Some of Riyadh’s best tables don’t come with a sign. The Tasting Studio: Omakase, inside The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, is one of them. Chef Marlon Bravo runs a ten-seat counter where you hand over every decision and simply eat. In a city where Japanese dining ranges from casual sushi bars to polished fine dining, a small counter with a single sitting and no printed menu feels refreshingly different.
How To Find The Hidden Counter
Walk through the hotel lobby, turn right into the ground-floor Galleria and look for a room tucked out of sight. Inside, ten guests share one long wooden counter facing the chef’s station. There are lit display shelves, warm yellow lighting and a cherry blossom tree for company, plus a glass door that looks out to the hotel’s fountains. With so few seats, hosts and diners end up chatting, so you may leave with a few new dinner friends.
What’s On The Seven-Course Menu
Omakase roughly means “I leave it up to you”, and Chef Bravo takes the brief seriously. He moves along the counter as he slices, sears and torches, working at arm’s length from your seat.
It opens with hamachi carpaccio on crispy rice, followed by chutoro sashimi, the mid-fat tuna cut that tastes rich and soft. Next come teriyaki-glazed grilled salmon and an ebi tempura roll, where the prawns are wrapped in kataifi, the shredded pastry usually found in kunafa. That’s a Middle Eastern nod on a Japanese plate.
Miso soup resets your palate before four nigiri are shaped in front of you. Expect otoro with black caviar and gold leaf, salmon with ikura, scallop with foie gras, and torched wagyu with fresh truffle. Dessert is matcha ice cream, mango mochi and yuzu chocolate.
Also Read: 8 Best Omakase Experiences In Dubai For An Elevated Japanese Feast
What reaches your plate shifts with that day’s produce and the mood at the counter, so no two evenings play out the same. First time trying omakase? A room this small is a friendly place to begin, since you learn about each dish as it arrives.
Cover Image Courtey: Ritz-Carlton Riyadh/Website
FAQs
Where is The Tasting Studio: Omakase in Riyadh?
It’s inside The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh. Go through the lobby, turn right into the ground-floor Galleria, and you’ll find the room tucked away there.
How many people does it seat?
Just ten, all at one long wooden counter facing the chef’s preparation area. The experience is a single seven-course sitting.
What dishes are on the menu?
Hamachi carpaccio, chutoro sashimi, teriyaki salmon, kataifi-wrapped ebi tempura roll, miso soup and four nigiri (otoro, salmon with ikura, scallop with foie gras, torched wagyu with truffle). Dessert is matcha ice cream, mango mochi and yuzu chocolate.
