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Mimi Kakushi

Dubai

• The Best Bar in the Middle East 2025, sponsored by Les Vergers Boiron

Jazz-age 1920s Osaka and ice-carved martinis await

Dubai has become a second home to Japanese restaurant-bars, and none own their theme more than Mimi Kakushi. Located in the Four Seasons Resort, this ode to "orient nouvelle" takes its name from the popular western hairstyle that became a hit in 1920s Osaka.

A niche angle, but one that unfurls to a world of cross-cultural heritage, when American fashions first crossed the Pacific, bringing with them jazz and cocktails. That confluence of east and west is where Mimi Kakushi revels, through its décor, award-winning food and cocktails.

The drinks here tend to circle back on the venue's theme, its previous menu taking the form of record covers, each song with a cocktail accompaniment – and now the inspiration is movies. The latest list is influenced by the films of 1920s actor Sessue Hayakawa, with each of 11 cocktails engagingly represented – physically and visually – on movie reels.

But the cocktail everyone is still talking about is the Kori Kakushi Martini, Stankovic's spin on the martini serve that almost every hotel and restaurant bar wishes it had come up with. Made with gin infused with Japanese ume and a hint of vermouth, the dry martini is pre-batched and housed in a small bottle which is frozen in a block of ice. So if you like your martinis cold, try having one carved out of ice at your table. It's a pretty cool experience; -20°C, to be exact.

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