Amin Abbas

DUBAI: Located in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), a populous area in Dubai, Not Only Fish offers a premium Pan-Asian experience.

The restaurant opened in August 2022 and since then it has been known for its quality of food, service, and its live music entertainment.

General manager of Not Only Fish, Fabien Ledentec, shared exclusively with Arab News Japan that the restaurant has been opened since August 2022 and its main concept is “offering the finest contemporary pan-asian cuisine with a unique twist.”; however, he mentioned the biggest challenge that the restaurant faces as well, which is having the restaurant known by the JLT community.

Japanese cuisine is very present at Not Only Fish and peoples’ feedback was very positive as Ledentec mentioned, “Delicious! Hidden gem of JLT! – Most of the people are amazed by the tastes and the culinary experience they found in Not Only Fish. Some people are coming from Abu Dhabi to try it out.”

Gabriel Martinez, head chef of Not Only Fish shared his cooking journey with Arab News Japan and his experience with Japanese cooking in particular.

Martinez began his culinary journey at the California school of culinary arts, where he learned mainly French techniques.

He then talked about his Japanese experience saying “My Japanese cooking experience started in 2010 at Katsuya in Los Angeles, California knowing close to nothing about the Japanese cuisine. It took me a long time to figure out all the Japanese terms and products that are used.  Working with master sushi chef Katsuya-Uechi, I learned many traditional Japanese techniques and new modern techniques to incorporate into the cuisine. Building a love and passion for Japanese food I moved my skill set to the Middle East in 2013, opening the first International Katsuya in Kuwait and eventually becoming the Brand Executive chef for the brand in the GCC.”

Martinez also mentioned how he adds his own unique twist to Japanese cuisine; he believes that every dish has a story, and that story should be delivered and felt by the customer, “my concept for cooking Japanese food is simple yet interesting. I try and take classic dishes and re-invent them in my own way. I like to tell stories with my food. I want the customer or even people I cook for personally to see what I’m about in my food.”

The chef provided dish recommendations to try at Not Only Fish, which are the crispy tuna truffle, the crispy duck salad, or the sashimi set.

Ledentec mentioned that the ultimate goal is making the restaurant’s business lunch the most famous one in dubai, having live entertainment on Friday and Saturday, and offering a Saturday brunch party.