Definition of first class. View of the ocean, chef prepared dishes, and fantastic service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: 48 Hour Braised Teriyaki Glazed Short Ribs with Rocoto Mustard
John Appleby
Nobu is of course an iconic brand, and I’m a big fan of their flagship restaurants.
What you get here is a familiar experience with classic dishes like their black miso cod. The chefs have been well trained and make the classics just as you’d expect them. That’s tough to do in such a remote environment, so bravo.
Hats off to a varied wine menu with some nice value picks. Not all $1000 wines!
So why four stars? Three things.
First, the cocktail menu is pretty poor. At least four Aperol drinks… very summer 2023! And the preparation was average. Skip it and go down the steps to the pool bar which has amazing cocktails.
Second, I’m a big believer that a restaurant like this should draw from its own heritage as well as local. There is some attempt with the “now” section but almost no use of local fish and produce. That’s a travesty.
Third, the “now” dishes were a bit hit and miss. The fried rice cakes with tuna tartare was epic, but the ahi wasabi salsa was massively over seasoned with wasabi and inedible.
But I don’t wish to be too critical. It’s a very good restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Cod with Miso
S Tah
We really enjoyed our experience here! The food was delicious, we'll definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
JeanneteLewis
Food presentation was quite appealing; fish was incredibly fresh; servers engaging and answered all our questions accurately about the food options, portions, etc. The setting is beautiful and everything was clean - absolutely perfect.
AnnaK
Nobu Lanai delivers a stunning culinary adventure. Perfectly blending Japanese flavors with Hawaiian flair, each dish is a masterpiece. The ocean-side location adds to the serene ambiance, while the staff exudes warmth and professionalism. Unpretentious yet luxurious, it's more than dining—it's a memorable, palate-awakening journey.
KARENT180
All fine…but not great. Dining space fine…not special. Service good…not great. Host stand could not seat us early…despite only 3 other diners at that time. Very odd. Unsweetened iced tea was “funky”- either old pitcher or unclean dispenser. Delicious lobster salad! Professional bartender!
Cora C
Nobu is outstanding, excellent service and impeccable , very professional. Food was amazing. Of course the view, the ambiance, you are in a place quite being in the tropic, outdoor experience. Must eat toro sushi, and toro tartare. If you have time eat in the counter. Love it.
149meyers
As always with Nobu’s around the world, the quality of the ingredients was phenomenal. What differentiates Nobu locations from each other is ambiance, service and execution. The service was friendly and professional. The food was excellent. The views were great. It was a little warm but there’s only so much you can control that with a restaurant that is outdoors.
Sarah Tah
We really enjoyed our experience here! The food was delicious, we'll definitely be back.
The food was amazing, the staff was fun, knowledgeable and accommodating. My only issue was the vagueness of the menu, I hate condiments and they were not listed at all. I got my wagu beef and it was covered in ketchup. So I’d ask about anything you order. In the chef’s defense, he did make me a new wagu, but it felt odd sending food back at Nobu.
Robert P N
Lanai is already a special place with the beautiful Four Seasons Manale Bay hotel. The gorgeous views. The dolphins. The beach. The pool. And then you top off your day at NoBu. It really does not get better than this. We went three nights and went through most everything on the menu. Most favorite spot in hawaii
Pooffio
We went to Nobu by recommendation of our hotel (Sensei). Upon arrival we were seated right in front of the server station, while plenty of regular seating was open. The music was loud and obnoxious unless you find techno or trance appropriate dinner melodies. The servers were largely inattentive apart from rude comments they made while at their station about others guests. The food itself was nothing to write home about. My wife’s meal came 12 minutes before mine, so dining together resulted in a cold meal. The citrus sauce on her meal was so overpowering that the other flavors completely vanished. My steak was of poor quality (tough and overly fatty) so much for a tenderloin. In short we will not be returning nor recommending this overhyped and over priced location.
Fraser Street
Excellent salmon avo, CA and tempura rolls. Edemame was good. Excellent service and nice atmosphere overlooking the pool.
Siddhant Bahadur
Having been to multiple Nobus, this was the most disappointing in terms of food quality.If you are staying at four seasons, I would recommend One Forty more if you are simply looking for better food preparation and are not hung on Japanese cooking.The menu was missing the wagyu gyoza and takumi wagyu slider as their chef who prepares that wasn't here for past few months (if that's the case, I recommend removing the dishes from the menu so as to not disappoint customers).We ordered the mushroom soup - which was basically mushrooms in hot water (try the one at One Forty instead, which is creamier and tastier)The sushi was mixed - we liked the scallops, and the Uni but the Otoro tasted not fresh, and the fat content was more of a Chu-toro.The best part of the menu was the A5 miyazaki wagyu - that was more the ingredient than the chef skills so hard to rate the restaurant on this.Overall, it was an underwhelming experience compared to the Nobu in Malibu, or any high end sushi restaurant or Japanese restaurant in the Hawaiian islands.We decided to end our meal early and eat upstairs instead since there was nothing good coming out.
Definition of first class. View of the ocean, chef prepared dishes, and fantastic service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: 48 Hour Braised Teriyaki Glazed Short Ribs with Rocoto Mustard
Nobu is of course an iconic brand, and I’m a big fan of their flagship restaurants.
What you get here is a familiar experience with classic dishes like their black miso cod. The chefs have been well trained and make the classics just as you’d expect them. That’s tough to do in such a remote environment, so bravo.
Hats off to a varied wine menu with some nice value picks. Not all $1000 wines!
So why four stars? Three things.
First, the cocktail menu is pretty poor. At least four Aperol drinks… very summer 2023! And the preparation was average. Skip it and go down the steps to the pool bar which has amazing cocktails.
Second, I’m a big believer that a restaurant like this should draw from its own heritage as well as local. There is some attempt with the “now” section but almost no use of local fish and produce. That’s a travesty.
Third, the “now” dishes were a bit hit and miss. The fried rice cakes with tuna tartare was epic, but the ahi wasabi salsa was massively over seasoned with wasabi and inedible.
But I don’t wish to be too critical. It’s a very good restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Cod with Miso
We really enjoyed our experience here! The food was delicious, we'll definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food presentation was quite appealing; fish was incredibly fresh; servers engaging and answered all our questions accurately about the food options, portions, etc. The setting is beautiful and everything was clean - absolutely perfect.
Nobu Lanai delivers a stunning culinary adventure. Perfectly blending Japanese flavors with Hawaiian flair, each dish is a masterpiece. The ocean-side location adds to the serene ambiance, while the staff exudes warmth and professionalism. Unpretentious yet luxurious, it's more than dining—it's a memorable, palate-awakening journey.
All fine…but not great. Dining space fine…not special. Service good…not great. Host stand could not seat us early…despite only 3 other diners at that time. Very odd. Unsweetened iced tea was “funky”- either old pitcher or unclean dispenser. Delicious lobster salad! Professional bartender!
Nobu is outstanding, excellent service and impeccable , very professional. Food was amazing. Of course the view, the ambiance, you are in a place quite being in the tropic, outdoor experience. Must eat toro sushi, and toro tartare. If you have time eat in the counter. Love it.
As always with Nobu’s around the world, the quality of the ingredients was phenomenal. What differentiates Nobu locations from each other is ambiance, service and execution. The service was friendly and professional. The food was excellent. The views were great. It was a little warm but there’s only so much you can control that with a restaurant that is outdoors.
We really enjoyed our experience here! The food was delicious, we'll definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best stake ever.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was amazing, the staff was fun, knowledgeable and accommodating. My only issue was the vagueness of the menu, I hate condiments and they were not listed at all. I got my wagu beef and it was covered in ketchup. So I’d ask about anything you order. In the chef’s defense, he did make me a new wagu, but it felt odd sending food back at Nobu.
Lanai is already a special place with the beautiful Four Seasons Manale Bay hotel. The gorgeous views. The dolphins. The beach. The pool. And then you top off your day at NoBu. It really does not get better than this. We went three nights and went through most everything on the menu. Most favorite spot in hawaii
We went to Nobu by recommendation of our hotel (Sensei). Upon arrival we were seated right in front of the server station, while plenty of regular seating was open. The music was loud and obnoxious unless you find techno or trance appropriate dinner melodies. The servers were largely inattentive apart from rude comments they made while at their station about others guests. The food itself was nothing to write home about. My wife’s meal came 12 minutes before mine, so dining together resulted in a cold meal. The citrus sauce on her meal was so overpowering that the other flavors completely vanished. My steak was of poor quality (tough and overly fatty) so much for a tenderloin. In short we will not be returning nor recommending this overhyped and over priced location.
Excellent salmon avo, CA and tempura rolls. Edemame was good. Excellent service and nice atmosphere overlooking the pool.
Having been to multiple Nobus, this was the most disappointing in terms of food quality.If you are staying at four seasons, I would recommend One Forty more if you are simply looking for better food preparation and are not hung on Japanese cooking.The menu was missing the wagyu gyoza and takumi wagyu slider as their chef who prepares that wasn't here for past few months (if that's the case, I recommend removing the dishes from the menu so as to not disappoint customers).We ordered the mushroom soup - which was basically mushrooms in hot water (try the one at One Forty instead, which is creamier and tastier)The sushi was mixed - we liked the scallops, and the Uni but the Otoro tasted not fresh, and the fat content was more of a Chu-toro.The best part of the menu was the A5 miyazaki wagyu - that was more the ingredient than the chef skills so hard to rate the restaurant on this.Overall, it was an underwhelming experience compared to the Nobu in Malibu, or any high end sushi restaurant or Japanese restaurant in the Hawaiian islands.We decided to end our meal early and eat upstairs instead since there was nothing good coming out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
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