I am not a man who enjoys long drives. Ask anyone who has had the misfortune of sitting beside me on one. So when I say the near two-hour haul from Dubai to Abu Dhabi was worth it, understand that this is not a phrase I hand out freely.
Kantō Wagyu sits behind the ADCB Head Office on Salam Street, and it has made its peace with the capital’s summer. Before you ever reach the door, you are received in a covered, fully air-conditioned al fresco area — a small mercy in August, and a smart one. Step inside and the room is, to borrow the word the younger crowd keeps reaching for, comfy. The décor is minimalist and deliberate, the kind of restrained styling that leans hard into its Asian character without shouting about it.
My colleagues and I took a table on the ground floor. The first thing we noticed was the welcome — genuinely warm from the waitress who saw us in — and the second was the crowd, a spread of nationalities working through their plates. I later learned the place is owned by a Filipina businesswoman with several ventures on both sides of the Gulf, in the UAE and back home in the Philippines. Among the people who keep the kitchen running is Fender Radge Polido, Chef de Partie at Kantō Wagyu on Salam Street, a role he has held since September 2025. His training shows on the plate — a background at the Center for Culinary Arts and the École Ducasse culinary academy, which goes some way to explaining the careful plating, the well-judged food, and, not least, prices that stay reasonable.
What Kantō is known for is no secret: unlimited Australian Wagyu MB9 and unlimited sushi on set days of the week. The sushi deal runs every Wednesday, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., at AED 139 for two. And no Asian table feels complete without a ramen bowl in the mix, which the menu obliges.
That menu, mercifully, does not try to overwhelm you. No labyrinth of over-complicated dishes — just a straightforward lineup that reads well and arrives looking the part. Here is what we worked through:
Wagyu Beef Rice Pot. Served claypot-style — braised wagyu, Kantō fried rice, house pickles, and a dusting of togarashi. The beef is the point here, sliced with enough marbling that the fat renders down into the rice as it sits in the hot pot. What you get is rich and buttery, deep with umami, carried by a soy-and-mirin glaze that edges toward sweet without tipping over. The pickles do their job, cutting the richness before it wears out its welcome.
Seared Salmon Sushi Roll. Fresh salmon, avocado, cucumber, teriyaki, spicy mayo. The trick is the torched top: the salmon is seared just enough to render its surface fat, leaving a warm, faintly caramelized, smoky edge while the inside stays soft. That contrast — the warm, crisp-edged top against the cool rice beneath — is what makes the roll. Creamy fillings underneath, a savory-sweet finish with a tang to it. A roll you would order again on its own merits.
Sizzling Stir-Fry Seafood. This one arrives working — cast-iron platter still spitting, a generous haul of shrimp, squid rings and tentacles, and mussels tossed with carrots, onion, and bell pepper in a glossy reddish sauce. The sauce pools and caramelizes at the edges against the hot metal, sweet and tangy with a mild heat. A tight dome of sesame-flecked rice anchors the plate, and a fried egg with a bright, runny yolk finishes it. Hearty, loud, and satisfying in the way this dish is meant to be.
If you go, the deal to beat is the Unlimited Australian Wagyu MB9 paired with a ramen bowl and eight pieces of sushi, at AED 189 for two. And keep an eye out for what’s coming — a Wagyu Beef Burger, Cheese Overload, rich and juicy by early account, that looks set to earn its place.
Would I make the drive again? Against every instinct I have about long roads, yes. That should tell you something.
