THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Nobu has been on my bucket list since it first opened in Tribeca in 1994. The collaboration between Chef Nobuyuki 'Nobu' Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro created something of a media storm. 3 decades on, Nobu has become a global empire. Deservedly so.
Chef Nobu grew up in Japan but spent some years in Peru which influenced his style of cooking and brought him to the forefront of contemporary Japanese cuisine. I would eat his food every day if I could afford it. It's a pricey night out but the rewards are worth it.
Looking at the menu I came across a huge problem. I wanted to order everything on it! After much deliberation, we settled on the Omakase or Chef's choice for £110. For the uninitiated, this is a good place to start.
My guest started with a signature Mezcal cocktail (£14) that blended smoky and sweet. I dove straight into a hot carafe of Hokusetsu Junmai Sado No sake (£19/180ml). Smooth and light with that touch of licorice I adore.
The Omakase is well put together, building in intensity and paced perfectly by a competent staff. Yellowtail jalapeño brought Chef Nobu's Peruvian background to the fore. Tiradito is raw fish that is sauced just before serving so the acid doesn't cook the fish. Yuzu, soy and seedless slivers of chilli is an impeccable combination.
Sashimi salad cranks the flavors up a notch with a flavor packed miso dressing on beautiful baby greens and slices of raw tuna. A dish I could eat again and again.
A bowl of miso soup with seaweed and tofu gave us a bit of a palate cleanse before the nigiri course. Classic sushi with tuna, yellowtail, salmon and fluke was excellent quality, served at the perfect temperature with real wasabi. There was however no invention here, nothing to say, “This is Nobu”.
Black cod with miso has, however, become one of Chef Nobu's signature dishes. It is sublime. Served in a banana leaf, the fish is perfectly caramelized with a bit of char, full of umami and absolutely succulent. A single stalk of pickled ginger adds an exclamation point of sharp contrast.
The savory courses culminated in a beef toban yaki. Cooked and served in a ceramic griddle (as opposed to teppanyaki which is cooked over iron) this was a real flavor bomb. The sizzling plate of tender, medium rare sliced beef, mushrooms and vegetables in a soy based sauce filled the room with aroma before it arrived and it remained piping hot until we had devoured it. (About 2 minutes!)
We finished with a chocolate bento box: Valrhona chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream. Sadly, the fondant was cooked through, with none of the chocolate ooze that characterizes the classic. It tasted delicious nonetheless and the ice cream was superb, both alone and in contrast to the dark chocolate.
It's been a long time coming since 1994. Well worth the wait!
