n the first and only African outpost in his eponymous global empire, world-renowned master chef Nobuyuki 'Nobu' Matsuhisa infuses his innovative Japanese cuisine with flavour and spices unique to South Africa. No stranger to international culinary influences, Nobu gives classical Japanese cuisine a contemporary twist with a Peruvian influence. Diners can indulge in fresh South African seafood and indigenous spices in mesmerising dishes such as Sake Roast Whitefish with Jalapeno or the Chocolate Bento Box; a dark chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream and a sesame seed tuile. A sweeping fan-like staircase leads to the 104 seat dining area and sushi counter, which is framed by a textured, translucent origami light that glides along the ceiling. The upper-level Nobu Lounge features a selection of Sakes including Japanese beer and Shochu based cocktails.
Went to Nobu on Friday Evening and the entire experience was spectacular. This is my second time and it has never disappointed.
Firstly, if you have dietary requirements such as myself (long list of allergies) they will cater for you without any hassle.
I had the chef’s special omakase (8courses) which showcased a range of meals from sashimi, black cod and wagyu beef. It was honestly delicious and each dish showed finesse. I highly recommend the omakase to get a good range of meals, sensations and an overall feel of the menu. It may seem pricy but the food quality is definitely worth every penny!
The service was attentive and always friendly and professional.
Amazing Asian cuisine .For Vegetarians, Veg Tacos and vegetable Sushi were the best.Nobu Cheesecake is a must try.Thankyou for the wonderful service.
Lovely setting. Attentive service. Great variation of food. One cannot try everything at one sitting so have to come to back. Try the Japanese alcoholic beverages and relax before or after dinner. 😋
I had the restaurant week dining with the stars menu at Nobu last night. It was awesome. We ordered the oysters as an addition, and oh my word!! It was so delicious. I could eat 100 of those. Then we had the tuna tartar with crispy rice, prawn and mushrooms followed by Langoustine bisque, the tempura sushi, beef tobanyaki and we ended off with malva pudding... The entire meal was absolutely delicious. For drinks we had white wine, beer and I had to try one of the sake cocktails. Lovely. Service was brilliant. Grant was so attentive and kind. Ended off the evening under the stars outside and got to catch the blood moon. What an awesome evening!
An extremely excellent dining service. My rating of the food was initially 4 out of 5 but the extra point comes from the service we had almost everything on the menu dribs and drabs of everything, what I really loved was that we came to the restaurant clueless on what to order and our waiter (Mthetwa) took the lead and decided on what food we would like and he was accurate on all of the options. Really enjoyed my dining experience here, I recommend coming with a group of friends or family and letting the chef decide on what you’ll eat or asking the waiter what he/she would recommend .
Really good service, amazing food and amazing atmosphere.
Definitely a place to return, just loved it.
Everything was 5 stars, just perfect.
Fantastic service from beginning to end with impeccable staff. Food shines through with amazing Japanese flavour and exquisite tastes if yuzu and ponzu. You do pay for all if this and if I have to be honest everything a maybe a tad overpriced. But overall a really fantastic experience.
A quality dining experience! Good food, good wine and dessert to die for. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Would definitely love to go back and try more on the menu!
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Warning: this may be a very lengthy review.
Booked dinner here as part of restaurant week; arrived slightly before the dinner seating and waited upstairs near the bar area. Whilst waiting, the staff were having their team meeting. It was probably one of the most positive team meetings I’ve ever listened in on. Happy staff usually make for very good service and that just set the tone for the evening. After the team meeting wrapped up and the restaurant opened for dinner, the hostess warmly greeted me and somehow knew my name. It’s like she memorized the entire reservation list for the evening. Impressive!
The hostess promptly seated me and the waiter immediately came to introduce himself (sadly I forgot his name). The evening started with a hot towel to cleanse your hands – loved this touch! Very soon thereafter I received my aperitif, the Nobu Bellini. Now I am not a cocktail girl. Probably the only cocktail I may drink is a Moscow Mule out of a real copper cup, but cocktails are just not my thing. This Bellini though, may have just changed my view on cocktails.
And then the marathon of all dinners started; gluttonous me decided to do a full-on 7 course dinner. First course were these gorgeous salmon tartar tacos. Wow! I could eat those all night! Next up was the prawn Caesar salad with potato croutons, shitake mushrooms and this stunning dressing. The dressing had hints of truffle (and citrus I think) plus a few other components I can’t quite put my finger on – but so flavoursome and all worked amazingly well together.
The third course was a miso soup served alongside a full serving of prawn & salmon futomaki roll. It was good, but perhaps I expected more of their sushi. After this course, I was edging on feeling stuffed. The rice killed me and I still had 4 more courses to go! Then the chef brought out a surprise complimentary dish! This seared salmon sashimi with an oil & soy based dressing and chives. Very very lovely, would recommend this dish especially if you’re not a fan of raw fish.
My waiter, bless his soul, worried that I was without a drink (I had one too many glasses of bubbly at the spa before dinner and didn’t want to continue drinking), brought out a virgin cocktail on the house for me!
Soon thereafter came the fourth course, which was the grilled linefish (kingklip) served with some wasabi sauce and I don't recall what the pink sauce on top of the fish was (some fish roe and mayo concoction). The fish was a bit dry and I wasn't a fan of the sauce. I took one bite and decided to leave some much needed space for the rest of the dishes.
Next up was the truffle lobster & prawn quinoa risotto with poached egg. Next to the tacos and salad, this was probably my fave dish. But after finishing this dish, I was ready to curl up on the sofa for a very long snooze.
The sixth course was sliced beef fillet with some spicy (I think South American influenced) sauce, served on top of pan fried exotic mushrooms. Took one bite and asked for the rest to be placed in a take away for me. The sauce was not my fave, but those mushrooms were gorgeous.
Last dish of the evening, which I polished (dessert goes to a different stomach), was the Malva Pudding served with a pouring Crème anglaise custard. Although lovely, I am more of a warm choc dessert kind of girl.
Nobu is very very pricey. But this was not a tasting menu, rather full on courses and thus so worth the price tag! The service is impeccable! Even my waiter addressed me by name – it’s just those little things that make the world of difference. Dishes come out in precision. Waiters assist each other’s tables and you never feel unattended to, but it’s not intrusive where they are hovering over your table.
I would highly recommend trying out Nobu at least once. The restaurant week special was a fraction of the cost of the normal price, so would recommend looking out for them during next season’s restaurant week.
Loved every moment of my experience here.
We went to Nobu to celebrate our anniversary as a special treat. The whole experience was perfect. From begging to end, Sky, the waiter explain everything about the set menu that we decided to go for and he was very professional and charming. He also brought us an anniversary dessert dish. We would highly recommend this place. The music was great and the decor.
The atmosphere is amazing. The ambiance is really nice. With views of the waterfront, the dining is amazing.
A reservation is highly recommended to avoid disappointment.
I had the lobster tucos. The portion was small, and the taste was decent.
For my main, I had the lobster and chicken skewers. These were absolutely Devine.
The portion size was decent, and the flavours were distinctive. They provide chop sticks, so dining with these was quite interesting, but you get the hang of it, and if not, they will provide cutlery.
As it was a birthday, they also provided a celebratory dessert.
I would definitely return.
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I made a reservation for a special dinner to celebrate my partner's birthday. The restaurant's main floor was absolutely stunning and classy. As guests entered the restaurant, the staff welcomed and greeted them in Japanese.
We started with lobster wasabi sour creams. It was a small, cold dish. It wasn't my favorite, although that was more of a personal preference than anything else, as my partner appreciated it.
We split two dishes for our main course because we had a heavy lunch earlier that day: lobster spicy garlic and chicken anticucho. The lobster dish comprised thick and juicy lobster tails that were cooked to perfection and smothered in aromatic butter. It was served on a bed of Japanese vegetables and came with this exotic-tasting sauce that was ideal for dipping the lobster in. The chicken dish featured succulent chicken cubes on skewers, accompanied by interesting sauces and vegetables. These two meals were delicious.
The wait staff was exceptionally attentive and helpful. They noticed that I was struggling to use my chopsticks as a novice to East Asian cuisine and supported me by providing "training wheels" for my chopsticks. This was quite innovative, and it allowed me to get acquainted with an authentic way of eating.
For my partner's birthday, the staff prepared a delicious dessert, which we greatly appreciated. We didn't spend much time at Nobu because we were pretty full from our previous outing, but we will definitely spend more time there the next time we visit Cape Town.
We went on a Friday, there's live music from 5pm. It's worth going there before your reservation at Nobu to enjoy a drink at the bar, live music, and a view.
We paid R600 to reserve a table.
It's worth going through their menu before getting there, unless you're familiar with Japanese food.
The portions were small for the price, and our waitress did her best to help us choose our meals.
NOBU situated in the One&Only in Cape Town near the V&A Waterfront. Exceeding standards in service and taste. All guests are greetings are in Japanese by the staff as new guests arrive. Food is innovative, colourful and delicious, however the truffle rice was stodgy and rich.
The most decent sushi in town but still doesn’t really compare to any omakase experiences in Japan. We loved the sake and a few dishes were tasty. It’s rather expensive here but expect no salmon roses and mayonnaise on your food.
Was visiting Cape town on a trip with some friends in March. We went to Nobu for a friends birthday. The first table we got was small so I asked to move which the staff obliged. We went upstairs which was more private and interment which suited us better. The food and drinks were nice and we enjoyed ourselves. We ordered different foods which we shared among ourselves. The waiter was very attentive (Can not remember his name). There was parking underground at the restaurant which was free.
I always enjoy a japanese food and this place wasn’t disappointed me !!. The atmosphere of this place is very glam. The quality and taste of sushi and sashimi is very fresh and yummy. also it was very cute with the african-clerk said Irasshaimase (welcome in Japanese).🥰
One of the best dining experience so far. Not only the food was outstanding but the crew and the place was also amazing. High quality on all levels!
Nobu is a culinary experience that everyone should try at least once! Authentic, fresh Japanese cuisine that is bursting with flavour, is presented well, and in my opinion, is worth the price tag it comes with. We thoroughly enjoyed the tasting menu and also thought that the service was impeccable.
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