10/09/09

Nothing Special

by nycityrat

Absolutely nothing special about this place. A couple of the preparations are unique and taste good, but it is a very poor value. $20 for a shot glass of spicy salmon tartar? $27 for a mid range 7oz beaker of cold sake? The service is technically competent but surly and uninvolved (not a a too cool for school thing) they just don't care and seem bored.

2 of us spent $250 including tip for a small dinner that has no standouts. If this place was exactly the same but called Joe's next door and run by a regular chef- no one would go.

• Pros: Unique sushi preparations
• Cons: poor value, bored service

02/24/09

Deplorable food for such a well established name

by Boff

I want to start this by saying I am not a native New Yorker, I was merely in town on vacation, and I feel that I have developed a strong sense of good Asian cuisine. That said, I was very disappointed with the quality of food at Nobu Next Door. Our maki was very meger (think diameter), our nigiri was woefully thin and 'fishy' tasting/smelling, and my hot meal, what they called 'squid pasta' was just rubbery over-cooked squid chunks drowning in soy sauce tossed with wilted asparagus. A friend of mine had the Beef Toban Yaki and what was a $32 meat dish looked more like a $5 fajita platter at your local Mexican restaurant. Having spent the day in Chinatown I have to say my $5.25 bowl of Pho at Bo Ky was hands down better than our $100 meal at Nobu Next Door. If this is any indication of what the food at Nobu is like, you can count on me to stay far away from it's doors.

• Pros: We got a reservation by calling three hours before we want to eat
• Cons: Terrible, over priced food, snooty staff, boring decor

10/14/08

Try the Omokase

by hedkandie

Seriously, the number of reviewers who came here and rated it poorly because they ordered off the menu and found it pricey for small portions obviously do not understand " fine dining". I hate to sound like a snob, but portions are not meant to be huge!

Anyways, we ordered the $120 Omokase (tasting menu) and it is beyond ridiculous how amazing it was. We sat at the sushi bar and watched our sushi chef prepare our food which was beautiful to look at and heavenly on the palate. The sashimi was fresh and light. Interspersed with the raw were hot dishes that also blew us away- the shrimp was to die for.

For dessert, we were given a palate cleanser and then presented with a tofu cheesecake ( doesn't sound great but it's the best cheesecake I've ever had and I've had lots) that was light and not overly sweet with the creamiest texture. This was balanced with two apple dumplings and two tuiles. I so wanted to finish the whole thing because it may have been the best dessert of my life thus far, but I was too full from our 12 courses of sushi to eat another bite.

I rarely walk out of a sushi restaurant feeling this full or this satisfied but NND did it for me. It's too bad so many other reviewers had such a negative experience; maybe they just need to try the Omokase next time!

• Pros: Everything!
• Cons: That I can't eat there everyday!