Restaurant:
Nobu Newport Beach
3450 Via Oporto Ste 101
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Welcome to another episode of Restaurant Reviews!
Today's post is a special one so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the experience at this restaurant.
Today, we are looking at the famous Nobu Restaurant in Newport Beach, CA.
ABOUT THE RESTAURANT
Image Source by NOBU Intercontinental Hong Kong CC BY-ND 4.0
Nobu restaurant was started by the Japanese celebrity chef 'Nobuyuki Matsuhisa' and is most well known for his Japanese-Peruvian fusion cuisine. The first Nobu restaurant was opened in New York with his business partner (Hollywood celebrity) Robert De Niro and together, they have now opened Nobu restaurants all around the world including Greece, Spain, Malaysia, UK, Japan, Italy, and more.
Because one of the things they're known for are their omakase course meals, we decided to try their family-style omakase. If you are unfamiliar with what omakase is, it is essentially a course meal served at the discretion of the chef and literally means ‘I’ll leave it up to you’ in Japanese.
I'm personally a big fan of these type of course meals because part of the fun about omakase is that you never know what you're going to get...onto the review!
Given that this was special outing I had with my coworkers (it was our end-of-the-year company sponsored outing), we started our meal off with some drinks:
*Disclaimer: the restaurant was extremely dark which made it difficult to take pictures but I did my best to correct them in post.
1. Yuzu Kumquat Cooler ($32/2 drinks)
Description:
Fresh Kumquats, Orange, Mint & Yuzu Juice with Vodka and a splash of soda water.
Review:
Kumquats actually just became one of my favorite flavors in drinks and as expected, this drink was insanely good. The combination of the Kumquat, Orange and Yuzu gave the drink a really bright and citrus-y flavor while the mint added to the refreshing aspect of the cocktail. The vodka wasn't too overbearing which made this hard to stop drinking.
Result:
Highly Recommend 9.5/10
2. Jalapeño Kanpachi ($30)
Description:
Kanpachi Sashimi in a light ponzu sauce garnished with jalapeños and cilantro
Review:
If you've ever had yellowtail sashimi before, you'll be able to relate to how this fish kind of tastes like. Kanpachi is a type of yellowtail and this dish really highlighted the smooth and buttery texture that the yellowtail sashimi has. The ponzu sauce that was poured over the dish was nice and light and the jalapeño and cilantro gave it that extra kick of spice and crunch that really elevated the dish as a whole. Overall, off to a great start!
Result:
Fish was really fresh and the sashimi was melt-in-your-mouth good. Recommend 9/10
3. Lobster & Tuna 'Tacos' ($56/8 pcs)
Description:
Ponzu Marinated tuna and lobster in wonton shells topped with a light Japanese mayo sauce
Review:
This is one of Nobu's signature dishes and it definitely did not disappoint. The little wonton shells are packed with tuna and lobster and the light marinade of the ponzu sauce worked perfectly with the small dollop of Japanese mayo on top. The tuna taco was definitely my favorite over the lobster version as the soft chunks of the tuna really contrasted well with the crispy wonton shells whereas the lobster had a bit more bite and chew to the meat.
Result:
This is definitely one their signatures for a reason. Rating: 9/10
4. Toro Carpaccio ($100)
Description:
Fatty tuna belly sashimi with soy sauce and truffle oil topped with field greens and shaved black truffle mushrooms
Review:
Japanese sushi is usually enjoyed for its subtle textural flavors, but this is one of the richest, flavor explosion bites I have ever experienced. The toro had a soft and creamy texture and even by itself had a nice buttery flavor profile from the natural fattiness of the fish. However, when topped off with the soy sauce and truffle oil and shaved truffle mushrooms on top, the explosion of flavor really started to come on from the aroma of the truffle and still managed not to detract too much from the toro.
Result:
If you're a truffle lover like I am, you have not experienced true food love yet until you've tried this. Highly Recommend 9.5/10
5. Dry Miso Snapper ($34)
Description:
Snapper sashimi with yuzu juice and extra virgin olive oil sprinkled with dry miso, chives, and fried garlic.
Review:
The dry miso powder sprinkled over the sashimi is another one of Nobu's signature and is supposed to act as the replacement for soy sauce. The concept of it worked relatively well as it added that subtle salty aspect to the sashimi acting as kind of like a dry rub to the fish. The yuzu juice was a pleasant addition adding a slightly sweet and citrusy note while the fried garlic added a crispy textural balance to the whole dish.
Result:
Solid Dish 8/10
6. King Crab Tempura ($38)
Description:
King Crab fried in tempura batter topped with jalapeños, red onions, and cilantro
Review:
I think the idea of this dish was more interesting than the actual taste. I feel that because the crab meat was fried tempura style, it took away from that natural sweetness and brininess that king crab often has. In my opinion, this dish was average at best.
Result:
5/10
7. Miso Black Cod ($36)
Description:
Oven baked Black Cod in a sweet miso marinade
Review:
This is actually one of the most popular dishes at Nobu and for good reason. I'm normally not too big a fan of fish dishes at expensive restaurants because I feel like they never really live up to their hype and price point, but I was very impressed with this dish. Rather than being flaky, the cod was actually sweet and melt-in-your-mouth buttery, needing little to no amount of chew to actually eat the fish. The miso marinade was excellent and added a subtle and pleasant sweetness to the dish from the caramelized glaze of the miso and soy sauce.
Result:
I still probably can't justify the price point, but the flavor is definitely on point. 9/10
8. Japanese A5 Wagyu over Ishiyaki Grilling Stone ($216/6 oz)
Description:
6 oz of Certified premium Japanese A5 Wagyu cooked over an Ishiyaki Grilling Stone.
Review:
This is actually not part of the omakase course but we ordered it because my coworker said this dish changes lives. This was my first time trying A5 Wagyu (the holy grail of beef) and I almost fainted when trying it. The marbling on the slices of beef were insane and the pictures really don't do it any justice. I only slightly grilled my piece on the stone (which was also a fun experience by the way), and my first reaction to eating this was that the flavor of it was VERY RICH. There's an even distribution of fat in every piece so it starts to melt in your mouth as soon as it hits your tongue. They offered 4 different types of sauces which I ignored because the beef itself already had its own natural buttery and fatty umami flavor. The flavor of the wagyu was actually so rich, I had to eat it with rice to balance it out, but this was definitely a mind-blowing experience.
Result:
Everybody should experience this at least once in their life. 10/10.
9. Sushi and Sashimi Platter ($126)
Live Scallop Tiradito ($26)
Aji (Jackfish) Sushi ($24/4 pcs)
Kamasu (Barracuda) Sushi - Matsuhisa Style ($32/4 pcs)
Uni (Sea Urchin) with Wasabi Salsa ($44/4 pcs)
Review:
All of the sushi and sashimi here were very well prepared in terms of the cuts and temperature of the fish. The scallop tiradito had a creamy texture while still have some bite to it. The spice from the red chili on top was actually pretty significant and provided a strong kick.
The aji sushi was soft and had a texture similar to red snapper. Overall solid, but nothing too crazy.
The Barracuda sushi had a really nice texture from the skin and the shiso leaf inside added a pleasant herby fragrance to the sushi. Solid as well.
Last but not least, the uni with wasabi salsa was a winner for sure. The uni was creamy and buttery while the real wasabi salsa added a bit of spice and tang to counteract the richness of the sea urchin. I saved this bite for last and it perfectly capped off a pretty extraordinary dinner.
Result:
All of the dishes on this platter were solidly handled. However, I will say that this wasn't the best sushi I've had and I was expecting a little bit more quality at this price point. Overall 8/10
10. Dessert
Date Cake - Guanaja Chocolate, Kikori Caramel, Creme Fraiche ($15)
Honey Pistachio Semi Freddo - Passion Fruit, Malibu Coconut ($15)
Bento Box - Chocolate Soufflé with Dark Chocolate Fondant, Imperial Matcha Ice Cream ($16)
Review:
As well as they executed their food, their desserts were also pretty impressive. The date cake was moist and had the perfect amount of subtle sweetness from the dark chocolate. I really enjoyed the creme fraiche on top which was creamy and fluffy and worked really well with the cake.
The semi freddo was actually my favorite of the 3 desserts. The cold mousse was soft and silky and was really enhanced by the passion fruit zest on top.
Lastly, the chocolate soufflé was solid, again having that perfect amount of bitter sweetness from the dark chocolate. I was thrilled that they served this with matcha green tea ice cream because, I don't know if it's just me, but I think every dessert tastes better with some ice cream. 🍦 😊
Result:
Can't complain, everything was pretty good 8.5/10.
OVERALL RATING
At the end of it all with tip and tax, our bill came out to about $927. One of my coworkers actually knew the manager there so he graciously comped us on a few things like the desserts and corkage (did I mention we brought our own 2 bottles of wine that retail for about $400...)
Rating this restaurant is a little bit difficult because although I thought most of the food and desserts were great, I don't know if I would say the whole experience of eating here was worth the price point. This type of restaurant is definitely for special occasions or for people who are higher on the social ladder (or maybe are steemit whales...), but I will say the whole experience was pretty enjoyable (probably because none of it actually came out of my own pocket).
There's definitely a lot of thought that go into the dishes they serve and it really shows in how intentional each ingredient seems to be in terms of both taste and plating. Although I probably wouldn't spend my own personal money here, if you have money to blow, I don't think you'll necessarily be too disappointed eating here.
Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8.5/10
Value: I'm going to skip this one this time because the price point here isn't really meant to reflect the value of the food (but if you're asking...maybe like a 3/10)
If you enjoyed reading this post, please Resteem, Upvote, and Comment! Thank you!
