Tetsuya Wakuda goes sky high with the opening of Sagetsu in Dubai

Sydney food has planted another flag offshore: chef-restaurateur Tetsuya Wakuda is launching a new restaurant in Dubai.

Sagetsu by Tetsuya is due to open on Monday, February 12 at The Link, a 120-metre cantilever in the sky between two glittering Dubai towers, one of which contains the One&Only urban resort.

The restaurant’s launch comes hot on the heels of local expansion overseas, including the opening of 120-seat Singapore restaurant Fysh by Josh Niland, the Sydney chef behind local fine diner Saint Peter and Fish Butchery.

Despite Sydney’s glowing international food reputation, our top chefs are under-represented offshore compared with many of their international contemporaries.

Some of it is driven by location, but Wakuda has been one of our prime movers in taking his culinary story to a global audience.

After dipping his toe briefly in the London market, in 2010 Wakuda opened Waku Ghin in Singapore, and the Michelin stars soon started flowing. In 2022, he added Wakuda restaurant in Las Vegas.

Sagetsu by Tetsuya will follow the approach of refined Japanese with French technique he introduced in his adopted city of Sydney over three decades ago, at Tetsuya’s restaurant.

The inspiration for the venue’s name and menu comes from astronomy and the seasons. “[It] fuses Japanese ‘sa’ for sand with ‘getsu’ for moon and hints at the ever-evolving menus which change along with the Japanese seasons. The moon cycle governing them,” the venue announced on social media.

Publicity images of the upscale restaurant reveal a luxe fitout with blond timber surfaces, stone features and delicate nature-inspired accents.

Wakuda is in good company in Dubai. The Link touts itself as offering the most Michelin-starred chefs in the one destination. Neighbours include Anne-Sophie Pic, who holds several Michelin stars, and Spanish chef Paco Morales.