Experience culinary heights at SushiSamba

Sharon Wilson
Apr 19
2 min read

Doughnuts, dulce de leche, berry coulis, citron ice cream

SushiSamba opened its Dubai location in November 2021 on the 51st floor of the Palm Tower on Palm Jumeirah, offering stunning 360-degree views of the Dubai skyline. It opened in Edinburgh on the 10th floor of the W Hotel, providing similarly panoramic views and featuring the unique combination of Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisines that reflect the cultural melting pot of the restaurant’s origins.

Designed to be an oasis in the sky, SushiSamba boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, a large curvaceous space, and bold colours. Its glamorous, vibrant energy (there is a Vegas branch) is often complemented by music; there are sunset DJs, vinyl in João’s Place, the cocktail bar on the 11th floor, and even a recording studio in the hotel.

The menu includes dishes such as:

Aperitivos: Edamame with sea salt and lime, grilled spicy Padrón peppers, and plantain chips with aji amarillo.
Small Plates: Salt & pepper squid with dry miso, wagyu gyoza with kabocha purée, and shrimp tempura with spicy mayo.
Salads: Seaweed with sesame and yuzu caviar, green gem lettuce with asparagus and avocado, and heritage tomato with pomegranate molasses.
Raw: Tuna seviche with pomegranate leche de tigre, salmon tiradito with ginger and aji amarillo, and lobster with passionfruit and plantain chips.
Robata: Black cod with miso, pork belly with butterscotch miso, and lamb chop with red miso and lime.
Large Plates: Moqueca mista with shrimp, squid, sea bass, mussels, and clams in coconut milk, and churrasco Rio Grande with ribeye, chorizo, and filet mignon.
Samba Rolls: Whisky-cured salmon with snow crab, avocado, and tempura flakes.

Simone and I share fat and moreish shrimp tempura, lightly dusted and crispy, smothered in spicy mayo. The dumplings burst with beef, and the salad is fresh and vibrant in a clever miso dressing—note to self to try at home. We choose a Senshi Samba roll comprising toro aburi, snow crab, asparagus, salmon roe, crispy onion, and yuzu dressing, which is pretty and delicate. Then comes an equally exquisite teeny strawberry parfait and some naughty sugar-sprinkled doughnuts with dulce de leche, spots of berry coulis, and a quenelle of citron ice cream.

If your purse allows, you can go to town at SushiSamba, but you can also enjoy perfectly executed dishes in a stunning environment for an average spend. Even if you do the latter, it feels like an absolute treat.