Spontaneous dates are the best, and we just had one the other day, when we found ourselves in the vicinity of NOBU Tokyo – a place I have been meaning to visit a while now. For the uninitiated, NOBU Tokyo is the Japanese branch of the NOBU restaurant group owned by the legendary chef Nobu Matsuhisa. He has partnered with Robert DeNiro to open a few NOBU restaurants around the US (New York City and Los Angeles), Giorgio Armani to launch NOBU Milan and Jackie Chan to establish NOBU Beijing. I have a particular fondness for the restaurant because J and I dined at NOBU Atlantis on our first trip together. I remember the chef’s dinner tasting menu was very delicious, but they served plate after plate so fast we could barely keep up, and had to ask them to slow down.
NOBU’s Tokyo branch features elegant contemporary décor with Japanese accents. We were seated by the counter and had a good of all the action taking place in the kitchen. We opted for the chef’s lunch tasting menu.
The feast started with the trio of appetizers: monkfish pate with amazing honey wasabi sauce – so so good, I couldn’t have enough of it; finely minced tuna tartare topped with caviar; and refreshing mixed seafood ceviche with quinoa and veggies.
We equally enjoyed our sushi platter medium-fatty tuna being the absolute highlight in all its melt-in-your-mouth glory.
Next, a beautiful bowl featured tuna and octopus salad with yuzu. I was not keen on octopus, but once again, the buttery tuna was outstanding.
After this we moved to the main courses and first up was the yellow tail in teriyaki sauce. The fish was cooked beautifully with a wonderful char and the sauce was absolutely sublime.
Perfectly grilled roast wagyu beef was served with wasabi sauce which added tons of complex flavor to the dish. We could hardly breathe at this point, and like last time each course was served at fast pace with little to no breaks in-between. It was a pleasant “torture” though.
We finished the savory portion of the meal with a bowl of cold soba noodles, quite refreshing to the palate, although I am not sure I needed more carbs after all the food we just devoured.
My commitment to be a good girl and try only couple of bites of a dessert was thrown out of the window without any hesitation as soon as two beautiful platefuls of matcha and chocolate molten cakes served with seasonal fruit and ice-cream were put in front of us. You guys, both were epic. I loved seeing that decadent and delicious lava ooze onto the plate. It paired so well with the chestnut ice-cream and exotic fruit.
As you can imagine, we left utterly content and a tad too full. If you are craving a westernized Japanese cuisine, then NOBU Tokyo certainly hits the spot. I wouldn’t recommend it to those who are visiting Japan for the first time and want to experience an authentic Japanese cuisine. Booking a kaiseki dinner or specialized sushi restaurants should be your target in that case.
xoxo, nano
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Although I am very interested in the restaurant I’ve never been to any Nobu branch. Is it really good as much as the reputation? The dessert looks particularly great. :)
I’ll tell you this – Nobu is definitely worth visiting abroad, as the food definitely pleases western palate with exciting sauces and preparation methods. The food is delicious without a doubt. However,If you are in Japan and are looking for authentic Japanese cuisine, then I’d recommend visiting some other traditional restaurants.
Thanks, what you said makes so much sense. :)
Everyone one of these dishes sound superb!
As soon as I opened this post and saw that fresh passion fruit in the banner, I knew it was going to be a good one! Each and every items looks beyond delicious and I love the dainty presentation too!
Everything was indeed very taste, but that molten cake was a highlight! Thanks for reading Marcella :)
Ahh! We loved Nobu Tokyo too!
You have to add Atlantis in Dubai in your collection! :)