Michelin-starred contemporary Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan will open its third outlet worldwide later this month, in Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to HME.com ahead of the June 12 opening, Hakkasan Limited chief operating officer Didier Souillat said he was confident of the outlet’s success.
“There is no such concept as Hakkasan in the region at the moment, and I think the features – not just the food, but the whole layout and its appeal to the senses – should fill the place up,” he asserted.
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“Yes, there are a lot of good restaurants in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but I think we have a bit of an edge.”
The brand — whose portolio comprises a Michelin-starred restaurant in London and an outlet in Miami, which opened last year — was created by Alan Yau, the founder of international restaurant brand Wagamama.
Regarding the brand’s plans for expansion, Souillat revealed that the Middle East could “very possibly” play home to further Hakkasan outlets in future, but promised the group was “not thinking of opening Hakkasan by the dozens”.
“We are a well-priced offer with excellent quality, but there is obviously a certain market for this.
“I can tell you we will be opening in Mumbai hopefully quite soon,” he added, confirming that the brand would also open a new branch in London’s Mayfair around the end of the year.
Commenting on Hakkasan's international status, Souillat noted: “The brand has been around for years now; we’re actually celebrating our tenth anniversary in a few months time.
“It’s been a brand that has progressed very nicely over the past nine years, and it’s a good time now to expand it and develop it.
“We have really been given a fantastic opportunity by our chairman, His Excellency Khadem Al Qubaisi, to do just that,” he said.
HE Khadem Al Qubaisi is the managing director of Tasameem, an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which became Hakkasan’s parent company in late 2007 when it purchased a majority interest in the business for a reported sum of US $60 million (AED 220.4 million).
In addition to acquiring Hakkasan, this deal also gave the Abu Dhabi group a share in Yau’s Yauatcha restaurant, located in London, which also boasts a Michelin star.
“Yauatcha is an all-day dim sum restaurant, which is only established in London for the moment, but which we also anticipate we will expand into the right areas in future,” said Souillat.
To see highlights from the interview with Didier Souillat at the new Hakkasan Abu Dhabi outlet, click on the link below.
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