Giles Coren's review of Nobu Berkeley (The Times)
Terry Durack's review of Nobu Berkeley (The Independent)
Tracey MacLeod's review of Nobu Berkeley (The Independent)
Nobu Berkeley reviews
I agree with the comments about the bar... it is like a cruise ship. But the food is good.
by Gabe "top london reviewer" (23 reviews), 17 Apr 2008The food was good. I must admit, I expected to pay more so was pleasantly surprised. The interior design felt like I was on some luxury cruise ship - not my kind of dining atmosphere.
by carson (7 reviews), 13 Apr 2008This place is for people with no souls who like inane funky house music and showing off. We waited for 40 minutes to be seated at out table and were told lots of other couples were also waiting - what's the point of booking a table that doesn't actually exist? I must have had a very similar experience to Sara below... The cocktails are average, the atmosphere is spikey. There is nothing sophisticated about competitive jostling for drinks. Half of the staff are rude and don't seem to know what they're doing. It's dire, don't bother.
by yva, 18 Feb 2008Dare I say it, I prefer Nobu Berkeley to the Metropolitan! It's just much more comfortable and less clinical. Also, I love the wood oven dishes. I always feel sorry for the people wasting money on the sushi, which is good but not the best in London.
by zooeyg (6 reviews), 28 Jan 2008Nice decor and bar but a disappointment compared to Nobu Park Lane. I would give this one 7/10 and Nobu PL 10/10.
by cystalhaze "top london reviewer" (20 reviews), 06 Oct 2007Although we did not eat at Nobu, we were very badly treated at the bar downstairs. Although I have written and complained to Nobu, they have not replied. Obviously not keen on what their customers think. Below is what happened.
We visited Nobu for a few drinks and to check out the venue. Although the bar was busy, it was by no means packed. We noticed there were several empty tables without reserved notices and sat down at one of them. As a waiter wandered past we ordered our drinks. A few moments later another waiter, who appeared very agitated, came over and leaned across the table at us. He told us we couldn't sit there. We then mentioned we had ordered our drinks and could we wait for them to arrive before leaving the table. He told us we wouldn't have been able to order the drinks at the table (which was clearly not correct, as we just had!). We replied that we definitely did and could we just wait for his return. The waiter became even more agitated and and stormed off. He came back a few moments later, informing us there were not any drinks ordered for us and that we should leave the table immediately - if we wanted a drink we must go to the bar.
We were appalled at the way we were treated and decided to take our leave. As we walked through the crowd at the bar towards the exit, a waiter and waitress were stood in our way having an argument, which continued as we attempted to get past. When we finally did, my female companion was shoved out of the way by yet another waiter. Unbelievable!
I took my husband here for his birthday. It was a great evening. We started with cocktails in the bar and then moved on to the restaurant. The food was good, especially the black cod. It's a fantastic place and I look forward to going back.
by avc (2 reviews), 27 Jun 2007Food is obviously great. Cocktails are not as good as at the original Nobu. The staff are lovely but quite a few mistakes were made. Completely different restaurant in terms of atmosphere, decor, etc. This one is a much more social destination with focus on a more lively crowd. Not necessarily better but depends what you are looking for. Park Lane is more muted, where this one is more obvious.
by Lavina (3 reviews), 03 May 2007Fantastic restaurant. We've been to Park Lane, Ubon in Canary Wharf and now Nobu Berkeley. Nobu Berkeley was definitely the best in terms of the decor, and the food is fantastic too. The first time I went I didn't even like sushi, but this place has completely converted me. You have to try the yellowtail sashimi with jalepeno and the black cod.
The staff, aside from those at the coat desk, were fantastic - very accommodating, friendly and fun. I will definitely be going back.
I had a really bad experience there the other evening. Poor management on the part of the maitre d'. The table behind us were exceptionally loud and in the end the bouncers had to throw them out. The maitre d' was totally incapable of handling them. Go to the Mayfair Nobu, it's much better.
by nylon, 19 Feb 2007My fiance took me here for my birthday. When we arrived (at Nobu Berkeley) we discovered that he had accidentally booked with Nobu Park Lane instead. However, the staff at Nobu Berkeley were all brilliant, very accommodating and understanding, and found us a table straight away.
The food here is incredible. The menu has such a huge array of dishes, that we decided to ask the waitress to order for us. I have to say, this is by far the best Japanese restaurant I have been to and some of the best food I have eaten (in particular the Yellowtail Sashimi and the Black Cod were to die for!).
The combination of exquisite food and impeccable service made for a very special birthday dinner.
I am speechless, the food is so good. No other sushi restaurant will measure up once you've tried this place!
by Anonymous, 24 Jan 2007I was taken to Nobu for lunch last week and it lived up to and perhaps even surpassed my already very low expectations (based on my experience of Nobu in Tokyo).
I arrived on time for lunch and had to wait while the receptionists finished their conversation. I was then told in an off-hand fashion that my host had not yet arrived, I should wait in the bar. I had to ask for my coat and bag to be checked - this proved a drama because they had no coat/bag check receipts.
I went though to the bar and received grudging service. I waited for about 15-20 minutes whilst one of the surly receptionsts marched up with a clip board in hand and asked in an accusing manner if I had a reservation. I reminded her that I was waiting for my host and she stalked off. Another 15 minutes passed and I was beginning to think that something had happened to my host when he appeared down the stairs from the restaurant level; he had been waiting for the same period upstairs, having arrived ahead of me, and came down when he discovered that the same fate had befallen the fellow at the next table.
We complained, clearly the receptionists and the maitre'd were not coordinated, and were offered a complimentary drink - big deal. Pity about the food. It was OK, but frankly there are better Japanese restaurants for sushi in London that are also better value. The service did not make up for the value difference. It was unprofessional, amateur, resoundingly un-Japanese (in fact there wasn't a Japanese in sight among the staff or the guests).
I would never voluntarily book this restaurant and if invited again will politely decline - the experience is not even worth a 'free lunch'.
New Year's Eve, what should we expect? It's over-priced, over-hyped and not that good. I expected so much more.
by lufcpaul1 (3 reviews), 06 Jan 2007As a wheelchair user, in applying a little due diligence, I decided to call this venue by phone to make sure of 3 things before departing from my home: firstly, the location of any nearby disabled car parking bays; secondly, disabled bathroom facilities; thirdly, their accessibility - not only to the bar area but also to the 1st floor.
An uninspiring, nonchalant 'answer' from the General Manager regarding disabled parking in the vicinity kicked my enquiry off beautifully. "We have disabled bathrooms on the ground floor" (which is where the bar is located) provided a degree of confidence. But "There's no access to the 1st floor" (which for this special event is where dinner was being served) shattered my expectations. "We could carry you up" the large spiral staircase or "We could bring dinner to you in the bar area" was the icing on the proverbial cake!
Poor show Nobu! I established that Nobu's health and safety policy precluded use of the service elevator. So there you have it. Hugely disappointing from a stylish venue that, ironically, carries the wheelchair symbol. My advice to the GM is to take action in understanding that organisations and businesses like Nobu that provide a service should anticipate the needs of disabled people, and any access barriers their premises may have. Good information is vital to all potential customers (irrespective of whether they have a disability or not) and that includes being able to give some guidance on simple matters such as the location of disabled car parking bays or even the ability to take dinner with ones' fellow guests on the 1st floor without having to experience the indignity of being carried up a staircase, spiral, straight or otherwise!
For Nobu, there is a balance between achieving an inclusive environment and understanding the business case. In the UK alone, the total spending power of disabled people is estimated at £80 billion, representing some 10% of the UK's annual domestic consumption. Nobu unfortunately doesn't yet 'get it'.
From a really disappointed, still 'prospective' customer...
We had been looking forward to going to Nobu for ages but were SEVERELY disappointed...
The service was far too in-your-face and pushy for us to enjoy the evening. We were asked at least 6 times if we wanted mineral water and our glasses were refilled as soon as we took even a sip (very off-putting). Service in general was unprofessional and inefficient.
As for the food, the presentation was clumsy, the sauces were overly sweet or overly spicy, and the shiitake mushroom salad was a rip-off as it was a mountain of very basic salad with not even a handful of mushrooms.
I can't imagine how this place got a Michelin Star - it can only have been off the back of Nobu's previous achievements. Will never go back and wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
I go to Nobu nearly every month, and think it's one of the best places in London. It's trendy and filled with people of all ages. It can get a little bit loud, but the drinks (especially the saki) and food are great.
by jjane, 11 Nov 2006Sensational! You'll never forget the food, the atmosphere and the extraordinarily suave bar. You feel like a million dollars.
by katenorah, 09 Sep 2006So disappointing!
We went to Nobu Berkeley (downstairs) as a group of six. We requested a bottle of chilled champagne and some sashimi. The yellowtail was great and the first bottle of champagne was just about OK, although chilled glasses would have helped.
BUT it all went downhill after that. The second bottle was hardly chilled, service (when you could secure attention - on a very quiet Monday night!) was unhelpful. Is it too much to expect a bar to serve chilled champagne?
The final straw was the size of the tuna sashimi - one piece was about the size of a one pound coin! Cost: £5 or so per piece! What nonsense!
We pointed this out and did receive a replacement, but this was left on our table with no apology. Our friends have been there before and say this experience was atypical. Let's hope no one else has to endure anything like it again.
Great great food I just wish I could hear what my friends were saying over dinner. Perhaps the worst acoustics in a restaurant ever.
Still, great fun - shame more people didn't concentrate on the food rather than who was walking up the stairs.
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Photograph © Nobu Berkeley







