Nobu Fifty Seven

First time at Nobu, and of course I'd been hearing about it for years. In short, the food was mostly excellent (avoid the tempura menu), our waiter was excellent with recommendations and service, and the ambiance was mostly good (one screaming baby and one horse-laughing woman). With one drink only between my new wife and I the bill was only $200 after a tasting frenzy. We will go back, and we fully enjoyed ourselves.

For years, I heard so much about Nobu. So you can imagine my disappointment by being completely underwhelmed...I don't think I set my expectations too high. I can get a Japanese meal just as good at my local Japanese restaurant, at a fraction of the cost...and so can you. I didn't find the sushi any fresher or the entrees any better at Nobu 57. Don't fall for the hype or the pretense. That's all it is.

I actually liked this place a couple of years ago when I was still in my 20's and didn't know any better. The big, loud scene drowns out any elegance the atmosphere originally intended, while midtown's after work crowd, tourist, and vapid fakes conglomerate over their over- priced concoctions of sea creatures, only to share the commonality of under- developed palates and banal conversations. The pretentious staff need be reminded that they have not just won the Nobel Peace Prize, but rather that they are in the service industry. In short, this place is a tasteless joke. Reward your existence by celebrating it anywhere else.

We were told on the same day as our meal that there had been a mix up in timings from our original of 2100, we were now going to be seated at 2145. I had called approx 72 hours earlier to inform them about some dietary restrictions for a member in our party. 'That's fine, the manager and your waiter/waitress will be made aware of that.' Couldn't they have mentioned the time change then? Anyway, get to the table and are being waited upon by a waiter who could have been more customer friendly. He wasn't even aware of the dietary concerns of one of the diners, came to him as a shock when he was told. Food was well prepared from the edamame to the asparagus to the miso cod. Service was luke warm. Noisy place but I can see what draws people to it. On our way out, there were two staff at the reception area and neither of them even bothered to utter a thank you or good night. Maybe they guessed it hadn't been too good of a night after all! Would possibly still give it another try.

I was in a group of 5 from work. I think i would only go if we can charge the corporate card. It was good experience overall. it's place to go and share the dishes together. we let the waiter select and bring out the dishes. Just note that when you let them do this ...they will keep bringing out the dishes and you have to tell them to stop. memorable dishes were lobster with wasabi/pepper with avacado. the beef tataki was like butter. king crab tempura could be better. rock shrimp with spicy sauce was very good and had a decent quatity to share. drinks are pricy as well...each martini is 16 bucks. the weirdest thing i thought about the place was that there were parents with elementary school kids there for dinner....i assume tourists but def not a place i would take kids if i had any. also def skip dessert...the pbj dessert not worthit at all. all the desserts were very anti climatic and leaning toward memorably bad. The total for all 5 was probably >600.

food as good as nobu but crowd has a lot of children and tourists. good for pre-theatre as you can walk to the theaters

As a frequent visitor to Nobu & Nobu next door I was excited to try "57" It fell flat. The food is still quite good, the black cod too die for, but the atmosphere is that of a loud blue plate diner. Soaring ceilings & minimalist decor may look gorgeous when photographed in a magazine, but when full of hungry diners having to shout it was quite a disappointment. Nobu, I love you, but I think I'll stick to your downtown roots.