PRICE RANGE $$$$$ ATTIRE Business Casual HOURS Lunch 11:45 am-2:15pm, Mon-Fri, Dinner 5:45-10:15pm, Mon-Sun CUISINE Sushi, Japanese
This is the original New York outpost of Nobuyuki Matsuhisa's Los Angeles eatery that has spawned hordes of imitators and inspired fierce devotion among diners. When Matsuhisa is seeing to his other restaurants, his chefs are equally capable of the stunning gastronomic pyrotechnics, doing justice to his trend-setting New Age Japanese cuisine with its South American overtones. The crowd is a blend of see-and-be-seen Downtowners and Uptown power-brokers arriving by limo, and you can only get a reservation if you call the public number well in advance or know the restaurant's private number. But once you're in, you can have a great (and very expensive) meal: course after course of thrilling creations announcing pure and clean flavors amid elaborate preparations. Nobu's ingredients are of the finest class.