Review: Nomani

Chef Reif Othman opens a beautiful new restaurant in Chedi Al Bait, Sharjah… 

It seems that award-winning chef Reif Othman – the man behind many of Dubai’s top Asian restaurants, including the very popular Reif Japanese Kushiyaki – is ready for Sharjah domination, having opened a new restaurant at the luxury historic five-star hotel – Chedi Al Bait, Sharjah.

Nomani, which means ‘in between’ in Japanese, offers a menu that fuses Japanese with Korean cuisine, while the chic decor blends well with the Chedi’s calming and demure atmosphere.

We started with the ever-so-morish Reif fried wings (Dhs58), which come tossed in gochujang – a delicious fermented chilli paste from Korea that gives it a wonderful sweet and spicy flavour. This was swiftly followed by Reif’s Korean mandu dumplings delicately stuffed with chicken and shrimp (Dhs68), and the salmon nigiri (Dhs42 for two pieces).

For mains, we opted for the whole boneless baby chicken (Dhs108), mildly flavoured with barley miso. Meanwhile, the bibimbap Chilean sea bass (Dhs198), described by our server as a ‘biryani-style dish’, is a simple Korean favourite that’s elevated here using top-class sea bass, rice, fried shallots, tempura nori and edamame. As with most bibimbap, the dish is bought to the table where it is mixed together so you get a taste of all the various flavours with each bite.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Reif restaurant without a special version of his signature wagyu sando. You can find it on the menu, albeit with a slight ‘Nomani’ Asian twist for Dhs168. 

For fans of Reif’s unique style of food curation, Nomani certainly hits the spot, offering a selection of many of his favourites with either a fun twist or an upgrade. Definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re staying in the hotel, or on a weekend jaunt in the UAE’s culture capital.

Nomani, Chedi Al Bait, Sharjah, Tel: (0)6 502 5575. @nomani.ae