Osteria Funkcoolio is described as “Italian cuisine meets the best of Japanese Kyoto ingredients…”

Chef Akmal Anuar has unveiled plans for an exciting new restaurant in Dubai, and it’s set to open later this year. The culinary mastermind behind top restaurants including Goldfish Sushi & Yakitori, 11 Woodfire and Abu Dhabi’s Otoro is known for his inventive, unlicensed Japanese restaurants. But for his latest venture chef Akmal is turning his attention to Italian cuisine.

Announced via Instagram, the new restaurant will be called Osteria Funkcoolio, and will open before the end of 2023 at Port De La Mer. This seafront location is a new Mediterranean-inspired residential development at La Mer, located north of the Hyatt Centric hotel. The restaurant will sit pretty on the waterfront of the Port De La Mer marina.

The new Osteria Funkcoolio will have seating for just 30 guests, making it an intimate dining room for an afternoon or evening meal. While Italian flavours will be at the beating heart of the menu, chef Akmal isn’t moving entirely away from the Japanese cuisine he’s known and loved for. The new Port De La Mer eatery will instead serve ‘innovative Itameshi creations,’ which the chef describes as a collision of Italian cuisine and the best of Japanese Kyoto ingredients. So, we can’t wait to see what this menu looks like.

From the initial renders, the small Osteria looks like a rich and retro spot that’s been plucked straight from the cobbled streets of Florence or Rome. Ruby red leather booths, shimmering chandeliers, clashing prints and dark woods create a space that feels kitsch and cosy.

We can’t wait to snap up a reservation soon…

Osteria Funkcoolio, Port De La Mer, Jumeirah 1, opening late 2023. @funkcoolio

Images: Instagram