Housing Japanese culinary craftsmanship, Origami Sushi has announced the opening of its fifth location within the Emirates, as it opens the doors this week to its first Abu Dhabi venue, located at Marsa Al Bateen Marina. With locations in both Dubai and Sharjah, Origami continues its expansion, making the Capital its third home for the charming Japanese restaurant.
The design and architecture of Origami Marsa Al Bateen focuses on simple forms through natural materials and organic shapes that reflects the simplicity and minimalism of traditional Japanese culture and cuisine. The newest branch presents a temple-like structure with the walls kept in their original state of rough concrete, enhancing the existing structure, with all its incompletions and imperfections. The space is divided into indoor and outdoor seating areas. The indoor area features an open space comprising a sushi bar and main dining area. Coated in a glossy deep red paint finish, which has been applied to half of the walls, and bespoke terracotta flooring, the combination instills the eatery’s ethnic Japanese feel throughout the venue. Incorporating a mixture of one-off and standard furniture with irregular shaped customized items also provides an ethnic yet contemporary style that feels inherently Japanese in design. This includes traditional Fratelli Levaggi wooden chairs as well as original handmade Tuareg carpets as a reinterpretation of tatami—a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms.
Tucked away from the bustling ambiance of the main dining area, the ‘koshitsu room,’ or private dining, offers a serene and personalized setting for up to 8 guests, exclusively found at Origami Marsa Al Bateen. It is designed to create an intimate Japanese dining experience with dedicated kitchen and service staff – the perfect setting for group gatherings, celebrations, and family dinners. Guests can enjoy both the a la carte menu as well as the option of special items that are made to share, with the added theatrics of the Origami Chefs preparing some of the dishes in front of guests on a transportable serving tray. Available to be pre-booked through the website, the room has a unique table set up that is different from the rest of the Origami locations and includes printed table manners, providing guests with recommendations on how to consume presented items based on Japanese traditions.
For the menu, Abu Dhabi patrons are in for a treat with the venue offering a mix of signature dishes found across its other locations as well as those exclusive only to Origami Marsa Al Bateen. The Japanese fusion menu includes a selection of items, from soup, small plates, and salads to sushi, robata (or fireside cooking), skewers and large plates. Abu Dhabi location exclusives include; Prawn Tempura, deep fried tiger prawns coated in tempura batter with sweet dashi sauce (AED 51), Wagyu ribeye, 300g of wild river farm wagyu ribeye served with wasabi salt and shiso negi (AED 297), Chicken Tsukune skewers, 2 skewers of minced chicken with shiso pepper and tare sauce (AED 43) and Black Angus skewers, 2 skewers of beef tenderloin marinated in yakiniku sauce (AED 49).
Other signature dishes not to miss includes; small plates such as Japanese Tuna Pizza, toasted flour tortilla bread and thin slices of tuna, drizzled with black truffle oil (AED65) and Wagyu in Potato Chips with diced wagyu in chilli teriyaki with creamy cheese in homemade potato chips (AED44). Move on to choose a selection of Uramaki, Maki, Sashimi, Nigiri, and Sashimi, such as; Soft Shell Crab dressed with Cajun spice, avocado, takuan and sesame seeds (AED66), Black Cod Hoso Maki, miso marinated black cod with cream cheese and torched crab mayonnaise topped with chilli teriyaki and nuts (AED67), as well as Wagyu Tartare Roll with fresh local produce cucumber wrapped in nori topped with wagyu tartare and oscietra caviar (AED89). For Robata and Large Plates, it includes the likes of; Tenderloin with a chilli teriyaki (AED116), Salmon Teriyaki (AED89), Braised Short Rib Bop (AED99), and corn-fed Baby Chicken in barley miso (AED95).
Origami was launched in 2014 to reinterpret Japanese eating in the UAE by crafting fresh, quality-grade sushi casually accessible, with their flagship store situated on the top floor of Al Souq Mall in Umm Suqeim 3. Nine years on, the brand retains its custom and ritual amid its expansion, ensuring to offer a culinary experience as would be seen in Japan’s most revered underground sushi bars; unembellished, imperfect, and simplistic.
Origami is now open at Marsa Al Bateen Marina, Monday to Thursday from 12am to 11pm and Friday to Sunday from 12pm to 12am. Bookings can be made via the website (www.eatorigamisushi.com/) or phone on 025634073. For more details, please see @eatorigamisushi.
