Mrs BTR and I were off to watch La Perle (acrobatic water show built within the W hotel) so opted to make the most of the evening out and chose to dine at Namu, also in the W hotel. However, you could easily eat at the St. Regis or Westin – which are both in walking distance.
Namu brings Korean and Japanese food together for a “reinvention of textures and flavours” and gets a massive thumbs up from BTR across all areas after a wonderful dinner experience. We were met at the entrance on the 31st floor of the W Hotel by the hostess who was very friendly, and provided excellent service throughout our whole experience.
Having been directed to our table, we were provided with a beautiful view towards Dubai Canal and overlooking Sheikh Zayed Road – something to appreciate at different times during the evening. Should you book a table between 6-7pm I believe you would really be blessed with a beautiful view of the sunset over the Arabian gulf.
The service at Namu was EXCELLENT from start to finish, from every member of staff that we came into contact with. When we were provided with the menus from the hostess (who also took our order) she took the time to explain multiple dishes to us so we could make an educated decision from a menu in which we could have ordered most of the items.
To start we opted for Yasia Cigar (vegetable spring roll), Baby Squid Tempura, Lobster and Prawn Goyza and Tempura Moriwase (onion, prawn, sweet potato tempura). Each one of this dishes was excellent, well presented and good portion size. It should be mentioned that Namu believes in “sharing open table dishes” so come from the kitchen in no specific order, which was pleasant as we enjoyed the Yasia Cigar before the others followed. The tempura dishes were well portioned (plenty of squid) and the batter was excellent, light and delicious. In addition to this the Goyza were impressively presented, well sized and 5 in a portion – always better than receiving 3/4.
For the main dishes, we ordered Tiger King Prawn, with spicy soy sauce, Hot Thigh Dak Galbi (boneless chicken thigh, cooked on the grill) and La Galbi (Korean pear marinated black angus short rib, pine nut, garlic sauce). The Tiger King Prawns were exactly that – TIGER! Well sized, and cooked perfectly so that the meat came loose from the shell. The Dak Galbi that BTR himself enjoyed was beautifully flavoured with spicy gochujang, the portion size was again very good and the chicken was soft. The La Galbi that Mrs BTR enjoyed (and made her share with me obviously) was presented in a bowl, sizzling on arrival, which she said was tender and flavoursome.
In addition to the main dishes that we ordered just before they arrived each of us was presented with a range of salad leaves accompanied with 3 korean sauces / relish’s to dip in – a nice addition to the meal itself. As mentioned the service throughout our dining experience was excellent; the attention to detail staff took in explaining dishes, regularly topping up table water and care they took during our experience was one of the best BTR has received in Dubai; something I feel restaurants forget and take customers for granted sometimes.
BTR often will enjoy some, most of the dishes they order at restaurants, at Namu every dish was enjoyable and exceeded expectations. The prices are…...not the cheapest, but you get your monies worth with yummy food and good portion sizes. We did not opt for desert (as popcorn at La Perle was too tempting) but the choices that were on offer sounded delish and will be tested next time…..that’s right, there will be a next time.
If your looking for somewhere new to eat, with a beautiful view whilst enjoying Korean, Japanese food then pop down to the W Hotel Duabai, drop the car off at the valet and jump in the lift to the 31st floor for Namu – I doubt you will be disappointed.
See the highlights from Namu in the video below: