—Note: this isn’t the same as “Nobu Next Door;” it’s an actual sit-down restaurant, while next door is more of a cafe that doesn’t require hard-to-get reservations.

So this is it—the restaurant responsible for bringing Japanese cuisine (and its Western innovation) to America. I had one of Chef Nobu’s hallmarks, the blackened miso cod, and it was perfect. The appetizers and desserts we had were solid, but hardly memorable. Still, I mostly avoided the sushi there because it’s widely regarded as not-that-amazing. Still, this place gets 4 stars because the service was great, the vibe was friendly but still upscale, and the aforementioned entrees were excellent. If only I had the added cache of seeing Beyonce nibble on tataki.

Did the omakase (chef’s choice) for Akane’s birthday. Got there a bit late and was the last table they allowed to have the omakase. It consisted of 7 courses: 1) Toro with caviar on top, 2) Japanese red snapper with shredded vegetables in a spicy miso paste, 3 another raw fish (not sure exactly what, possibly katsuo in Japanese) with mushrooms and cucumbers (I dislike cucumbers so avoided them), 4) crab and some other cooked fish, 5) miso soup with clams, 6) wagyu beef with foie gras, 7) 5 pieces of sushi, nothing special but all very good, and 8) desert of some sort of cake maybe with tofu. We had a bit to drink (even before getting there, there I had a mango drink with campari, Akane had a martini with ginger and sake in it, and then we had a nigori sake, good although extremely unfiltered) so some details may be incorrect. All were small plates, everything was delicious. The sushi is generally not the highlight, there are many better sushi places. I went once before, thought it was even better then, think the omakase had more cooked dishes, and a couple of palate cleansers we didn’t get this time.

This restaurant completely sucks. It’s the number one choice where cavemen working on trading desks have their brokers take them for dinner. A “classic” Nobu dish would be toro or salmon tartare in a cylindrical shape sitting in a bowl in an inch of sauce. Go to Sushi Yasuda for MUCH better food and possibly even less money.

hot spot for sushiii

new york elitists’ hotspot. try the black cod with miso and the bento box for dessert. i think seeing kofi annan there heightened the experience. check this place out when you feel like you’re better than everyone else.

Nobu is great if you know what to order. The sushi is definitely very good. Some of the fusion dishes scare me, but I tend to steer away from them anyway. Making reservations for this place can be ridiculous, but at least the staff is friendly. If you don’t wanna wait around, just go to Nobu Next Door, they are equally good.

yes, the venerable nobu. what can one say except to say that it was serene, and experience, etc. etc.? dunno if this is better than Megu though. neck to neck i think.

THE best Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to— it was almost impossible to get a reservation even a week in advance. The Spicy creamy crab was memorable, and the squid pasta, shrimp tempura roll, and 2 desserts (bento box and Huckleberry Pistachio maki roll) made it an unforgettable dinner. The service and ambience were impeccable- definitely worth the splurge.