Nobu Solana Beach

Let’s make sure that we are clear that this is the Nobu in Solana Beach area and not the one at the Hard Rock hotel downtown. Nobu has been around forever it seems like and had some renovations done sometime last year. People generally either hate or love this place, I’ve always had good experiences and will keep Nobu on the list of sushi places that consistently have good sushi.

Ambiance

Calm, collected and a traditional Japenese appearance. Welcome to Nobu. Far from the contemporary Sushi joints, or the cheap grub places, this is a fine mix between the two. Allowing for your company and your food to be the main attractions rather than the drunk Sake bombing crowd or the overzealous DJ. Nobu is a great place to have a nice, relaxing night.

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Traditional Japanese ambiance which makes for a nice relaxing night.

Food

This is what Nobu is so notorious for, the quality of their food. They really have the freshest fish which makes a huge difference over many other sushi places in San Diego. Second, notice that the sushi chef’s actually take the time and care of producing quality rolls. The rolls aren’t loose, or look like they have been butchered by a knife. Taking the time and care to really put the finishing touches on each and every roll. Although the finishing touches tend to take almost too long at times.

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Expert sushi chef’s prepare some of the freshest sushi in San Diego

Service

Welcome to Nobu’s biggest flaw, the service. From horrendous wait times to overall poor service Nobu is extremely lacking! Nobu has so many other variables right that I truly question why the service can be so poor. Quality over quantity I can understand, but when quality sushi can take an hour to receive things just don’t seem right! Nobu really needs to step back and take a look at what the problems are and address them as soon as possible. It’s disappointing because Nobu has the possibility to really stand out from the rest. I even saw a table of disgruntled people that told me they worked with list broker friends leave and they seemed pretty upset about it.

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Really Nobu’s biggest problem, the service.

Price

Price can be considered expensive, although when you really see the quality I feel that it is very well priced. Fresh fish, high quality ingredients aren’t cheap and I expect that to be reflected in the price. I’d say that Nobu is very moderately priced for the quality. It’s really just right.

Rating:
Perfectly priced for such a fresh selection and high quality ingredients

Summary

With some of the freshest ingredients and high quality sushi chefs Nobu can make for a real sushi treat. The only caveat is expect a long dinner service due to poor quality service and mismanaged restaurant. If you can manage the time for a nice relaxing meal then check out Nobu. For a quick, in and out sushi solution look elsewhere.

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