Jaan Dubai is another progressive Indian restaurant in Dubai. It joins the list of Jodhpur, Tresind, Carnival and Farzi Cafe. Is it worth going to? In a word, YES! Here’s why:
The Food at Jaan Dubai
We tried a set tasting menu but explained we didn’t eat beef. We received a selection of fish, chicken, lamb and vegetarian dishes, all of which were shared between 4 people. Some dishes were from a raw menu. There is definitely a Japanese slant to some of Farokh Khambatta’s dishes, but many items had no link to anything remotely Japanese or oriental.
Do expect a bit of molecular gastronomy, but don’t let that put you off. I was quite skeptical about how the food would taste at Jaan, but my expectations were exceeded on that front!
Farrokh has opened 5 different restaurants in India and spent the last 7 months in Dubai developing the Jaan menu.
Our Tasting Menu at Jaan Dubai
The tasting menu has 8 different courses, none of which are small or mean in portion size. Some courses come together and our meal worked well. You can choose vegetarian or non vegetarian, we had a few dishes from each. This menu costs close to AED 300 per head and I think it’s not overpriced bearing in mind the food quality and variety.
You can opt to order a la carte if you prefer.
Our stand out dishes at Jaan at the Penthouse
We all liked our tuna ceviche type raw starter, this was served over a small bowl with a goldfish swimming around. Our comments about the fish being ultra fresh were lost on our waiter though!
I really liked the spicy mustard oil dressing used to finish our street food chaat starter, but wasn’t too keen on the icy dokla on top.
If you like your chicken spicy, then you must opt for the Cherry Wood chicken, cooked over cherry wood, then finished with some very spicy boriya chilllies and cashew nuts.
I also liked the Hunter’s Poussin chicken that was much more mild and reminded me more of a Afghani chicken tikka. Or you could just opt for the butter chicken in a rich gravy.
We all LOVED our scrambled paneer, supposedly cooked with sumac and zaatar, but I couldn’t taste those herbs. I’d definitely order this again and eat with the excellent amritsari kulchas.
I think we received a dessert from the a la carte menu, that comprised of what reminded me of an Eaton Mess. Lot’s of meringue, some fresh berries, cream and pureed fruit with some cake. This was served with plenty of showmanship!
The Ambience at Jaan at the Penthouse
Jaan is based on the 31st floor of the Sofitel Downtown hotel in Dubai with Inka, the Peruvian restaurant opposite. It has a separate lounge and bar area, then 2 other dining areas.
I preferred the feel of the lounge/bar area where you can also opt to eat. We ate at proper dining tables in the restaurant part of the venue. There are full height views of Dubai from the windows.
At the moment Jaan is quite a dark restaurant in that the floors, the tables and some of the walls are all darkly coloured with a smattering of red chairs and some that have a dark zigzag pattern on them.
The waiters are dressed in black and lighting is also fairly dim, so the overall impression is well, that it’s a bit dark. Don’t let that put you off, the food is really good and that’s the main thing. Book your table at Jaan the Penthouse conveniently using Round Table.
Only open for dinner at the moment.
Thank You Monica.
