Why did I even come here? My sister wanted to try Nobu for her birthday. Big mistake. The careless waitstaff brought her SOMEONE ELSE'S birthday dessert. The dish had written in chocolate on it ""Happy 30th Birthday Olivia"". My sister is Annie and she was turning 26, so you know this is a major screw up. The waiter apologized but didn't offer to comp anything. In fact, he left the offending plate under the dessert. Faux pas? REMOVE THE WRONG PLATE, DUMBASS. They left the dessert and my sister stared at some other woman's name and the wrong birthday age through dessert.
So if you care to know how bad the dishes were, let me give you a run down. The highlight of the night was the shishito peppers and bottled Voss sparkling water. Serious.
The oysters were over-sauced, the toro tartar was the size of a dead fat goldfish (and looked like it) and mediocre -- and $32. The spiny lobster came in three formations: tempura, and two sashimi variations. Artful, but over-saturated with sauce so you could hardly taste the lobster. Yellowtail japaneno was a yawn. The octopus carpaccio was mediocre, cut way too thick, and fell apart with chopsticks (uh.. I've never seen fresh octopus do this). The dessert was a botched birthday debaucle, and I basically spent $359 to be embarrassed for Nobu's failures. If they had any class, they'd bend over backward to remedy the birthday debaucle. But no, I received the bill in full. No free champagne for the birthday girl, just pithy apologies from the ignorant wait staff.
Next time I'm in Los Angeles I'm checking the Michelin guide! Nobu is too much money for not much quality. I get better fish at authentic Japanese hole-in-the-wall restaursnts in Los Angeles.
Pros: Decor, cute gay guys
Cons: The food, the service
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