avoided if they had only tried to connect with the customer and understand what they really want for the exorbitant price paid. The Sake list is also rather difficult to understand neither was the sommelier able to help (who had decent knowledge of the wines but steered us into having the warm hous sake)

The maki portions were miniscule for the bombshell of a price paid which is definitely for the location, name and ambience. If you really do want to impress someone, do check out Momotara in souk al bahar.

Posted by: Jon Dyke on 05 Feb ' 09 at 10:51

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

I though I was the only person in Dubai who found it terrible. Decor is ok, but pretty standard nowadays in terms of style venue. Nothing different.
Service was an utter joke. A team of 7 poring over the reservations book, whispering, looking for our names while we waited for what seemed an age. Took an age to order, and meals were then being removed from under our noses while still eating. Food was 'ok', very overpriced.
Don't believe the hype.

Posted by: Sal on 23 Dec ' 08 at 14:33

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The food at this establishment is tremendous! I mean tremendously good. The ambience during dinner time of for a drink at the bar or lounge upstairs is unmatchable. The decor is divine. But alas, in Dubai there is no such thing as a perfect place. The service is abhorable! I mean, it is so far below the standards set by the food and ambience that it is a HUGE let down. Just bear this in mind when you go. Be prepared to be disappointed by the service and you will be able to enjoy the food.

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