Kona Grill is a fully-licensed, American-Asian themed restaurant with a spectacular waterfront view. Located at the modern, marina end of the amazing new Marsa Al Seef development, it’s almost dead opposite the US Consulate on Al Seef Road, Southeast of Bastakiya. Don’t bother with parking, dedicated valet is available; just honk. Similar to licensed restaurants at that other newly launched Meraas project, La Mer, the licensed end of the restaurant is reserved for the upstairs, which in this case can be accessed by stairs or…hmm, elevator. The general décor and ambience of the restaurant are posh sports bar meets nightclub with lots of huge flat screens mixing it up with ambient lighting and boom-boom music. There are outdoor seating areas both downstairs and up. Irrespective of where you choose to seat yourself, your first reaction is bound to be – wow!
If it’s got a ‘grill or grills’ in its name, you really don’t want to be ordering. It’s kinda like ordering a Tomahawk steak at a seafood restaurant. Kona Grill has a dedicated sushi bar downstairs but if you ask their wait staff what their best sellers are, they’ll tell you it’s their steak. I ordered the New York strip and was pleasantly surprised with how close to the medium rare I ordered their kitchen got its doneness, and also what a wonderful sear they got on both sides. Themashed potato it was served with was the best I have had outside my own home.
My wife, however, was not at all impressed with her sushi. Thankfully for me, I told her so. Personally, I would have taken our waitresses advice and ordered the catch of the day.
Service, from welcome to goodbye, was excellent. I was so impressed with the wait staff, who were genuinely friendly, accommodating and super-fast with whatever we asked for. One reason for this could be the fact that we were the ONLY people sitting upstairs – Sad. Although a little slow now, I am sure things will pick up for this gem of a restaurant. I am told they are packed over the weekends. In addition to recommending the restaurant itself, I also recommend visiting this totally rejuvenated ‘old Dubai’ waterfront. Thank you, Meraas for bringing back my Dubai.
Waste NOT. Want NOT.
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