Summer Sunset Menu At Katana-Downtown Dubai

Couple of days back I was invited to Katana, a Japanese Robata and Sushi bar to try their summer sunset menu. If you want to try something different for Iftar than the usual Iftar buffets, Katana is the place for you. The summer sunset menu is available till the end of August.

Located at The Address Downtown roundabout, Katana offers a stunning view of Burj Khalifa. Katana is a latest import from LA, and a welcome new addition to the thriving food scene in Dubai.

Katana is an uber stylish and chic venue. It oozes glamour. It is a spacious place with a separate bar and dining area. They have an outdoor dining area too. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. Dim lights, elegant and modern decor, classy tableware and great music enhances the dining experience at Katana.

After we arrived at Katana, we were taken to the bar area and offered couple of Ramadan inspired mocktails-Banana Moon and Strawberry Pearl. These mocktails are a part of their summer sunset menu. I am not a fan of mocktails, hence didn’t enjoy the drinks. The summer sunset menu offers mocktails, juices and soft drinks.

In a few minutes our table was ready and we moved from the bar area to the dining area. From our table we could see the Robata grill, where the chefs were in action. Robata in Japan means cooking with open flame.

The summer sunset menu has two options-AED 180 or AED 245. It can be shared between two people.

If you are a vegetarian like me, don’t despair. The set menu offers few vegetarian dishes, but they will specially craft the vegetarian dishes on request. Let me tell you the vegetarian perspective of my dining experience at Katana.

Here’s the list of what we had:

• Edamame: Steamed edamame was served warm with sea salt sprinkled on it. What a fresh and delightful way to start our dinner.

• Garden Salad: The garden salad was made with freshest of the greens in a lightly tossed soy vinaigrette dressing. The salad was tasty and crunchy.

• Grilled Skewers: We vegetarians were offered corn, asparagus and shitake mushroom skewers. They were grilled Robata style and the perfectly grilled veggies were super moist and had that amazing smoky flavor.

• Vegetable Tempura: We were offered a variety of tempura like mushroom, eggplant, bell peppers and kale. They were hot, non greasy, crispy and delicious.

• Veg Sushi Roll: The sushi roll had an outside layer of sesame seeds, a layer of seasoned rice and a filling of avocado and cucumber. It was fantastic.

• Spicy Tofu: Stir fried tofu that had the right amount of spice was topped with a sweet and spicy ginger based sauce. This is one dish even the hardcore meat lovers will relish. A must-have dish in Katana if you ask me.

• Ingen Itame: Are the long green beans sautéed with garlic sauce. You can’t go wrong with such a basic dish. It was a bit too oily for my liking.

• Vegetable Fried Rice: It was the kind of fried rice that is served in most of the Japanese restaurants in Dubai, nevertheless it was good.

•Apple And Banana Harumaki: It is a fritter with a filling of pieces of bananas and apples. It was served along with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Loved it.