This new-build, 150-room hotel looks a bit like a UFO that has landed on a plot of land squeezed between old warehouses and little pubs in London’s East End. Metal spikes jut out from stepped balconies with sloping walls that disappear into a cavernous hollow (into which you can peer to see diners eating sushi at tables on a terrace). In the reception area everything is feng shui, with low-slung seating, Japanese screens, black marble, brass fittings and dim lighting. This is discreet oriental opulence.
In a nutshell
The Japanese celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa opened his first restaurant in Lima, Peru, in 1973. Since then he has conquered the world with his distinctive mix of Japanese and South American cuisine, which has been championed by the actor Robert De Niro, who has a stake in the business. This is the fifth Nobu hotel to open globally and it is home to the third Nobu restaurant in London (the first opened on Park Lane in the 1990s). People really do seem to have a taste for Matsuhisa’s uncooked fish.
What are the rooms like?
The rooms are chambers of sleek sophistication, with dark wood panels, brass fittings and low-slung furniture. Bowling ball-shaped ceiling lights illuminate king-size beds, with good-quality linen and natty cotton gowns folded on top. Wooden slatted screens cover the windows and screens decorated with abstract art slide into place at night. Every room has a 55in television and a Japanese tea set (naturally). Bathrooms are OTT, with brass sinks and rainforest showers. The cheapest rooms are from £240, room only.
Which is the best room?
The Nobu suite is massive and has two balconies (from £890).
So what’s the food like?
The restaurant is reached via a sweeping staircase, with a DJ at the top playing dance music (but not too loudly). A bar, with shelves of saké, is to the left, where high French windows lead outside. And the food is amazing. I opt for the seven-course Omakase menu; omakase, I am reliably informed by the charming waitress Alexandra, means “from the heart”.
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Salmon nashi (a Japanese pear wrapped in salmon and sprinkled with truffle salt) is followed by yellowtail sashimi (with sliced jalapeno and garlic puree), sea bass yuzu kosho (with a tomato salsa and truffle honey), and tenderloin of beef in a dish with flaming saké and a spicy Peruvian sauce — the many scintillating flavours leap out and blend with perfection. Red mullet, salmon and prawn sushi with soy sauce come next, after which delicious succulent Jidori chicken with sliced pickles and wasabi is delivered. The bento box chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream completes a first-rate meal (overseen by the head chef Greg Seregi). Seven courses cost from £85.
Who goes there?
The fashion set already love it.
What else is there to do?
Explore Shoreditch — and book a treatment at the hotel spa when it opens later in the year.
The highs, the lows, the verdict
Nine and a half out of ten
Room rates are not too high, the architecture is imaginative and the food is excellent, but the hallways are so dimly lit that you can hardly see your way.
Need to know
Tom Chesshyre was a guest of Nobu Hotel Shoreditch (020 7683 1200, nobuhotelshoreditch.com), 10-50 Willow Street, London EC2A 4BH; double rooms cost from £240 a night; wheelchair access rooms are available; no single occupancy discount; no dogs allowed