Akira Back at W Dubai The Palm.

Each time I visit Dubai my trip focuses on the Dubai foodie scene. You’ll all know by now how much I adore incredible food, and this trip to Dubai was no different. We ate in so many amazing places that I’ll likely do a round-up post of my favourite Dubai foodie spots soon, but until then I really want to tell you all about Akira Back, the new Japanese restaurant in the recently opened W Dubai The Palm!

So, ready to read my review of my Akira Back experience? Let’s go!

Nige and Kristina told me our first dinner in Dubai was a surprise, and I’d find out where we were going when we arrived at the location. Thankfully they know my food preferences *very* well, so I trusted them completely. We pulled up at W Dubai The Palm, and I grinned at them as we got out of the car, “You guys! I LOVE W hotels!”. Well duh, they already knew this (read my review of W Hong Kong). And as the W Dubai The Palm had only opened earlier this year, I hadn’t been yet and they knew how much I would want to go.

After a few drinks at their SoBe bar for ladies night (where ladies get four free drinks tokens each), we headed across to the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Akira Back. Internationally renowned Chef Akira Back has brought his Japanese restaurant to Dubai, and my goodness was it impressive.

The Food at Akira Back Dubai

We had A LOT of food, and unfortunately I didn’t take my camera as I wasn’t expecting to really review or write anything about my trip this time, so apologies for the phone photos. But everything was absolutely incredible, and I can’t recommend it enough if you’re in Dubai and looking for a trendy and sexy Japanese restaurant to dine at. Our first dish was Octopus Carpaccio, a deliciously fresh dish to start our meal…

I had never eaten a Tuna Pizza before, and then while I was in Dubai this time I had it twice: once at Akira Back and the following day at Karma Kafe when Kristina and I went for a late lunch.

This was probably one of my favourite dishes of the night, and for me I would advise everyone who eats fish to order this! The flavours worked incredibly well together, and the freshness of the tuna just made it melt in my mouth.

You’ll notice throughout this review the huge amount of tuna we ordered, haha. I absolutely love raw tuna and it’s one of my favourites, but I don’t eat it very often because work don’t serve it to us due to the high mercury content in the fish. This means that when I eat out, especially at Japanese restaurants, I order a large amount of tuna.

Anyway, our first tuna dish was the Tuna Tataki, perfectly seared and marinated, this was one of those dishes where I was on the edge of my seat hoping Nigel and Kristina would leave their portions so I could have more, hehe. Luckily Kristina left some of hers 😛

I can’t help myself from ordering the Miso Black Cod whenever I see it on a menu. But I always end up comparing it to Roka’s version, and honestly, nothing compares to it. Sadly Akira Back’s Miso Black Cod just wasn’t up to the Roka version so I felt slightly disappointed by it.

The AB Tacos were a firm favourite with all three of us, and I enjoyed the Japanese twist on a classically Mexican dish.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the Scallops in Half Shell, but Nigel loved them.

Sashimi is one of my favourite foods on earth. It’s the type of food I can eat anytime, and don’t really have to ever be ‘in the mood for it’. We chose my two favourites: Tuna Belly and Yellowtail Sashimi, and both were fresh and tasty and served on ice to keep it cool and as fresh as possible.

Similar to Sashimi, I absolutely adore Sushi and can’t visit a Japanese restaurant without ordering it, so naturally I had to try a couple of the rolls on the menu. We chose Akira Back’s Red Dragon Signature Roll and the Spicy Tuna Roll, and both were exceptionally good.

The Horenzo Shira Ae was probably my least favourite dish, but Nigel and Kristina loved it and the Chef told us that its one of his absolute favourite dishes.

By this point I was so full of food that I couldn’t eat much more and wanted to save myself for the Wagyu that was coming next, so I avoided the Seared Greenland Halibut and left it to Nigel to finish off.

You guys, the man has a bottomless stomach…did I ever tell you about the time in Doha when we went to Nando’s and he ordered pretty much the entire menu, so the waiter told him it was too much food and Nigel said ‘watch me’, so every member of staff in the restaurant stood above on the entryway above us to watch him eat it all because they didn’t believe he would finish it all? Well, he finished it all. Anyway, he raved about the Halibut, so I’m guessing it’s a good dish to order!

We finished with the 48 Hours Wagyu Short Rib, which was absolutely unbelievable and I would recommend this dish to absolutely every meat eater who dines at Akira Back.

Sadly we just didn’t have room for dessert. I was so full I actually thought I was going to burst. So we had a wander outside to see Akira Back’s Terrace bar and the view, then headed back to the apartment.

All three of us absolutely loved Akira Back – the food was exceptional, the service was honestly out of this world (the chef himself came out to chat to us about Kristina’s pepper allergies and go over each dish in the menu and what they could adjust for her), and the atmosphere was trendy, sexy, and everything you expect from a fine dining restaurant in Dubai.

It was pricey and cost us around £100 each, but I promise it’s worth it. If you’re visiting Dubai any time soon, make sure you book a table at Akira Back!