Nobu

I went there yesterday night and the food was absolutely amazing!!!

I strongly recommend it to everyone especially to women looking for men as It was full of them ;)
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Luca
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I'm afraid I have very mixed views and decided to wait a few days to write objectively. I went with with a close friend for a private celebration and just a good night out. We're not into celeb spotting to our choice of restaurant had nothing to do with this link.

I had an open minded expectation as I read the mixed reviews here before I went, yet still went to see for myself.

The good news is that the food in general was really lovely (though in my opinion there are better value for money to be had at for instance Soseki in the City). One of the dishes was incredibly salty (crab jalapeno) and strangely tasteless. We mentioned this to the waiter and he just laughed and shrugged it off with no concern whatsoever. So best avoid this dish.

In general, the pre dinner bar service was efficient and friendly and our waiter too.

The bad news is the vibe & atmosphere. On a Thursday night, 90% of the clientèle were men. This therefore completely changed the vibe and atmosphere. We (two women) felt completely out of place as they looked upon us with disdain. And the conversations at the tables around us were no less than downright rude and disrespectful.

In summary: I'm glad I went but will never go again. There is definitely better to be had in food, service & atmosphere in London.
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AV - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 2
Thursday, February 19, 2009

I can, without a doubt, say this was the best food I have ever had! My other half took me here when my mother came for a visit and she too was blown away and she has been to the best restaurants all over the world. I must admit we did arrive here with doubts about the place, not entirely believing the hype, but from the moment we sat down our minds were changed. We shyly admitted it was the first time we were there and that we were not quite sure how and what to order (the menus do not make it clear where the starters begin and the mains end) and the waitress very helpfully explained the system to us. We were very pleasantly surprised when we were told the eating experience is a sort of "pick and mix" affair, with many dishes and everyone sharing - so all very casual and social. We ordered various dishes, but the two that stood out were the black cod and the risotto with crayfish, mushroom and truffle shavings. Both had such unique tastes and were incredibly delicious! The wine recommendation to accompany our meal was fantastic as well. Finally, we ended up only managing two desserts, one of them an apple crumble with ginger and the other a chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream, both of which were heavenly and the perfect finish to our meal.

All in all the meal was worth every penny, the service was helpful and kind and we will definitely be going back here very soon!
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Krisztina
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, February 16, 2009

Okay so I went with 3 friends and we ordered three courses, described on the menu as "main courses" (a Sushi Dinner, a Sashimi Dinner and a Tempura Dinner), to share.

I will start by saying that I am a huge sushi and sashimi fan but not a snobbish one. I mean. yes I've been to expensive places, but I've been to cheap places as well, and even bought pre-packed sushi for lunch sometimes. I normally find that you get what you pay for, which is fair enough. But this time it wasn't the case. Back to Nobu. The food was:

a) boring - pretty much the same types of fish you would expect to find in a supermarket sushi lunchbox, nothing extravagant or even just a little bit different like white tuna or mackerel (my favourites)...

b) of mediocre quality - I've tasted much fresher sashimi, and why on earth do they put so much wasabi between rice and topping on their sushi?

c) totally overpriced - £96 for about 12 pieces of each, and the tempura was almost entirely made of vegetables with only 4 prawns!

We were also appalled by the waiter who was very rude, pushy and abrupt. When we ordered he looked at us like he was disgusted and said "Are you SURE it's going to be enough food?" and the same remark, in the same kind of tone, was repeated when he took away the plates. Obnoxious.

Okay so we ordered deserts and those were very nice although there was not much Japanese about them and they still costed £10 each.

Finally came the bill, £146 + a shameful 15% "optional" service charge (£22!!!). We asked to pay £150 and the waiter was all offended and muttered that he needed to get his manager to remove the service charge. AND HE DISAPPEARED FOR A GOOD 10 MINS WITH ALL OUR CARDS! So much for security, privacy and chip&pin.

Never again. I have been to Roka before, I did spend £60 each but it was well worth it, we had a full tasting menu which we barely managed to finish and was absolutely delicious. So if I want pricey Japanese food I can happily go there, and if not, there are so many sushi places with no big names or Michelin stars where the quality of the food is incredibly higher and the cost incredibly lower.
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Saturday, February 07, 2009

Good. Really Good. Service was just right. Not sure what happened with previous reviewers but we found the pace of service and attentiveness just right. We approached the evening with nervousness as this was the first time our parents would be trying sushi and japanese cuisine, but they really enjoyed the experience. Yes, it is expensive. And vegetarians have very little choice. But the black cod, sashimi with jalapeno and scallops were all exquisite. Sushi was average and we stayed away from the over priced wine list. Would return.
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SP - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, October 20, 2008

It started out very well; attentive waitress, food came out quickly and it tasted nice. Then it started changing: food started not being so nice (certainly for a Michelin starred restaurant) and there were longer waits. The final straw though was, when our sushi was brought out 20 minutes after the previous course and had two rather than one set of spicy tuna cut rolls. Having told our waitress this as soon as we got it, she said that it was probably a mistake on her behalf and we could eat the meal and they would deduct the extra portion from the bill......"Ahh, what a lovely waitress, we thought." So, we started eating and about 5 minutes later, she came back and said after speaking to her "manager", we actually were not to eat the extra portion and if we could leave the six extra rolls on the plate and eat around them instead. Now, I don't know about you but this left a very bitter taste in my mouth.....to say I was shocked and livid is an understatement. We dutifully but begrudgingly ate the sushi and left the six rolls on the plate.

When it came to paying the bill, we noticed that we had still been charged for the extra sushi, so we asked to speak to the manager. We explained the entire debacle to her and she said that as the manager on duty that evening, she had not consented to or even heard such a thing and was shocked at the outcome. She seemed apologetic for the events and offered us some pudding, but as the night was very over as far as we were concerned, we just wanted to pay and leave, so instead she removed the price of both portions of the spicy tuna rolls from the bill.

Due to this, what would have been a relatively nice meal was absolutely contaminated by this and as such I was not pacified by the end of the evening. I will not be returning to Nobu and would urge all Japanese cuisine fans, to go to Shogun nearby for a divine culinary experience at a price that is absolutely deserved for the quality, service and authenticity of the food. I WILL be returning to Shogun for about the 10th time!
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Sandra
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Sunday, October 19, 2008

Monday night, group of four. We went for the £70 tasting menu and were blown away by the quality of food, attentiveness of service, and buzz of the place. The wine list is good, if a little pretentious at the top end (£3500 for a bottle of red, sir?).

Yes, a bit expensive, but if you go forewarned, then £130 a head doesn't seem so bad for fabulous cuisine once in a while.
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alan denison
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 19, 2008

We went to Nobu for my birthday last Wednesday, i have been there several times in the past, but this was another restaurant.

The manager at the reception was rude to us from the beginning, offering us a seat in their tiny bar when there clearly wasnt any room to move, like chaos! When our table became ready, 45 minutes and two cocktails each later, it was as if we were putting her out by still being there.

the food has taken a nose dive in terms of flavour, quality and presentation, our waiter commented that the chef was 'Indian'? Im not a nationalist by any means , but this is a Japanese restaurant right?

Poor food, rude management, im afraid that was my last time at Nobu in London. Such a pity!
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Steve Shelley
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, September 08, 2008

The Service was really good . The staff were really friendly and helpful. Very attentive and quick. They presented the menu really well .

The Food was excellent . Really tasty and each course was served in the right quantity. The presentention was unique and made the difference. The price i thought was reasonable and i really enjoyed every minute of my dinner and so my date. I will definitely go back soon.
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Jazzy
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 11, 2008

Went to Nobu this year, what a fantastic experience. We were very lucky to get a cancellation on that particular night, as we just happened to be passing, and as I have got very high standards as a Welsh woman I wasnt prepared to walk any futher and neither was my daughter of 14 or her friend. The food was fantastic, the staff were well I cannot put into words how good they were, especially as one of the girls is not a fish lover, hence to say they were fab. I would recommend this to anyone, and I cant wait to go back again soon. So diawn diolch, to all the staff at Nobu.
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Rachel
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, August 08, 2008