Flying food

If you’re looking for a quiet, intimate meal Benihana at Beach Rotana might not be first on your list, but if you’re looking to have more fun than you’ve had with food in years, then book yourself space at one of their teppanyaki stations.

Forget oriental minimalism, Benihana is every bit a contemporary American-Japanese eatery, offering a wide variety of sushi, sashimi, makimono and some of the best teppanyaki we’ve ever tasted, all in a loud and electrifying atmosphere.

Throughout our meal, food was literally flying past our eyes, with prawns, raw eggs and even vegetables springing to life at the slightest touch from our chef. Most of them, thankfully, landed safely back on the stove, but a few found their way on to our plates and one or two even leapt into our chef’s hat!

We started with a wonderful serving of fresh salmon sashimi and some spicy fried rice, before moving on to the main event: Kobe beef teppanyaki and a mixed chicken and shellfish teppanyaki.

The teppanyaki does not represent the cheapest option, but you certainly get more than you could ever possibly hope to eat.

We were nearly finished off by the succulent, but impossibly rich Kobe beef! After a short rest though, and yet more food acrobatics, we were ready to sample the tender slices of chicken and fresh king prawns that had jumped on to our plates.

If you can believe it, we even found space for dessert. A soft serving of melt-in-the mouth ice cream. The perfect end to a fabulously entertaining evening!

Megan Wynes

What? Benihana, Beach Rotana
Cost: Average price for teppanyaki plus dessert AED 200 per person
Why: Food, plus entertainment
We say: A meal here would make a great icebreaker for a first date
Contact: 02 697 9000