Nobu Manalapan — Restaurant in Manalapan

4 Stars – A Promising Taste of What’s to Come at Nobu Eau Palm Beach

We recently had the pleasure of dining at the Nobu pop-up at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. While it’s currently a temporary setup, the great news is that Nobu will be a permanent addition to the resort. Construction on the dedicated space is beginning shortly, and once it’s fully built out, we’re confident the atmosphere will match Nobu’s renowned design standards.

As for the food, we enjoyed a wide variety of dishes. We started with multiple orders of the spicy tuna crispy rice, a Nobu staple. The texture was perfect; crispy on the outside, tender inside, but the tuna itself was a bit lacking in flavor compared to what we’re used to. That said, the spicy tuna hand rolls more than made up for it; incredibly flavorful, fresh, and satisfying. Adding cucumber or another veggie for crunch is a great move.

The spicy edamame was addictive and passed around the table more than once. The nigiri was excellent. Bluefin Tuna, Bluefin Toro, Salmon, Yellowtail, Japanese Red Snapper; all incredibly fresh, generous in size, and accompanied by real wasabi and crisp pickled ginger.

We also loved the Yellowtail Jalapeño from the cold dishes section, which had a perfect balance of citrusy brightness and heat from the jalapeno.

Of course, we had to try the Black Cod Miso, one of Nobu’s most iconic dishes. If you haven’t experienced it, it’s a silky, tender fillet marinated in a sweet-savory miso glaze that caramelizes beautifully. It’s a must-order and never disappoints.

We branched out with the Anticucho Spring Chicken, and it was a surprise standout! It was rich, flavorful, and expertly grilled.

To end the night, we couldn’t skip dessert. The Nobu Cheesecake was light yet rich, and the Miso Cappuccino was a playful and satisfying end to the meal. The digestif selection is unparalleled; it was a fantastic way to close out our evening.

Service was attentive. However, one thing that detracted from the experience was the water. While we didn't order bottled water for the table, we were surprised that the tap water (at a place like Nobu) wasn’t filtered. It had a noticeable chlorine smell and taste, which took away from the luxury feel of the meal. At this level, even the small details matter, and the water should meet the same high standards as everything else, especially when other way less recognizable "average" restaurants throughout the area make it a point to have filtered water as a regular practice.

We’ll definitely be back, especially once the permanent location is open and fully built out. Nobu Eau Palm Beach is already delivering a top-tier dining experience, and it's only going to get...

​I used to love Nobu and was traveling all the way to Miami to have dinner at Nobu; it was a treat . I was happy to learn that they opened Nobu on Manalapan island. I went twice. The first time was just okay. The second time was " I don't think I will ever come again." Apparently, this location adapted the concept "no designated waiter" and you can ask anyone for help. I had to chase every time when I needed something. Twice food was delivered by kitchen but the silver ware was never served. To be honest the waiter who took the first order, truly was haughty and arrogant; he did not listen, did not care. As a result the fish came super dry. The shrimp dish (a starter) was not touched, they did not even bother to ask what was wrong with it. They included the 20% service charge. As I understand, in the state of Florida, you are allowed to add an automatic gratitude only for a party of six. They jacked up prices as for a high end restaurant but the interior design, acoustic, dinning tables, cutlery, lights, etc.. are still from the old sushi place. The place was never rebranded after the...

I think I heard the staff say “this is a pop-up” at least 10 times during the 1.5 hours that we were there. I was really excited to try the cocktail award winner that is featured on the Nobu site and asked for it. Our waiter didn’t even know about it and tried to tell me that they could probably look it up and create it. That might have been the 3rd time I was told that this is a pop-up. We had waited 40 minutes past our reservation time and during the 1.5 hours we sat there we hadn’t even received one of the 2 appetizers we’d ordered. What we did have, edamame and tuna with jalapeños, was just good. We had been so looking forward to this experience and it turned out to be by far the worst (and only negative) dining experience we had at the resort. Nobu’s team needs to come here and shut it down until they find a better location and whatever else it takes to make this a true Nobu. Replacing the hostess would be advisable considering how long our wait was and how she acted like it was commonplace to have customers...