Shiima and I absolutely love Nobu. We’ve had dinner at Nobu Berkeley Street on several occasions, celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, Eid, and New Year’s Eve. That ought to tell you something about Nobu … it’s a restaurant reserved for special occasions, and they know it. Nobu is a renowned international Japanese and Peruvian restaurant. Recently, when searching for a place to go to celebrate our marriage, Shiima came across Nobu’s newest London restaurant in Shoreditch, but in the end we decided on Chotto Matte.
Last Thursday, Shiima and I finally went to Nobu Shoreditch. Nobu Shoreditch restaurant is located inside the uniquely beautiful (from the outside, we never went in) Nobu Shoreditch hotel, which is on Willow Street off Great Eastern Street. We walked down a set of stairs, past a DJ booth, into an expansive room, which expertly furnished to merge the prominent Nobu-style décor with the basement warehouse vibe of Shoreditch. You walk past a large bustling bar area to the restaurant’s host desk. As always the service in Nobu is proficient. The hosts aren’t the friendliest, more professional. But our waiter, just like most of Nobu’s waiters, was very friendly. He offered us the menu and informed us that the menu is similar to the other Nobu restaurants, besides a few special dishes created by Chef Nobu himself.
What we ordered
We ordered Wagyu tacos, spicy vegetable tacos, rock shrimp tempura, squid pasta, and chicken skewers for starters. For main, Shiima ordered the jidori chicken, and I ordered Octopus anticucho miso and pork belly with caramel miso from the specials.
The dishes are as you’d expect. Perfectly cooked, expertly seasoned, and beautifully presented. We’ve already written about most of these dishes in our Nobu Berkeley Street post, so I’ll write in some detail about the specials, and one other dish.
Review of the food
The Octopus anticucho miso was delicious. The octopus is grilled, cut into small pieces, and then really spicy miso sauce is poured over it. Also, it comes with a slice of lemon and some juicy baby tomatoes. I didn’t even bother with those. The Pork belly with caramel miso was a miss for me. The pork belly slices weren’t grilled enough, which made them taste a tad too fattening for me. Plus, the miso was too sweet. The squid pasta was also a miss for us. It was an odd dish. Mostly consisting of stir-fried vegetables and the occasional piece of pasta shaped squid. It did have a kick, but other than that, we didn’t really enjoy it.
Dessert!
I did order Eel nigiri, but I decided to cancel that order and instead order a dessert. Shiima ordered the Nobu cheesecake. I ordered the miso tart, with some help from the waiter, who spoke in detail about the tart and another dessert I was considering. The cheesecake wasn’t at all what we expected. It arrived in a martini glass, and there wasn’t much of a biscuit base. It was still delicious though, because it was topped with a rich raspberry mousse and raspberry compote ice cream. My miso tart also wasn’t what I expected. Especially in regards to its presentation, but it was really delicious and rich.
Verdict
Nobu Shoreditch is a precisely what you’d expect from Nobu in Shoreditch. Although it doesn’t seem like the regular “Shoreditch crowd” is aware of the restaurant. The clientele entirely resembled middle-aged city workers relaxing after a day at work. Maybe that’s what Nobu is going for, but if so, that’ll be a miss in my opinion. Because the “Shoreditch crowd” might seem generally nonchalant, but they put a lot of effort into appearing that way. Also, they come with substantial spending power. Nobu Shoreditch is really expensive, as you should expect, but you don’t feel short-changed at all, it’s worth every penny. I’d recommend for foodies with a heavy wallet, dates, and special occasions for all group sizes.
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Cuisine: Japanese and Peruvian Fusion.
Amen’s Star Dish: Wagyu Aji Amarillo Taco
Shiima’s Str Dish: Spicy Vegetable Tacos
Price: £50+ each (excluding alcohol drinks)
Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Nobu Shoreditch
http://www.noburestaurants.com/shoreditch/experience-3/
10-50 Willow Street
LONDON EC2A 4BH
To Reserve a table, call 0207 683 1200, or at OpenTable
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