The New Hotspot

As sister to Zuma, the new Business Bay restaurant ROKA has a lot to live up to and it certainly does

- OLIVIA MORRIS

Business Bay hotspot ROKA has taken the challenge of being the new contender head on and has become an instant hit amongst the Dubai restaurant crowd. Situated in The Opus, a building designed by Zaha Hadid, ROKA has brought its unique style of contemporary Japanese Robatayaki cuisine to Dubai and it’s an absolute must-try. Like its elder sibling Zuma, ROKA’s flagship restaurant is located in London, but it’s undoubtedly already carved its place in the F&B space in the emirate under the leadership of executive head chef Libor Dobis. Emirates Woman sat down with the critically-acclaimed chef to find out what it has been like opening a restaurant in the middle of a pandemic, how he believes the Dubai restaurant scene sets itself apart from other places, ROKA’s hero dishes and the future of the establishment in Dubai.

Can you talk us through your career history? My career really kick-started in London in 2004 when I started working at I Sapori by Stefano Cavallini, an Italian restaurant. My passion for food always stemmed from South-East Asian flavours and cooking techniques so I developed to work for the likes of Nobu, Nahm, a famed Thai restaurant at the time, and Naamyaa by Alan Yau. Finally, I landed at ROKA and worked both in the Mayfair and Canary Wharf locations where I worked my way up to Head Chef before moving to Dubai.