Kei, located in the Golden Tulip Hotel, is something of a dark horse in Bahrain’s dining scene. Open for over three decades, it’s older than most of the buildings in Bahrain. Yet, it has a profile so low that it’s practically submerged beneath the cement of the reclamation projects that have proceeded it. If it wants to attract diners from outside the hotel, one imagines a bit of marketing might not go amiss.

Following the rule that the best Japanese restaurants occupy the tiniest of spaces, Kei is divided into a private dining room, a sushi bar, a teppanyaki room and a couple of regular dining rooms, each not much bigger than a walk-in wardrobe. Indeed, in the absence of windows and with the addition of Japanese diners it is not very hard to feel transported to Tokyo.