Nobu Sydney is a rite of passage – but is its star power still shining?

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If you went to dinner at Nobu Sydney and didn’t take a picture of yourself, were you really there? It’s the existential question of our times.

Since chef Nobu Matsuhisa opened the first Nobu in New York in 1994, the Nobu empire has grown to more than 50 restaurants and hotels across five continents. Dining at Nobu is not just going out for a Japanese meal; it’s a rite of passage.

While it opened in Melbourne in 2007 and Perth in 2012, it took its time coming to Sydney, lunching at Barangaroo in December 2020, just in time for the COVID shenanigans. I came a few times for lunchtime sushi (excellent, love it), and now, finally, have come for dinner. It’s only taken two years and four months.

The entrance is grand (pause for selfie), then you enter a luxurious main dining room, all central bar, harbour views, and rich textures. Further on, a second dining room is hung with origami cranes that sway to the sound of cocktails being shaken in the bar.

Nobu regulars know exactly what they want and barely glance at the menu, but newbies need to do their homework. There are Hot and Cold Nobu Classics and Nobu Now dishes, 18 different nigiri and sashimi, 16 maki rolls, and a variety of soups, rice and tempura dishes. Plus kushiyaki, yakimono, shuko (snacks), Nobu tacos, vegetable dishes and 11 desserts.

Yes, of course, the celebrated black cod miso is still here; it’s as big a money-spinner as a roulette wheel, and if you haven’t had it, then have it ($60).

Head chef Harold Hurtada has been with the Nobu group for 24 years, previously in Dubai and Cape Town. He does a big line in snacky things, and the crispy rice with spicy tuna ($36) is a look-at-me platter of things to do. First, pick up a sweet little cube of crisped rice from its wooden Japanese sake cup. Next, dip it in a saucer of salty butter soy. Then spoon some finely minced raw tuna on top, and pop it in your mouth. Great fun.

From the Nobu Now list come six wagyu gyoza ($42) which aren’t as beefy and juicy as the word “wagyu” might suggest. As for nigiri, unagi ($17 for two) is sublime – but what part of lush, warm eel on a finger of freshly tamped, high-grade sushi rice isn’t? Tamago is a good test of any sushi bar – will the egg omelette come still-warm from being made just hours earlier, or will it come still cold from being refrigerated? This one ($8 for two) is cold, although nicely constructed and branded with the Nobu logo. The two green olives alongside turn out to be miniature Japanese peaches (wakamomo) instead, and are just plain beautiful.

An order of classic prawn tempura ($16) is misunderstood, and I get baby tiger prawn tempura ($32) instead, the small nuggets smothered in a creamy, spicy sauce that does nothing for me. Known around the world as “popcorn shrimp”, it’s another big Nobu money-spinner.

The novelty of Nikkei cuisine – the fusion of Peruvian and Japanese that Matsuhisa picked up and ran with – has faded, perhaps. My anticucho rib-eye steak ($70) comes criss-crossed with grill marks, yet feels wet, flabby and not very hot. A dessert special of bombe Alaska ($24) comes as an igloo of too-soft meringue, which softens further under the tableside flambe treatment.

Nobu regulars know exactly what they want and barely glance at the menu, but newbies need to do their homework.

Nobu Sydney, sadly, feels institutionalised. On this occasion, the food has been marred by a number of technical points, although my guess is that they have more to do with volume and turnover – often a challenge in a hospitality empire of this size – than any lack of skill or will.

To get the best experience, sit by the window in the main dining room or at the sushi counter, and dine on the made-to-order nigiri, or anything from the sushi bar. That way, you’ll get the magic, glamour and skill levels that warrant the taking of a photo in the first place.