Reflections on Nobu

My twin sister is coming over to the UK mid-September, happily in time for us to share our birthday. We always go to a nice restaurant to celebrate - previous scenes of the crime being Harrod's Oyster Bar, The Ritz, Fifth Floor at Harvey Nick's and Simpsons at the Savoy.

This time I'd considered taking her to the newly opened Nobu Berkeley, as we both enjoy Japanese food. I love the Nobu cookbooks and have learnt a lot from them, however some of the reviews for other Nobu restaurants on the London Eating site had me wondering. A review in this morning's Metro newspaper has put final paid to that idea however. The phrase "damned with faint praise" springs to mind. Highlights (or rather, lowlights) of the review are as follows:

"Is this the most pointless review I will ever write? There is nothing any reviewer might say that will have the slightest impact on the behemoth that is Nobu."

"Nothing was bad, but nothing was standout either. Take the [Nobu signature dish] yellowtail [sashimi with jalapeno and tempura rock shrimp], for instance. It had the vaguely petrified air of fish that hadn't been freshly cut and was overwhelmed into redundancy by the pungency of its accompaniments. Or the shrimp: drop-dead accurate cooking time is needed for the marriage of crispy batter and moist, just-cooked crustacean. This wasn't it. The shrimp was fine; the batter soggy."

"Wagyu beef, that foie gras of the bovine world (£26 for a serving the size of a condom wrapper) had been cooked medium, [Eeeeek!!!] a tragic waste..."

"Everything about it, from the menu and the 'irashaimase!' bellowed by the staff on your arrival, to the 'have you eaten at Nobu before?' from your breathlessly excited waiter is formulaic."

and finally, my favorite quote:

"...it's actually just a posh chain, a TGI Friday's for the platinum-carded."

Ouch. No, no Nobu for us then.