Nobu

Food was pretty good. The Chawan Mushi wasn't that impressive though, having had so many dishes containing shark's fin in the past, I did not think shark's fin chawan mushi is the best combination Nobu could come up with. Scallops Trio was delicious. The combination of king crab, garlic and caviar was excellent. Price was a little too high for what we were getting, especially for this one plain clear soup containing shark. Roughly one soup would be over 10 quid. The service was quite slow, perhaps because there were so many people. Waiting for the food to come was a very boring experience, my Mum was falling asleep towards the end of it. The ambience very much reminds me of a marketplace or a pub; extremely noisy, crowded and uncomfortable. The ladies sitting beside us were very drunk and aggressive, they were shouting and laughing on top of their lungs that they gave out the impressions that they had to save up a year's pay check just to dine in Nobu. Overall, I would come back again, but perhaps during lunch when people are much less inclined to get drunk during a meal.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 4
Sunday, September 30, 2007

A long dinner here left a really good impression - though the modern twists on traditional Japanese food aren't as innovative as they once were - the black cod, snow crab and lobster with shrimp and lemon were highlights and the Peruvian style tea-smoked lamb was an interesting cultural fusion. The maître d' remembered me and made us feel very welcome - and the waiting staff were quite attentive: there is a markedly more relaxed atmosphere in the evenings. Remember to order the Honjozo Kinpaku-Iri sake if you are celebrating.
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Yvonne Salmon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, September 29, 2007

I had great experience at Nobu, i took my boyfriend knowing that it has a bit peruvian influence, I am peruvian and I loved it!!!!

we will back for sure.
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Ana Rodriguez
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 21, 2007

Having had a good experienced at Nobu New York, I took my wife to Nobu London for lunch in order to start her birthday celebration.

As we were also going to Gordon Ramsay's for dinner we were dressed accordingly - possibly a good thing as we were spending the day in London and, albeit unfortunately, probably 'improves' the service one receives at 'fine' establishments.

We ordered the seasonal and regular degustation menus at Nobu and found it ... uninspiring to say the least. Everything was beautifully laid out but the dishes were fair. They were far from poor but having eaten at 'renowned' restaurants and knowing that regular restaurants are improving on the quality of their cuisine, we really expected considerably more.

So here's a rough breakdown of what I thought of some of the dishes.

Toro Tartare

Alarm bells ring already! I love Salmon tartare and Toro but Toro, esp. Otoro, is such an expensive dish on its own it's almost sacrilegious to 'mince' it. I go to a restaurant in Shanghai that specialises in Toro and they only serve the Otoro tartare with rice as part of a much larger set meal. The reason they do this is because not the entire cut of Otoro is ideal for slices and as a result there will always be off-cuts, These off-cuts, although still of high quality can't be sold as sashimi or sushi due to their irregular and small sizes. This therefore makes them ideal for tartare which is then served as a complimentary and a sweetener to the main meal of proper Toro. In conclusion, I felt Nobu was using off-cuts for its chef menu which I felt was appalling. Needless to say, the dish was ok if not overly complex for what is already an already expensive and exquisite natural cut of the fish.

Miso Black Cod

In all honesty, this is an old dish and a relatively common and normal dish in fine dining Asian restaurants. Although a classic, I was thus still expecting a slight twist to be added to this concoction. Sad to say, not only was it as-is, but the Cod here couldn't compare to those I had eaten in those restaurants and it was cut too thin that you lost the delicate texture of the fish as it was overpowered by the Miso marinade and the overly cooked nature. It actually reminded me of the regular English cod and chips! My experience with this dish is that the cut should be adequately thick to allow the Miso marinade to be initially tasted along with the crisp outside and subsequently balanced with the just-cooked inside flesh to appreciate the fresh, fragrant, and oily nature of the fish.

Beef Tenderloin

Nobu is a world-renowned high-end Japanese restaurant and I expected something more than just regular beef tenderloin e.g. Omi, Matsuzaka, Mishima, or Tajima Kobe beef (Wagyu would be ok too, even if not authentically Japanese, as it still has its links to Japan as opposed to a conventional beef tenderloin); much like I would have expected to be served Kurobuta pork if they were to serve pork or Champagne as opposed to sparkling wine in France. In any case, the quality of beef was still good but the portions it came in were minute (3 bite sized all differently prepared). It's getting very fashionable to serve one dish several ways but I do wish they serve decent portions in order to saviour each preparation properly. At least one was too salty and two were cooked beyond medium rare - which I thought was a shame. My wife and I both love beef and we eat our steaks rare if not blue (which we mentioned to the service staff). We therefore only frequent restaurants we trust to serve good quality beef as we wouldn't eat any meat this rare otherwise. I'm not insinuating that Nobu serves poor quality beef - I'm sure they don't and I've already stated that the quality of beef was good - but I do think only high quality beef can be served rare and I find it a shame to serve otherwise.

Sashimi, Sushi, and Maki

Not terribly good

Service

Unfortunately this was the part that ruined what would have been an ok, albeit expensive, lunch. Despite being well dressed, my wife, who is a model but without the attitude, and I are quite young which, I believe, were factors that resulted in the non English-speaking service staff to look down on having to serve us. I have no problems with overseas staff even if their English is not great but some looked more like models with the demeanour and attitude to match and who, also, spoke with some arrogance. I would have much preferred the smile from any non-English speaking Japanese staff and it made me think that these people were hired on the basis of their looks as opposed to their service capability. In any case, we were not the only ones to think poorly of the service; the table next to us (what looked to be a rich looking Russian mother & daughter) had difficulties with the same service staff and ultimately chose not to pay the service charge whereupon the staff left to get the manager without so much as a word. As the manager apologised for their experience after hearing what they had to say I took the opportunity to inform her that we experienced a similar level of service. She was kind enough to waive the service charge but as I had already paid I said it was ok. She then said that she could reverse the charges and was perfectly willing to do it which I then accepted. If not for the Manager I would probably have thought how Nobu has gone down the drain. Interestingly enough, Nobu charge a 15% service charge as opposed to Gordon Ramsay’s 12.5% which had a far, far, more superior service staff (from the friendliness of the Maitre'D who, amazingly, recognised me from a long time back to the discreet and yet attentive, mostly French, staff).

Décor

Like the food, I felt the décor was uninspiring and almost temporary – a little like a high end IKEA! It’s definitely not a look I’d like to see re-created and as a designer, I would say that it was a missed opportunity especially with a brand like Nobu and its shared Japanese links to Zen and its fantastic location overlooking Hyde Park.

Although our dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s was over double the amount we paid at Nobu I still ended up more satisfied and hugely impressed at the latter eponymous’ restaurant. In short, I would probably eschew Nobu London, but not necessarily the entire chain.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Friday, September 21, 2007

We headed for Nobu with high expectations, and could not have been more disappointed!

Our table for two was crammed in close between other diners, service was slow, though our waitress tried hard, atmosphere was noisy, stark and bright, and we found the lack of any decor, bare tables, and the whole minimalist thing reminiscent of a college canteen!

Not being regular Japanese eaters, we opted for the recommended "Chefs menu" at £70 per head and were assured that it would give us a good representation of the food at Nobu.

After three tiny raw fish dishes we were deciding it really wasn't our thing and were pleased to find dish four was a very tasty baked blackened cod which though tiny, was very good. The beef dish which followed was also good though we would have appreciated more than four bite size pieces plus some veg or rice along side it!

Then came dish six consisting of five or six bite size sushi "delights". Yuk!

Finally, dessert, a tiny chocolate sponge and a small ball of tasteless "green tea" ice cream.

In our opinion the meal was small and vastly overpriced. We just didn't "get it"!

We were left feeling that Nobu was all about a name, and was really rather pretentious, and we departed £220 lighter, but with enough cash left for a burger on the way home! Mmmmmm!

Paul and Sarah.
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Paul and Sarah
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 26, 2007

It is one of the best restaurants we ever been. We will definitely return. But this time with reservation much in front.

Best regards

Gorazd and Tanja
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Gorazd Copek
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, August 22, 2007

We didnt book a table, but we managed to get a seat at the sushi bar, which was fine.

Atmosphere was great, fast sevice, friendly, and nice food.

Great to hear all the waiters shout "irrashiamesse" on arrival!

What can I say? we will be returning for sure.

I lived in Japan for a few months, and this restaurant is definitely authentic, and nice to see Japanese chefs!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Rock shrimp with creamy spicy sauce and the king crab claws are heavenly. So is the yellowtail with jalapeno pepper. Apart from that its the same as what you'd get at asia de cuba/zuma/roka.

The main difference is that this is a place to see and be seen. When you come, every single diner looks your way as the waiters and waitresses shout greetings in Japanese. Everyone is checking to see where the most famous person is sitting.

If you're into that then so be it but I'd rather the waiters not be so trendy though.
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Annie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Monday, August 13, 2007

Very impressive! Greeted as soon as we walked through the entrance and imediatley sat down to a table in the bar area while we waited for our table upstairs. Service was very good, glasses were immediately refilled and staff were quick to help and advise on what food to order.

The food itself was amazing! Would never normally of dreamed eating some of the combo's but was very impressed! Food was well presented and there was an adequate amount for everyone.

Definitley considering going again in the near future and have already recommended the restaurant to all my friends!
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Sophie
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, August 06, 2007

Very expensive for a fairly disappointing experience. Food is ok but not absolutely amazing (except for the dessert). Service is terrible and very anonymous. We waited for a long time to be served and we were added 100 pounds to our bill by mistake. Finally the atmosphere is cold, pretentious and noisy. Overvalued place. Just a name but nothing else.
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raphael
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Sunday, August 05, 2007