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Mimi Kakushi

Dubai

• The Best Bar in the Middle East & Africa 2024, sponsored by Naked Malt

Dubai does high-concept venues better than most and the Japanese restaurant-bar Mimi Kakushi is no exception. Set in the Four Seasons Resort, the venue takes its name from the popular western hairstyle that became a hit in 1920s Osaka. From this esoteric moment in time, the theme unfurls to the age of jazz and the first elements of American culture to cross the Pacific. Indeed, Mimi Kakushi is imbued with the rhythm of the West and the taste – in food, drinks and décor – of the East.

The cocktail menu here takes the form of a collection of records, which you flick through to find a drink and concurrent musical pairing. The Kiyo Mizu is coupled with Hideo Shiraki's Matsuri No Genso and translates to ‘clear water’. A stunning, clarified cocktail, it is made from Nikka Days Japanese whisky, Tia Maria, vanilla, yuzu juice and is garnished with matcha chopsticks. But the showstopper here is the Shadrach, a dry martini housed in a small bottle and frozen into a block of ice. Chiselled out before your eyes, it’s very cool – in fact, it’s served at -20°.

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