And now for something completely different. Nobu! Now that Cape Town restaurant goers are completely comfortable with sushi, and some even with sashimi, here is something new to try in restaurantland in Cape Town. Nobu restaurant at the One & Only Hotel in Cape Town is run by the legendary Nobu Matshuhisa who has opened Nobu restaurants all over the world. The restaurant is unfortunately situated in the One & Only hotel in the Waterfront.
Speaking of which, one could not find a more pedestrian version of a hotel exterior, and even when inside I felt completely let down by what could have been. I mean, really, the name alone conjurs up thoughts of something quite special. Well, far from it. So let’s not dwell on that. Suffice to say that the two restaurants inside make up for the distinct lack of vibe in the rest of the hotel. The triple volume height does help to provide a sense of presence and at times in the reception bar lounge, I did feel a bit like I was on the set of  “Lost in Translation” in  a Tokyo hotel, as does Nobu with its food and service, and Maze maybe with its 3 story glass wall of wine. See pics below.

Back to Nobu and its yummy food: their unique fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cooking is quite something to experience. It includes sushi and sashimi style dishes, miso soups, salads, skewers, often with a totally new spin. He uses yuzu and ponzu sauces, which have a citrusy frehsness plus a soya-ish saltiness and really provide quite a fresh funky tastes. The very Japanese sashimi is seared and combined with fresh Peruvian chilli, salads are made with wafer thin slices of vegetables all twirling together in symphony. Dish presentation was stylish and minimal.

If you are feeling flush (and daring!) the massaged beef marintaed in sake simply has to be sampled. We were not feeling that daring so went for the 7 course tasting menu, which is an easy option if one is a bit overwhelmed by the plethora of new concepts and variety on offer. This way one does get to taste most signature dishes at Nobu and get a good idea of what it is all about.