I recently visited Saikindo, the Japanese hi-fi cocktail bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island, and it is immediately clear that this is not a trend driven opening. It is rather a statement for the whole region.
Words by: Eleni Nikoloulia
The name Saikindo loosely translates to “how you doing.” Not in a Joey Tribbiani way from Friends, but in a cool and friendly way of asking, “how are you?”, setting the tone before you even walk in.
The ambition behind the project was simple and bold: create a world class bar in Abu Dhabi that competes on a global level, not just regionally. This would have never been possible without the vision and expertise of the Beverage Director, Marco Corallo, formerly of the legendary Artesian in London, alongside Head Mixologist Ann Pinsuda, whose résumé includes Bangkok’s iconic The Bamboo Bar.
Before reaching the bar itself, guests pass through an atelier space showcasing small Japanese artisans. Handcrafted jackets inspired by Bosozoku biker culture, bespoke bags, and even helmets are displayed like wearable art that signal craftsmanship, rebellion, subculture, and attention to detail. Themes that carry into the drinks program.
The transition corridor that follows is highly photogenic and super Instagrammable. Lighting, textures, and spatial sequencing build anticipation, almost as if you don’t just enter Saikindo, but you are eased into it.
At its core, Saikindo is a hi-fi cocktail bar, one of the most dominant global bar movements right now. But unlike many venues that retrofit speakers into existing spaces to ride the listening bar wave, this venue was engineered around sound from the beginning and vinyl is not an just aesthetic prop here. It is foundational. The DJ booth runs rotary and analogue equipment, and the programming includes four DJ nights per week alongside curated listening sessions and record collector evenings that attract serious music enthusiasts.
Hospitality at Saikindo is rooted in Omotenashi, the Japanese philosophy of wholehearted service that anticipates needs before they are voiced. This is critical. Many concept bars lean so heavily into narrative that service becomes secondary. Here, service is choreography. It is quiet, precise, and generous without being theatrical. After all, you are still in a Four Seasons hotel.
The venue unfolds across three main experiences. The primary bar is where music and mixology meet most directly. Next to it is the robata room, where the music softens and traditional Japanese robata and yakitori are prepared in full view, allowing guests to watch the chefs at work while surrounded by Japanese posters that reinforce authenticity.
Outside, the terrace introduces another layer of personality. Large scale pop culture figures like Godzilla, King Kong, and other iconic characters appear across the walls, creating a cinematic mood. A custom wooden humidor crafted in Italy houses Nicaraguan, Cuban, and Japanese cigars. This is also where the highball and martini focus emerges, a natural extension of Japanese drinking culture.
For private occasions, Kukan offers something entirely different. The room resembles the inside of a wooden speaker, a sensation that is unique and surprising for guests. It holds around 30 seated guests and is fully soundproofed, allowing for private DJs and tailored omakase drink experiences. It feels like a hidden Tokyo underground club transported to Abu Dhabi. It is, frankly, the kind of room you would want to book for every important occasion.
As for the cocktail menu of Saikindo, it is built around the concept of synesthesia, the neurological condition in which senses overlap and one can “taste” sound or “see” music. Chef Heston Blumenthal has famously spoken about tasting music, and that philosophy clearly resonates here. The team even integrates AI tools to interpret tempo, rhythm, and mood into flavor structures, not in a gimmicky way, but as a form of structured sensory design.
The menu name is Hibiki, and it is a curated set of 12 drinks designed with intention, story, and sonic depth. Many of these creations are named like tracks on a playlist and crafted to evoke sound as much as they deliver flavour.
The result is a collection of 12 “liquid songs.” If the menu had a tagline, it would be: Which song would you like to taste?
The menu is split into two “sides,” echoing a record’s flip, and every drink comes with both a spirited and free spirited (non alcoholic) version. On Side One you’ll find, among other drinks, “Masterpiece,” a caraway bright gin creation with mandarin and umeshu that opens the set like a warm soul groove, “Loungin’,” made with mezcal and IPA hops with olives, evoking lazy Sunday R&B, and “I Feel for You,” a rye whiskey driven funk drink with cantaloupe and sencha that is both refreshing and layered. Turning to Side Two, “Like Sugar” marries black sesame, banana, and blueberry balsamic into a smooth, modern funk profile, while “A Lover’s Holiday” brings cognac and lychee under champagne foam for a disco era romance.
Each cocktail echoes a genre tag like Disco, Funk, Hip Hop, and more, reinforcing Saikindo’s philosophy of translating rhythm into flavour. Funny is that most of the drinks come with a snack in the form of a garnish: from a chocolate Mount Fuji to frozen cantaloupe, brioche, or olives. And I can’t help but wonder: Is this Marco’s way of telling us he is Italian? You can never have an Italian without his snacks, after all. Either way, it’s a playful signature that ties sound, story, bites, and sips into one experience.
After spending time at Saikindo, it’s clear that this isn’t just a bar capitalizing on the hifi trend. It is a carefully constructed environment where architecture, music, gastronomy, technology, and hospitality operate as one system.
