Nobu is a well-known Japanese restaurant, created by chef Nobu Matsuhisa. There are multiple locations globally, from the United States to Japan. We dined at the Melbourne restaurant on Friday, October 4th 2019 with 4 of our friends.
After a lot of research, we decided there was more value to order à la carte and share the main dishes among ourselves than to get the set menu each.​
After a lot of research, we decided there was more value to order à la carte and share the main dishes among ourselves than to get the set menu each.​
MAIN COURSE
To start our meal, this was the Hiramasa yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and is considered one of the dishes that changed chef Matsuhisa’s career. The flesh had a mild taste, with minimal ocean aftertaste. The combination of jalapeno enlivened the fish, creating a flavourful, packed bite.
This was another dish considered to be a career changer. It was the tuna sashimi salad with Matsuhisa dressing. The tuna was a nice chutoro cut, seared to give a smokey profile, and dressed with a soy-based vinaigrette. It was one of my favourites because there was a lot of contrast in textures in the bite. I especially loved the intense umami flavours from the dressing.
We ordered a few sashimis, including:
- an otoro tuna with La Maison caviar
- a fatty salmon with roe
- a King George Whiting with green onion
- and a sea urchin with rice in a cup.
I’m a sucker for decorated nigiri 🤤 We really loved the fatty flesh and the freshness of the fishes. There was a good balance between rice and fish.
Our favourite had to be the otoro with caviar. It was such a fancy, delicate piece. The caviar added a nice oceanic salty profile to the tuna flesh. It was almost as good as tuna in Japan, just not as strong in fishy flavour. The salmon was also a fatty cut with a moderate amount of fishy flavour that was elevated by the refreshing salmon roe.
Our favourite had to be the otoro with caviar. It was such a fancy, delicate piece. The caviar added a nice oceanic salty profile to the tuna flesh. It was almost as good as tuna in Japan, just not as strong in fishy flavour. The salmon was also a fatty cut with a moderate amount of fishy flavour that was elevated by the refreshing salmon roe.
This was the famous black cod saikyo miso, a big career changer for the celebratory chef. This is a traditional Japanese dish that has been around for centuries, revamped to modern Japanese cuisines.
The cod was well cooked, soft and melted in our mouths upon the first touch. The miso sauce was on the sweeter side, almost like a caramelised glaze. It had tenderised the meat nicely and seeped into every orifice of the fish. For their signature dish, it did come with a heftier price tag of $60AUD though 😯. I’m not too sure we would go out of our way to order this particular dish again.
The cod was well cooked, soft and melted in our mouths upon the first touch. The miso sauce was on the sweeter side, almost like a caramelised glaze. It had tenderised the meat nicely and seeped into every orifice of the fish. For their signature dish, it did come with a heftier price tag of $60AUD though 😯. I’m not too sure we would go out of our way to order this particular dish again.
This was the 2GR 6+ Wagyu. The sauce was rich, savoury and really mouth-filling. It encompassed the wagyu, devouring it in this thick coating of deliciousness. The wagyu was very tender, requiring effortless chewing as it fused into our tastebuds. I enjoyed the accompanying lime and chives because they really helped cut through the fat. It was a very filling dish, tipping us over into the food coma stage.
It was my birthday weekend so the staff provided a sweet little surprise with my whisky cappuccino, of cardamom cream, toasted cinnamon crunch, espresso gelato and Suntory whisky foam. Our friends love to go to a few dessert spots post-dinner so we opted out of ordering other desserts.
SERVICE
The restaurant had a casual vibe with a fast-paced environment. Due to the dimly lit setting, there were times when we couldn’t wave for a server but that was no fault of the service. Everything arrived in a timely manner despite how busy they were on a Friday night.
REVIEW
Overall, we had an enjoyable dinner at Nobu. I would say Nobu reminded us more of a premium smart-casual restaurant rather than a fine dining restaurant, similar to Saké Restaurant (LINK).
The food was simply designed and well-executed, resulting in a delicious and happy meal, but there was nothing that stood out tremendously for us. We did order 2L of sake between the six of us so that may have contributed to our good time 😂.
Until the next meal, happy eating! Thanks for reading.
The food was simply designed and well-executed, resulting in a delicious and happy meal, but there was nothing that stood out tremendously for us. We did order 2L of sake between the six of us so that may have contributed to our good time 😂.
Until the next meal, happy eating! Thanks for reading.
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