Do not expect traditional Iraqi food at Yaba
“Warning: This restaurant doesn’t serve traditional Iraqi food.”
That’s the alert on the menu and exterior signage of a new homegrown restaurant in Dubai, Yaba by young Iraqi chef Shaheen. A genius strategy to manage guest expectations. In particular from purists, who are always the first to condemn their own cuisine when a dish strays from ‘grandma’s cooking’.
Chef Shaheen was an architecture student and an online content creator when he reached the finals of Masterchef UK 2020. The pandemic hit, and a focus on home cooking catapulted his social media accounts into the millions. He relocated to Dubai to showcase a different take on Iraqi cuisine with the opening of Yaba at Vita Mall on Al Wasl road.
On a busy Saturday evening just after 7pm, we are greeted with one of the warmest welcomes I have ever experienced in a Dubai restaurant. When I ask if we can have a table for two, a young Iraqi lady responds with a smile and “yes of course you can” – proceeding to give me a choice of two tables. More often than not, chilly hostesses query whether we have a reservation (even when the restaurant is and will remain empty), and then give you the worst table in the house. Throughout our meal, both her and the waiting staff all brim with enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge.
The original script from Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, makes for an eye-catching, central design theme – weaved into the interior décor with clever lighting elements, and even right through to the crockery.
The menu is solely presented via QR code. How I long for all restaurants to revert to printed menus. Yaba’s offers a compact selection of only 14 dishes, desserts included, because, oddly, despite an April launch, the restaurant is still in soft opening, we are told. Anyhow, am all for small menus. Every dish has its own page boasting a colour illustration with ingredients highlighted. Perhaps another nod to Shaheen’s design background. Fun and educational.
A small bowl of homemade crisps ‘chips karrada’ is brought to the table pretty quickly. Crisp, dry, and not at all oily. The lovely restaurant manager explains that the mayo these sit on as a dip is flavoured with amba, a mango pickle. The menu flags that the first portion is complimentary – as is the in-house baked pita bread, which only arrives after we chase. Warm, pillowy and speckled with sesame seeds.
A couple of salads kick us off. The main ingredient of a ‘black salad’ is charred eggplant crisps, a little larger than orzo shape, atop a cherry tomato and leafy salad – and crowned with a yellow pepper dusted feta ball. All this needs mixing, which the small, but striking bowl does not allow for. In contrast, a ‘green salad’ of gorgeous dill-speckled broad beans is presented on a plate. The Greek-like yoghurt with its dense consistency is more of a core ingredient than a dressing – and works well blended with the beans. However, the large quantity of fattoush-like fried bread slivers overwhelms.
Savoury canelé anyone? Yaba is after my own heart…through my stomach. Here three kubba (or kibbeh) are shaped like canelés (of pâtisserie fame) with sticky, sushi-like rice encasing a filling of beef mince and pine nuts laced with a smoky barbeque sauce. A clever interpretation that is well executed. The amba mayo makes another appearance.
We’ve hardly made a dent into the three ‘starters’ when our mains rock up. Way too quickly. But I am delighted to spot liver on a menu. Typically traditional Middle Eastern restaurants murder liver, but here the chicken liver skewers are cooked perfectly pink. Tender, with a tangy dressing of pomegranate molasses.
Masgouf is Iraq’s national dish of skewered carp charred over a log fire – usually forming the centrepiece of a restaurant. Shaheen replaces the fish with a char-grilled boneless baby chicken that is so soft, it falls apart easily. I can’t recall the last time I ate such a succulent bird. More crisps, this time as discs, mop up a tomato-chilli sauce.
The dolma arrives in a sealed earthenware pot, which allows us to keep it covered and warm until we attempt to make inroads into our heavily laden table. We don’t though, so end up taking much of this dish as leftovers home, something I notice a few guests doing. It tastes even better the following day with the sour sauce infusing the lamb and rice-stuffed veggies. Vine leaves. Peppers. Eggplant. Onions. Cabbage. Once again, a generous portion of crisped bread pieces lines the pot and soaks up the jus.
I manage to get to the end of the meal, only for my cover to be blown – and a dessert, that we really cannot do justice to, is offered complimentary. Thankfully, I insist, and manage to pay the rest of the bill. ‘Rashi & deps’ is a date cake with the consistency of bread and butter pudding, topped with an intriguing tahina ice cream scoop that deserves to be eaten on its own, and covered with a visually appealing ‘cloak’ of date molasses. Bitter black tea is offered on the house, as with all guests.
The fact that, at this point, we’re only an hour into our meal demonstrates how swiftly the food arrives. Unless you’re on a business lunch menu, dining should never be a race, and I would urge Yaba’s kitchen to slow down the tempo a little. I appreciate the restaurant wants to turn over tables quickly and get more punters in, but by lingering a little, the average cheque might also increase. And you have a happier customer that’s more likely to return.
Chef Shaheen’s cooking is far removed from classic Iraqi cuisine, but, with the exception of the inventive canelé kubba (a must-eat), the other dishes promise wholesome, soul food with robust Iraqi flavours. An AED195 per person price point based on three courses makes Yaba very wallet-friendly. To top off the engaging service, a jam-packed restaurant creates a vibrant atmosphere.
I am intrigued to see how Yaba’s menu evolves once this lengthy soft opening is over, but, in the meantime, I am glad Dubai can stake claim to another skillful, chef-led concept, and one that is Middle Eastern too. Just remember you’re not going to feast on traditional Iraqi food. Here’s to a four out of five FooDiva knife rating.
Are you open minded and happy to try a different spin on traditional cuisines – or do you consider yourself a purist?
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
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