Nobu Newport Beach — Restaurant in Newport Beach

Nobu’s Newport Beach restaurant is terrible. As Nobu locations go, this one is an abomination. As a place that serves a $175 prix fixe menu, it is an affront to man, beast, and God. If there were one thing blamed for the inevitable downfall of civilization, humanity, and social conscience, it would be this Nobu location, an ugly blemish on my experiences with this otherwise consistent restaurant empire.

Don’t get me wrong, the food was edible – even if inconsistent (more on that in a minute). I admittedly was delighted by the minimalistic wood-based interior aesthetic, and one can barely find fault with this Nobu’s gorgeous location overlooking Newport Harbor where the restaurant’s affluent diners can keep a watchful eye on their yachts parked outside. But if my initial trip to Nobu in New York many years ago was like Brando in “The Godfather,” this was like a frivolously flat copy-cat act, like Brando in “The Freshman.”

Let’s be clear: when a restaurant sells $20+ appetizers, $40+ entrees, steak served at $36 per ounce, and a prix fixe experience that starts at an $125 omakase, customers are right to demand a high-quality, nearly-flawless experience. Instead, this Nobu restaurant yielded an experience that was marred with significant service miscues but was otherwise forgettable and ephemeral, much like the cheap, disposable chopsticks they set aside my $200 per head meal.

The famous Nobu dishes were done about as well as I’ve had at other Nobu restaurants, e.g. the legendary “Rock Shrimp Tempura,” the Nobu-stamped “Tamago Nigiri,” and the “Miso-Marinated Fish,” the latter of which substituted Black Cod with Alaskan Halibut. Perhaps my biggest issue with these dishes – same as the “Yellowtail Jalapeño” (which was surprisingly not part of my omakase) – is that you can now order them from many vaguely-Asian themed restaurants for a fraction of the usual asking price at Nobu. The other dishes served to me were not as memorable, not because of lack of familiarity, but because they’re simply not as good. In one case, I was served an awful “Vegetable Hand Roll” made with peanut butter, and a “Tuna Tartare” dish ruined by an overly-assertive wasabi soy sauce.

Service was absolutely disastrous, with too many mistakes to chronicle in the limited space provided for by Google for reviews. Rest assured, the collective staff, almost all clearly inexperienced in fine dining, were seemingly pulled out of the local Chili's and ought to not have jobs in a restaurant like this.

Obviously, I won't be back here and I suggest others to think twice before making the mistake of bringing others here, expecting it to be as solid or consistent as other...

If I have to explain why Nobu is excellent, you've been living under a rock. But I'll go through our experience. We arrived an hour early to our reservation, perfectly content with sitting at the bar while we waited. But sure enough, the hostesses were able to find us a nice, private corner table on the second floor overlooking the marina right away. Our server, Lihn, was a great conversationalist and was very helpful guiding us through our options. The other serving staff were very attentive and friendly. We went in intending to order our own meals, but everything is portioned to be perfectly shareable, so we did that instead. Subtle but flavorful are the words of the day. We started with perfectly prepared edamame with sea salt (complete with empty bowl for shells). I added on a red miso soup whose proper name I've forgotten but whose flavor I have not. Mild enough to not overwhelm but boasting a nice fresh-fish taste courtesy of the steamed clam (in an opened shell) hiding within the bowl. My wife ordered the tuna sashimi tacos which had a crisp, crunchy shell and were perfect finger foods. Her main came first; the prime filet. Perfectly cooked, it was served under mini artichoke and roasted green "hair" to add a fun bit of flair and flavor to the already delicious pomegranate teriyaki glaze. Then came my A5 Wagyu tataki. At $36 an ounce, it's not something you'll order each time you go, but it is absolutely worth it as a rare treat. My wife and I were blown away, and we've been to a few renown steakhouses in our travels. We only shared the minimum 2 oz., but they filet it thin enough to be savored just as long as any main, and the presentation and optional side seasonings added to the experience. We finished dinner with soft shell crab and spicy bigeye tuna cut rolls, which probably could have been our main meal alone. I was particularly impressed with the spicy roll, being used to my local neighborhood shop serving it minced with the spicy ingredients. Nobu Newport Beach wants each ingredient separate, so the flavors blend as you bite and chew, not before. Finally, a bento box and date cake off the dessert menu finished our evening. The imperial matcha was worth it alone. The dark chocolate played off of it very well, being dark and rich to the matcha's bright and creamy. The date cake kind of overloaded us on chocolate, but that was our fault for ordering two chocolate items. The caramel and creme fraiche saved us with some balancing touches.

Very long story short, anything you order here will be amazing, but you won't need as much as you think you do. Go with a group, order one thing each and share. You won't be...

I religiously go to Nobu's Grand Cordon cocktail omokase tasting. It's the only Nobu in the world that currently offers it and I like to go every season when they change up the menu and sometimes go more than once during one season. They have a unique tasting where the bartenders compete to create delicious libations utilizing the incredible liqueurs collected fr various exotic places in the world & the winner's cocktails are highted for the season's omokase menu. As if the cocktails weren't enough- the chefs skillfully create mouth watering masterpieces to complement the elixir for gods... In which case would be me and my guests!

The bartenders are knowledgable about their craft and is happy to educate you on this creative skill, the methods, and the drink ingredients. The 4 person seating is served @ the specialty cocktail outdoor bar & makes one feel incredibly special because of the excellent attention, service, & picturesque Marina view.

This year I went ON my birthday. I took the day off and was looking forward to one of my favorite meals w my boyfriend & 2 sudo-sisters. I called the restaurant on the day before to make sure they were able to accommodate my Vegan friend & confirm my reservation. On the day of the reservation, I got another call confirming the reservation. We arrived at the restaurant about 10 minutes late. We waited an hour before being seated. I was looking forward to this dinner all week and was completely deflated when they sat us down.

They have tastings on Thur, Fri, & Sat: 6pm & 8pm. I was afraid we wouldn't have enough time to eat AND it was my birthday. We addressed our concerns to the manager, Aaron, & he assured me that there were no additional reservations after our seating and that he would take care of us. Aaron is a man of his word. He went above and beyond by making sure we enjoyed ourselves & did everything within his power to make it one of the most successful birthdays to date! The bartender, JJ was friendly, talented, knowledgeable and really made us feel the ohana love.

We were having such an amazing time that some guests came over to buy us drinks since we looked like we were having an incredible time and wanted to join in the fun. It was truly an epic evening made possible by XXX, JP, and JJ. He was a fantastic bartender and host! Thank you for the epic birthday! Truly...