I had lunch earlier today at Katsuya, the new Japanese fusion restaurant that was brought to Kuwait from Los Angeles by Alshaya. The restaurant isn’t open yet but I was lucky enough to get invited for a sneak peek so I headed there with a few friends of mine to try it out.
What originally got me interested in Katsuya is the partnership with product and interior designer Philippe Starck. I’m a huge fan of his work and was actually hoping he would be coming to Kuwait for the opening but that’s sadly not happening. Katsuya is currently only open in California and Florida and their first international branch is opening up here in Kuwait followed shortly by Dubai. According to the Vice President of Katsuya who I had the pleasure of meeting, Philippe Starck had to reinvent the interior design for the Middle East. Their US locations use feminine beauty in the design, mostly the eyes and lips so for the Middle East they wanted something more appropriate and fitting with the local culture so Philippe Starck went back to the drawing board and reworked the brand with the future in mind. The result is a fusion of Japanese samurais and art resulting in a design full of colors and movement.
We sat down and ordered their cocktails first. I originally ordered the Strawberry Fields but after trying my friends drink called Burning Mandarin I decided to swap mine for that. It’s a bit spicy but worked really well with the starters. For our dishes we let the waitress make most of the choices for us while me and my friends chose a few dishes we were interested in trying. The result? We ended up with a ton of food, so much that I actually made them email me the list since I wasn’t able to track everything. This is what we had:
– Sautéed Shishito Peppers
– Edamame Humus
– Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
– Spicy Albacore Sashimi with Crispy Onion
– Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna
– Stuffed Eggplant
– Creamy Rock Shrimp
– Wagyu Filet with Foie Gras
– Miso-Marinated Black Cod
– Japanese Mushroom BOP
– Sashimi Sampler
– Special Katsuya Roll
– Kiwi Scallops
– Double Chocolate Lava Cake
– Mochi
– Espresso Brownie Bar
I found the food style very similar to Zuma and Australasia which is great since there isn’t anything similar to that here in Kuwait. From the items I tried the ones I would highly recommend are:
– Edamame Humus
– Stuffed Eggplant
– Miso-Marinated Black Cod
– Japanese Mushroom BOP
If there is one dish you NEED to try its the Stuffed Eggplant. I know I know it doesn’t sound like much and I honestly HATE eggplant, I can’t stand it but this is so different. The eggplant is stuffed with tuna and almonds covered in a sweet miso glaze. It’s actually not a top seller in the States but my guess is it’s going to be a big hit here.
The dishes aren’t that expensive. We didn’t pay for our meal but I do have a PDF of the menu which you can download at the end of this post and really most of the dishes are priced pretty fairly. The black cod dish is around KD14 but it was also the largest piece of black cod I had ever been served. I actually asked the waitress if this was their regular serving size or a large portion just for us, that’s how big it was. The Edamame Humus (genius idea btw) is KD2.950, the Stuffed Eggplant KD3.950 and the Mushroom BOP which is a fairly large portion is priced at KD5.450.
If you’re interested in trying the place out, Katsuya is officially opening this coming Wednesday from 12 noon at Avenues Phase III near Cheesecake Factory. You can download and check out their menu below and make sure you try the Stuffed Eggplant, that’s the dish that’s going to make me keep going back.
30 replies on “Katsuya by Starck”
The prices certainly rock! It’s no more expensive than TGI Fridays or Ruby Tuesday. But I hope the quantity is good. Would certainly visit when it opens. Kuwait is definitely becoming one of the top countries in the Middle East to have upscale and luxury restaurants which is a great idea. However I am also missing the run of the mill hamburger and pizza joints available in the US. There was a restaurant called the quarterback club in my college town. It sold fries, burgers, rueben melts and fried chicken. Thats it!
And when can we see Iron Man?
When will it open? And where?
Man who puts a Zuma-type experience in the middle of a crowded mall -_-
the kind of person who wants customers to actually come to his restaurant.
The PF Changs in Avenues and next to Corniche have almost the same sales
That could be true but how many people found out about PF Chang because it was open in the Avenues? It’s like having a billboard on the highway except you probably get more traffic at avenues.
I like bacon!
Are you ok with ordering more than you need because you have the money to spend? Even though you may or may not consume it all if you pack it up.
I can’t be a hypocrite, even i’m guilty of it. Not to the extent depicted here.
I didn’t understand your question.
I didn’t want to come across as impolite so i left out the ‘just’.
Are you ok with ordering more than you need ‘just’ because you have the money to spend?
I’ll try to be polite with my reply as well.
It’s none of your business how much food I order and how much food I eat.
KD14 for some black cod? That’s an expensive piece of fish.
Black cod is an expensive fish
Can’t say I’ve ever had to pay KD14 for a piece though, at least not in Japan or the US.
I’m pretty sure within the next few weeks, Its gonna be PACKED with customers and lines and after that, It’s gonna be more empty than a ghost town!. Remember Cheesecake Factory?
I’m heading there for lunch today so I hope not
Actually the prices aren’t really casual dinning so I doubt it’s gonna have lines like Cheesecake Factory
Why oh why can’t we have decent restaurants outside of malls?! 🙁
Just got here and it’s not packed thank god
Hope you had a nice lunch! The food looks amazing, but I think I will pass on this restaurant and wait until it opens in Dubai for a better dining experience, but the restaurant looks beautiful. Also, a lot of people will not go to the mall at night (ie the cleaver incident?)
It’s opening in Dubai Mall on December 2nd
What’s gonna be better about the Dubai one? Same owners, same staff, still in a mall.
You can have a glass of wine with the black cod. That’s what gonna be better 🙂
There is no alcohol in Dubai Mall
oh, I thought this was near Zuma, outside the mall.
No Alcohol in Alshaya Restaurants EVER!
No you can’t.
I went today based on what you wrote….. result : Food are fine ( not that great taste ) price : REALLY Expensive for japanese restaurant …… i ordered : Cucumber sonumoni , Wagyu beef teppayak with 4 kind of mushrooms i , Mushroom rice BOPS , 2 mochi dessert & Ice tea , price : 35 K.D for 1 person ??? … cucumber was delicat for a starter , mushroom rice nothing great about it (its just a japanese rice coocked with garlic , 3 kind of mushroom ) , teppanyakj was reaply disspointing (18 K.D for 7 small pieces of meat that wasnt coocked properly & 4 kinds of mushroom that doesnt make a diffrence in taste ) , ORANGE BLOSSOM ICE TEA ( Not a good ice for ice tea fans ) , MOCHI DESSERT ( Really delicious & unique , i recommend The MANGO & MATCHA GREEN TEA , Also the strawberry is really smooth & velvety …. Chocolate is not delicious …… in other japanese restaurants i can order : 1 miso soup , 1 green salad , 1 beef tepanyaki , 1 yasai tempura , 1 edamame , green tea dessert only for 23 K.D & you can enjoy tbe delicious food
What you’re paying for extra here is the wagyu beef which is a lot more expensive than regular beef. If you replace that with a regular dish you end up paying as much as other Japanese restaurants.