Nozomi

Never going again. Once is enough to pay a fortune for a mediocre and small portioned food, to be served by incompetent staff (they broke two glasses on the table) and to burst our eardrums with a music so loud that a could not catch a word. If I had decided to go to a disco bar, I would have dressed up differently and instead of organising a dinner for my company top managment, I would have organize a leaving school party for my 18-years old daughter!
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 09, 2008

How bad can service get... 5 dishes of what we ordered were forgotten, a wrong order came to our table, the speed of service was snail pace, and it took us 20min before we had to physically get up and find a waiter to service our table.

I have been to this place 3 times now, and thought that the atmosphere and food was pretty good and worth a re-visit, but being seated in the upstairs section is like sitting in a white cafeteria (so make sure -and check twice- that they have booked you a downstairs table).

Although the food was good, the dishes that arrived of course (their sake menu is commended =)
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KS&BK
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Saturday, May 31, 2008

never have i had the misfortune of going to a place full of so many idiots and that is just the bar staff, which is in itself a joke because if they were indeed staff then they'd have done some work and brought me my drinks in a timely fashion and not the 45mins it took on the two occasions i tried and that was with me asking on several occasions where they were...to which my response from the waiter was "this is Knightsbridge" . and did i mention how incompetent they are? is it really that hard to remember 6 drinks none of which was more complicated than a vodka and coke? and then to charge about £10 per drink and to actually forget to give you one of them. it is so ridiculous that can only laugh at this place and the "i'm doing you a favour by serving you" bar staff.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, May 15, 2008

I do not understand how anybody can call the food at this restaurant edible.

I had dinner there last weekend, it was packed with pretentious, uninteresting, unimportant people who seem to think they are currently having dinner at a happening place.

The service was unacceptable and the waitress terribly unknowledgable about the menu and generally about japanese food. Ordering was exhausting and frustrating. Nozomi had no tobbiko (flying fish roe) available! It could have only been worse, had they had no rice.

The fish itself was mediocre - as a previous reviewer had pointed out the salmon was of very low quality (easily spotted with mass farmed cheap salmon are very large visible white fat lines in the flesh of the fish) and some flavour combinations on the menu weren't adventurous but just plain disgusting. My favourite fish Yellowtail, wasn't as fresh as it should be and pairing it's delicous slightly smoky flavour with the overpowering japanese plum doesn't make any sense. The black cod was too soft and wet, it was more mashed cod. The rice wasn't cooked well either.

After all this when we got the bill we were shocked. Next to Zuma and Nobu I am seriously surprised that this tacky wannabe japanese is still open.

This restaurant is embarassing. Not only will I never go back there, but I will make sure I will tell people of the horrible experience I had there.
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Mimi
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The ambience is definitely the main attraction, but the attractive formally attired waitresses provide the eye candy. The service from the staff is outstanding and fill your every request. The food is great & well prepared with care taken to details. creativity.

The bar area is also fantastic if you want to hang out with friends.I would definitely go back.
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Fiona
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, April 18, 2008

Had an excellent meal at Nozomi on the weekend. The food quality and service was really first class and the dishes were beautifully presented. Had a few drinks at the bar to begin with as we waited for our table and got chatting to a number of people in a really interesting crowd... great place to mix with London's movers and shakers...

Service was great given how busy and popular the place is, and although certainly not cheap, the food and atmosphere was well worth the price premium.

I certainly plan to go back when next in London
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Roger Phillippo
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 14, 2008

Good-almost-great food; excellent music from a very knowledgable DJ; great atmosphere; beautifully designed interior. The restaurant manager however - who served us himself - was not up to the job. Sloppy and falsely arrogant service is just not acceptable in London with so much competition, and let down a restaurant that shows so much promise. Re-train the staff and we'll be back.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Thursday, November 08, 2007

I found that this particular restarant was probably the best Japanese restarant in london, the atmosphere was incredible and the bar ram packed. Despite the high prices i found that nozomi is defientaly the place to be. They have a great crowd of peopple who are full of energy and really pull tha place together.
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Alex
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, October 20, 2007

Nozomi has a great atmosphere, nice decor and overdressed but beautiful people. Everyone seemed to believe they were some kind of a celebrity but far from annoying, it was very entertaining to watch. It looked like it was the right place to be if you are looking for an Arabian prince or princess, definitely the most bling restaurant I've been to in London.

Shame the food didn't live up to expectation, we ordered 6 small dishes, a sushi platter, 2 main courses and dessert for a party of 4 and we were still hungry. The small dishes should have been called micro dishes instead. The food lacked creativity and taste, we had to dip some of our dishes on soy sauce to make it more flavorful!

To make things worse, the menu copied dishes from other restaurants such as Nobu and E&O. The problem is, if you're copying from someone else, you might as well raise the bar, but they failed to deliver. The duck salad with watermelon was mediocre, small and tasteless, E&O does it beautifully, serve twice as more and costs half the price. The black cod was well cooked but again, not tasty enough, the miso sauce tasted like it was just poured from the bottle, like those ones you can find in a supermarket. The sushi was another disappointment, it could have come straight from Itsu, except that Itsu has bigger pieces! The bill finally arrived to put a bitter taste in our mouth, £100 per head for a mediocre meal! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind the bill if the food was as good as in Nobu...

If you're looking for scenery and beautiful people, you should definitely come to Nozomi, but make sure you've eaten first. Best is to skip dinner altogether and come hang out in their bar, sipping a mojito and dancing to good music.

If you're looking for great atmosphere and delicious Japanese food, stick to Nobu, Sumosan and Zuma. As many restaurants that become trendy in London, this one will be short lived if they don't improve their menu soon. One advice, get a decent chef.
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Luma
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Sunday, September 16, 2007

I went there with a girl I was trying to impress and needless to say after the meal we had she was! great food, brilliant atmosphere, all round top night. Highly recommend the prawn tempura, absolutely delicious!
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Edward Hutton
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, August 20, 2007