Nokori — Restaurant in Sunnyvale

My friend and I are whiskey connoisseurs. When we heard about a Japanese whiskey bar, we were naturally inclined to visit. Although we focus mostly on single malt Scotch, I have bought a few bottles of Japanese whiskies, especially Suntory Toki for making highballs. We were told that this place is usually quiet on Friday and Saturday nights because this hotel was mostly for business people (Google?) Nope, the place was almost full on a Friday night! We were lucky to have seats at the bar. The lady next to me said she read an article on SFGate that described this place.

We were full from dinner so no food or munchies. We wanted to start with a clean tasting of Japanese whiskey so we got Kaiyo cask strength (53% ABV). Cask strength means no water was added to reduce the ABV percentage. The alcohol was definitely way more pronounced and I felt that it overpowered the whiskey. The flavor did remind me of Glenlivet Scotch.

We then moved on to cocktails. As a home bartender, I was interested in the Asian-inspired cocktails they had. I ordered a Panda Fizz (Nikka Japanese vodka, pear, calpico, lemon, soda) but was disappointed. Vodka already didn’t have much taste and the calpico (a Japanese flavored soda) dominated. I couldn’t taste any peach but I did see a slice of lemon in my drink. I wouldn’t order it again. My friend got the Far East Side (Nikka Japanese gin, shishito, dry vermouth, lime, mint, cucumber, soda). The gin was very faint, and the mint and cucumber were pronounced. He wasn’t impressed with his drink either.

Feeling disappointed, I was ready to leave, but I saw my friend’s expression that he wanted… no, he NEEDED something else to redeem this experience. Always a good friend, I decided to get another drink with him. I ordered a Yuzu old fashioned. Old fashioned is my go-to drink. It’s tried and true and hard to mess up. Indeed, that was my favorite drink. Perhaps I’d use a whiskey that’s a bit stronger. I found yuzu marmalade on Amazon. Think I’d buy a jar from a Japanese supermarket to make my own. My friend got a Shot and a Beer. The shot was Nikka Days and the beer was a Peruvian lager called Lagarita. He quickly dumped the shot into the beer to consume it. He liked it, but felt something was missing. He asked for a lime wedge and that indeed gave it a little pop. With that extra dimension, it became a great drink.

We saw this peculiar looking bottle that had a bell on it. We found out this was the bartender Sergio’s favorite tequila called Clase Azul. It’s a reposado tequila. It’s smooth with sweet, spicy and salty notes at the same time. I’m not sure why tequila would taste salty, but this was my second reposado that had salty tastes.

Given our experience in whiskies and cocktails, many of these drinks were not great. It was the company and the bartender that made the experience better. Not anxious to come back anytime soon, but perhaps I’d give this place...

This hotel bar is so beautiful but REALLY let down by the poor service and unskilled bartenders. I've been here now 4+ times and the service has always been subpar to awful. I expect a LOT better from a bar that charges as much as it does for their drinks and is in such a purportedly "high end" hotel: -Drinks aren't always made very well which highlights lack of training/skill in bartenders. Had a Far East Side and the mint wasn't double strained (just used the normal shaker strainer) which meant I had tiny chunks of mint floating around in the top of the drink. This is a really rookie mistake. -I've seen someone in my party order a "Green with Envy" and the drink came out...purple? Then staff were adamant that it was the right drink even though we had ordered it just the night before from the restaurant (which uses the same bar for drinks) and it was definitely green then. Didn't even taste the same. -Bartenders just don't seem very happy to be there and seem to only give adequate service if you're sitting at the bar itself. Sit anywhere outside of the hightop bar, even directly next to it and staff are way less attentive to the point I've had to walk up to the bar to order another round. -Had an obviously broken glass. This happens in high volume bars (and I'm understanding in those) but should NEVER happen in a bar of this type. Photo attached. When I showed the bartender it was pretty much just shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

I've spoken to management and nothing has improved so I'm just gonna go ahead and post a review here. It's a great concept of having a japanese whisky (and some gin) bar that is focused on some great things but the execution is sorely lacking. Will update the review if things improve in the future...though I'm not likely to get drinks from Nokori anymore at this point. At least the hotel side has improved and seemed to take into account...

I’ve been wanting to try Nokori for a long time because of all the tasty pictures. I enjoyed the experience here and was happy to finally try it here. I was satisfied. Service is great. The bartender is a heavy pour. He recommended the yuzu highball and I was not disappointed. Take a look at the ice cube bars— neat touch.

Nokori has a great selection of Japanese whisky and Japanese bites. It’s a bit pricy but there is a nice ambiance here and good aesthetic with bar seating, music, and sports playing on the TV. Highly recommend this place!

Tried: wagyu burger + fries

chicken wing karaage

yuzu highball

crispy sesame shrimp

Pro-tip: try the whiskey selection but don’t forget to validate your...