Everyone knew Grégoire Berger would do something significant after Ossiano.

Few expected this.

An unlicensed seafood restaurant on Al Wasl Road. No aquarium. No enviable wine cellar. No return to the temple of spectacle he helped define. Well, maybe some spectacle.

Kraken commits loudly on the surface. Mirrored ceilings ripple. Tentacles loom. The room is theatrical, occasionally polarising, and entirely unapologetic. Even the bathrooms feel faintly Ursula from the Little Mermaid. But beneath the theatre sits something steadier.

Serious skill.

For those who knew Ossiano well, there are familiar notes. A greatest-hits anthology just short of a few singles, confidently executed and offered at a far more accessible price point. For everyone else, it simply reads as very good seafood cooking done with confidence, creativity and intent.

The tuna sausage and mash is the culinary equivalent of being tucked in at night with a 10 tog duvet. The dry-cured kingfish is cooked by a Jedi. The butterflied Sultan Ibrahim, cooked with precision, is reason enough to return.

Not everything lands perfectly. Some dishes are pulled from the heat just before texture fully makes its case. Step back, though, and the balance is clear.

Kraken sails between drama and discipline and one should chart a course for Al Wasl Road.

Full review now live on EatGoSee and Substack. Link in bio.

Kraken Seafood Restaurant, Al Wasl Rd, Al Wasl, Jumeirah 2, Dubai

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