Nobu Restaurant — Restaurant in Budapest

My recent visit to the NOBU branch left much to be desired in comparison to other worldwide locations. Although the reception was welcoming and our seating arrangement proceeded smoothly, several aspects of the dining experience fell short of expectations. Regrettably, our waitress did not demonstrate the level of professionalism one would anticipate at a NOBU establishment.

Firstly, an instance arose when I ordered a single bottle of water, and the waitress inquired whether I desired two bottles. This perplexing proposition left me slightly perturbed, as I ultimately had no use for the additional bottle, and it was unclear why it had been suggested. In well-trained establishments, attentive waitstaff typically offer a replacement when the initial bottle is empty, a basic practice that was seemingly overlooked.

Furthermore, the selection of dishes was a collaborative effort between myself and the waitress, and this is where another letdown occurred. Despite my specific inquiries about the sushi, I discovered that my order did not align with my preferences. I had specifically requested inside-out rolls, but when the food arrived, it was apparent that an error had been made. The menu's lack of clear sushi categorization added to the confusion, leaving me dissatisfied with the order.

Throughout the meal, the waitress failed to inquire about the satisfaction of our dining experience, a notable omission in the service protocol. In truth, the sushi I sampled was far from exceptional; it fell into the realm of average quality and lacked the appetizing presentation one would expect from NOBU. However, it's worth noting that the desserts we enjoyed were exceptional and served as a redeeming aspect of the meal.

As our meal concluded and we settled the bill, the waitress finally inquired about our experience. I took the opportunity to address her misinformation regarding the sushi, but unfortunately, my feedback was met with defensiveness rather than a sincere apology.

This experience follows a prior visit to the hotel's spa and restaurant, and collectively, it's evident that the staff at this establishment lacks the necessary training to provide a truly welcoming and memorable guest experience. While NOBU may command a premium for its reputation and food quality, the overall experience should not be overlooked. In contrast, a nearby restaurant, TOKIO, provides a superior atmosphere, excellent cuisine, and a more consistent overall experience. While NOBU's culinary quality may shine, it is overshadowed by the shortcomings in other aspects of the dining experience. Regrettably, I have no intentions of returning to this branch...

Where should I begin….

seating: we called to make sure that we can bring our dog, we where told it’s no problem to bring our dog and we will have a nice separate place for our group with our doggy. When we arrived we got the least attractive seat in the house. We were placed just behind the welcome desk. Not only could I almost hear every spoken word from the welcome staff, also was it freezing cold and vers unpleasant to spend the night at the table. I asked in a very polite way if we maybe could have another table as I was having already a very bad cold I can not spend 3 hours in a passage with a lot of cold wind from the outside. I was told that this is the only available table for guests with dogs and there is not possibility to sit somewhere else. The restaurant was not fully booked and 1/4 of the tables were empty. For me absolutely not acceptable and should not be the form of flexibility @ Nobu

Food quality, never ever have I ever gotten such bad food at Nobu. Tasteless, muddy and loveless decorated! The plates look cheap, chipped and old.

Waiting time, we received all our starters and finished them quite quickly. One of our group members got his sushi straight away, 15 minutes later I got my cod and another 20 minutes later the rest of the group got their sushi. So we waited 35 minutes to start eating our main course. My fish was of course totally cold. The rice I got with the fish was overcooked ans tasted old. And please rest assured that I know a lot of rice - I eat rice 2 times a day and had a few masterclasses in cooking rice in many different ways.

Sushi, the vegan Sushi was so big it could not even fit in the mouth, tasted plain and was on the lower end of product quality. The sushi with eel was so bad I even had to spit it out. The eel was full of bones and stung my palate. The soft shell crab sushi only tasted like shell without crab. We also had the salad with lobster, the plate was heavenly filled with salad leaves and had very little of lobster, I think we had 4 pieces of lobster 2x2cm big. The edamame was cold, had no taste and was also not a nice starter for the dinner.

Overall did we spent more than EUR 700 for a totally...

We arrived in Budapest and stayed at the Kempinski hotel where to my wife’s delight she saw that NOBU was inside the hotel. Being her 50th birthday I wanted it to be special so I was happy to eat wherever she wanted to. All was ok even though we had to remind the waiter about the rice that we ordered with the meal (it got reordered and arrived about 5 minutes later). We waited about 20 min for our grilled chicken but the waiter did apologise for the delay as there was about 3 tables in the restaurant at that time so there should not have been the delay. We asked for the bill and I paid in cash. The 15% service charge had already been added so I waited for my change, which wasn’t a lot of money 780 florin ( at this point having just arrived we were confused with the amount thinking it was more although that is irrelevant really as we sat at the table for a further 10 minutes waiting for our change. I called the waiter over to ask for my change. He told me that they kept the change as they didn’t think we wanted it as when I handed over the cash I said “thank you”. I replied I was being polite and it was surely for me to decide if I wanted to leave even more service. The real issue here is that instead of rectifying the situation the manager came along and made it worse saying that WE should see their point of view and would we like FREE drinks. I said no I would not and in fact I want the service charge reimbursed. He proceeded to argue with me that this was impossible to do now and they refused to cooperate. As we were resident at the Hotel I found the Hotel manager who was concerned that the change had not been returned and the service charge refunded .The manager spoke to the Restaurant and they reduced the bill more than the service charge and thought this was acceptable. I explained it was now the principle not the money. I did not want any more back than I was entitled to and the new bill still left them with a 15% tip that I did not want them to have. So remember in being polite will cost you, upset your evening & have the staff...