Noren is founded by former Zuma leaders Ilir Caushi and Pawel Kazanowski.
The menu spans sushi, raw dishes and grilled plates, including chutoro, king crab and miso-glazed bone marrow.
An island bar will serve signature cocktails alongside an extensive sake selection.
The Japanese neighbourhood restaurant will bring sushi, grilled dishes, cocktails and an extensive sake selection to Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
Few restaurant openings arrive with quite as much experience behind them as Noren. For more than 15 years, Ilir Caushi and Pawel Kazanowski played influential roles in Zuma’s global growth, helping to establish the restaurant as one of the most recognisable names in contemporary Japanese dining. Now, the former Managing Director and Executive Chef are stepping out on their own with Noren in Dubai
The new Japanese restaurant in JLT is now accepting reservations from Wednesday, 2 September 2026. Rather than recreating the high-energy dining model they helped build, Caushi and Kazanowski are taking a more straightforward approach. Their aim is to create a Japanese restaurant that Dubai diners can visit regularly, whether for lunch, drinks, dinner or a special occasion.
The name comes from the traditional Japanese fabric curtains often hung at the entrances of restaurants and shops. In keeping with that neighbourhood-minded philosophy, Noren will operate from lunch until late evening. Guests can pull up a seat at the bar, order a few dishes from the counter, settle in for a business lunch or work through the tasting menu.
Food sits firmly at the centre of the concept. The menu moves between raw dishes, sushi and plates from the grill, combining Japanese ingredients and techniques with a contemporary approach. Highlights include thinly sliced chutoro with jalapeño dressing, usugiri tomato with Ibaraki soy sauce, and grilled tuna steak with wafu sauce, wasabi salad, avocado and Japanese mizuna.
There are richer dishes too. Red miso-glazed bone marrow brings depth to the menu, while king crab is paired with Hokkaido lemon butter. An open kitchen, dedicated grill and sushi counter will allow diners to watch the team at work.
The interiors of Noren in Dubai follow the same restrained philosophy. Natural timber, tile and tactile finishes create warmth, while the cooking spaces remain visible throughout the restaurant. Rather than relying on elaborate theatrics, Noren is designed as an active room where the food and hospitality do the talking. Drinks will have an equally important role. An island bar occupies the centre of the dining room, serving signature cocktails alongside an extensive sake programme.
With decades of international restaurant experience behind them, the founders are betting that Dubai diners are ready for something deceptively simple, focusing on good ingredients, careful cooking and creating a restaurant part of someone’s weekly routine.
“One of the most rewarding parts of this project has been defining what Noren is,” says Ilir Caushi, Co-Founder. “The answer became incredibly simple: it’s just a restaurant. That might sound obvious, but we realised that’s exactly what we were searching for. A restaurant for every occasion, or no occasion at all.
Where: Noren, Pullman Hotel, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
When: Opening Wednesday, 2 September 2026
Contact: www.norenrestaurant.com