I love Restaurant Week in NYC. With so many restaurants participating, you get to discover a new restaurant during these weeks. We selected several restaurants from the list, and Nobu Next Door was the first one up. We made a reservation for Friday evening, and we were very excited to try their food.
The inside was dimly lit, creating more of a romantic atmosphere. It was larger than I thought, even though it is not a huge space. I somehow thought the Nobu Next Door is really small… They had booth and table seating, and some large round tables in the middle. When we walked in, it was not very busy at all, but it quickly got filled up.
They have a pretty big sushi counter. For the customers who just want sushi, they can sit there and get some fresh sushi. We always like to sit at the counter, but since we were there for the Restaurant Week menu, we got regular table seating.
On top of their Restaurant Week food menu, they also had Restaurant Week drink menu as well, which was pretty cool. I ordered Ichigo Caipirinha ($12), which is made with Cachaca, Strawberries, and Fresh Lime. It was not as sweet as I wanted it to be, rather refreshing from the strong lime flavor. Since I was expecting more of a fruity sweet cocktail, it was a bit disappointing. But, I must say it was a very high quality drink and really strong. It was a “sip slowly” type of drink, which I appreciated and I enjoyed.
For food, we both went with the Restaurant Week menu ($42). For appetizer, we chose Yellowtail Jalapeño and Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing. Yellowtail Jalapeño was thinly sliced, super fresh, and had nice kick to it from the jalapeño, without being too spicy. The sauce was flavorful and refreshing, went great with the yellowtail sashimi.
Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing was so good, with nice thick seared sashimi pieces. Super fresh, refreshing, and a good portion. It is always good to received a happy surprise. The salad dressing was really good too, very tasty, zesty and addictive.
For the main course, we chose Assorted Sushi and Black Cod and Eggplant with Miso. The assorted sushi came with 6 pieces of nigiri, and 6 pieces of rolls. Black cod came with a side of white rice.
The sushi pieces were really well made, with rice having the perfect amount of sugar and vinegar, and at right firmness. They had tuna, salmon, mackerel, crab, etc. Each fish was really fresh, and sliced not too thin or too thick. Good natural oil and shine on it, each bite was heavenly. The rolls were really good too, they were tuna tartar roll, and had lots of it. You can see how much tuna is in the roll, with just minimum amount of sushi rice. Excellent sushi!
Then, there is this Black Cod. Let me tell you, it was AMAZING!!! The portion is rather small, but quality is out of this world. The cod is cooked to perfection, flaky yet juicy, and melt in your mouth. The flavor of the fish with miso was unbelievable, it was really, really delicious! The eggplant was also really good, tender and juicy, and soaked up the same miso flavor. It went great with the white rice. I wish if I could’ve had a huge plateful of this cod and eggplant. It was above and beyond delicious. No words to describe how tasty it was…
After we were in complete awe with the appetizer and main course, it was time for desserts. There were only two choices for the desserts, so we each got different dessert. The first one was Black Sesame Cheesecake, with Orange Coulis and Chantilly Cream. It was so creamy, silky, and super delicious. Loved the black sesami flavor. It was more like a mousse than a cheesecake, but since I love mousse, I really liked the way it is made. It was not overly sweet, and the zesty-ness from the orange coulis gave a big splash on the flavor note. I enjoyed everything about this dessert. The second one was Kabocha Cream Choux, with Pumpkin Seed Streusel and Apple Com pote. This one was super cute, made into the shape of Kabocha, in a way. It had great warm flavors of pumpkin and apple, and the sauce had alcohol infused taste to it, which was great. It was fun to eat!
When it was time to pay for these awesome food, our waiter brought the credit card device. I really liked how we, the customer get to swipe the card (or use the chip), and complete the transaction. Very safe and secure if you worry about credit card theft stuff. Also, you don’t have to wait for the staff to run the credit card during the busy dinner time.
They have two bathrooms, both uni-sex. Each bathroom has a really cool mosaic on the wall. It is a large piece, covering one entire wall. The bathroom is clean and simple, with ample amount of paper towels, neatly stacked in the nook of the wall. Thank you!
We were happy we got to visit Nobu Next Door during the Restaurant Week. We got to have quality food at affordable price, and it was totally worth every penny. The staffs were really efficient and professional. We never had to ask for anything. Our water was always filled, dirty dishes taken away immediately, and yet never felt rushed. Before the dessert, our waiter came and asked if we wanted to add any dishes, as the food is not a huge portion. Very thoughtful of him! We were not stuffed but happily full, so we didn’t add any food. We were happy with the entire experience, I would like to go back to Nobu Next Door, or to Nobu, for more quality food in the near future.
Nobu Next Door – 105 Hudson St, New York, NY 10013
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