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Nobu - BEYOND Ridiculous!

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  • Nobu - BEYOND Ridiculous!

    There are things in life that irritate us, drive us crazy, make us mad. Some are considered pet peeves, annoyances, or simply ridiculous. And then there are the things that are BEYOND Ridiculous! I know we have a pet peeve thread and a complaint thread, but I'd like to start this BEYOND Ridiculous thread for things that just make you shake your head for days in disbelief. These things are just beyond ridiculous.....

    I'll start with my Nobu Restaurant story.

    For those of you who don't know of this particular restaurant, it is considered a very posh and trendy Japanese restaurant. It started in New York (I think) and was often touted on the Howard Stern show as the BEST Japanese food restaurant. They opened in Las Vegas and recently in Hawaii at the Waikiki Parc Hotel.

    My friend suggested we try it the other night and I eargerly agreed as Japanese food is my favorite. Upon arrival, my husband requested that he get the bill at the end of the night. It was just the three of us.

    We looked over the menu and noticed that the prices were particularly high -- but we had expected it from this restaurant. There were also quite a few items that said "market price." The server intorduced herself and began explaining to us that the restaurant is "family" style and that we should order a bunch of different items for everyone to taste. She also had a list of "specials" that were not on the menu - which she highly recommended.

    We started th some sushi. Nigiri sushi is sold by the piece at this palce. She recommened that we taste the different grades of toro so we can get the whole "Nobu" experience. The highest grade of toro was $12.00 per piece. We ordered 4 pieces (yes, that's $48.00 for 4 pieces of sushi). We also ordered some other nigiri sushi ranging from $6.00 - $8.00 per piece. BEYOND Ridiculous!

    Next she suggested we try the chef's special Kobe Beef gyoza. We each got 2 pieces. Since it wasn't on the menu we had no idea of this appetizer cost. As it turns out, the appetizer was $30.00 (yes, that's $5.00 per gyoza). And I couldn't even taste any beef! BEYOND Ridiculous!

    Next she suggested we try the "special" Kobe Beef steak. Something that they don't offer all the time. We asked her the price and she said that they had two grades - the $20.00 steak and the $27.00 steak. She recommended that we try the $27.00 because it was awesome. She asked us how many ounces we wanted and we ordered a 10 ounce steak for us all to try. When it arrived, the steak was searing on some rocks with some wild mushroom on the side. We requested some rice and tsukemono (pickled vegetables). iceas $2.00 per scoop and the tsukemono was $12.00.

    After dinner we ordered some dessert. One order of Banana flavored Andagi and one order of Strawberries and Cream. They were priced at $10 and $12 and was only enough to feed a two year old. BEYOND Ridiculous!

    Along with dinner, my husband drank water, I drank water and one very tiny margarita, and my friend drank three glasses of shochu sake.

    The bill arrived. My husband gasped and said rather loudly "Oh Sh*t!." We looked at him as kept asking him to share with us what he saw. The bill was $590.00 before tip. With tip it came to $675.00! BEYOND Ridiculous!

    You see, the steak was $27.00 an ounce! $270.00 for a 10-ounce steak that the three of us shared! I don't know about you, but NO steak is worth $270.00! BEYOND Ridiculous!

    So.....there you have it! At least we got a good laugh out of it. It was so ridiculous it was funny. We have a new saying in our house. When something is beyond ridiculous we refer to it as being "so Nobu!"

    Buyer beware.......
    So long...and thanks for all the fish!

  • #2
    Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

    Wow. . I don't even have words for that. Seriously, how pretentious do you have to be to charge by-the-ounce for meat? They may as well charge you by-the-grain for rice.

    I fully agree; BEYOND Ridiculous!
    Grab some goggles and answer to nobody.

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    • #3
      Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

      Just curious, if the bill was removed from the equation, how would you actually rate the food?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

        OMG! Wea is dis place? Waikiki FUXK?

        Nobu Rifreakendiculous!!!

        Da nerve!

        I told you foa call me up and I would cook ANYTHING foa YOU!

        But you neba like listen!

        However, my hunny did get into an accident. I wasn't able to do much of anything anyways. Still, dat place needs Whacks Whacks! Wat got on their meat? Sumting sprayed from Mars?heheheh

        Auntie Lynn
        Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
        Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

          Originally posted by joshuatree View Post
          Just curious, if the bill was removed from the equation, how would you actually rate the food?
          Funny you ask. We actually discussed the meal before the bill came. My friend's brother works at the Halekulani across the street and mentioned hthat he overheard others going to McDonalds after the meal because they were still hungry.

          That being said, we all agreed that the portions were very small. The sushi fish, although extremely fresh and tasty, was sliced very thin -- therefore we tasted more rice than fish on the $12.00 toro. The rest of the sushi was average for a fine restaurant.

          I ordered a House Special margarita before dinner. The glass it came in was about 3" high, filled with ice (on the rocks) and it only took a few sips to finish. It was $12.00.

          The appetizer tasted like regular gyoza. It was slightly bigger (and I mean slightly) than the store-bought kind. It was kobe beef filled but had so much vegetables, the beef was almost non-existent. Still, very tasty though.

          The Kobe Beef steak was extremely tender - as we expected it to be. I've had Kobe Beef before and it was very similar to my previous experience. It came with a bourbon sauce that was very nice. But siince we shared the 10 ounces, my husband was still hungry after. The tsukemono sucked.

          The desserts were not so hot. As small as they were, we didn't even finish them.

          We estimated that the meal was to be about $300-$350, including drinks. We thought the food was tasty but nothing special. We all agreed that for $300 we could find something much better and probably wouldn't return.

          As you can imagine we were totally blown away by the bill and thought it was outrageous and definitely wouldn't be back! Maybe if we ordered from the menu instead of going on the server's recommendations, we would have been happier. I hear they make a mean Misoyaki Butterfish for $50.00 ala carte.
          So long...and thanks for all the fish!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

            Originally posted by 1stwahine View Post
            OMG!
            I told you foa call me up and I would cook ANYTHING foa YOU!

            But you neba like listen!

            Auntie Lynn
            I need Whack Whacks for not listening to you! Your Gandule Rice is probably Waaaaaay bettah den dis place!
            So long...and thanks for all the fish!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

              Originally posted by Kalei99 View Post
              I need Whack Whacks for not listening to you! Your Gandule Rice is probably Waaaaaay bettah den dis place!
              $675.00 is a Luau!

              HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

              I still have your Gandule Salsa in my freezer. I make you a new batch when you come in March.

              Auntie Lynn
              Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
              Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                Originally posted by 1stwahine View Post
                $675.00 is a Luau!

                HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

                I still have your Gandule Salsa in my freezer. I make you a new batch when you come in March.

                Auntie Lynn

                Serious! It's a RT ticket back to Hawaii!! hahahaha Mahalo! and sorry I missed you...
                So long...and thanks for all the fish!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                  Originally posted by Kalei99 View Post
                  Funny you ask. We actually discussed the meal.....
                  Thanks for the detailed review. Good to know, this is why I always get turned off by "market price" listings.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                    This brings to mind Creative-1's "What $4 Billion Dollars Can Buy" thread (regarding the rail transit issue).

                    In light of Kalei's experience, we may have to start one titled "What $675 dollars Can Buy"....

                    $675 can buy a dinner for 3 at Nobu in Waikiki ...OR...


                    • 8 Prix Fixe dinners for 2 at Roy's Waikiki (16 total covers)
                    • 25 All-You-Can-Eat Sunday Breakfast Brunch covers at The Willows
                    • 105 Zippy's Zip Pacs
                    • 122 "Lunch Box" Sushi Bento Packs from Kozo (or Aloha or Sushi Man) .. and probably taste just as good, if not better than the above

                    sigpic The Tasty Island

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                    • #11
                      Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                      Sounds like another restaurant that is past its prime days of being something new, innovative and special - and is now coasting on its reputation. The next step on that path is generally either (a) get it together and return to being something truly worthy of their name and price, or (b) fail. The only question is the timeline.




                      Whoa! 5000th post! I am a motormouth!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                        Lucky it wasn't me... I would have been in the back washing dishes to pay off that bill!

                        I lived in Japan for seven years so am used to BEYOND ridiculous prices - once we sang karaoke in a room, ate some pupus, dranks some cocktails and beer and were charged over $700! Luckily, there was no tip!! A friend who was with us (gaijin but been in Japan forever) was just going to pay the bill - no questions asked!!! On principle, I refused. Luckily, I was sober enough to go through the itemized bill and I did get it down (I think they reduced the bill just to avoid confrontation) but no way that was worth $700!

                        The alarm bells went off while reading your story when I got to the $20 or $27 kobe steak. You've had it before so you might have known that it is the world's most expensive beef - the cows are fed organic grain, beer and sake and massaged by hand to produce the tenderest meat. Although is what they serve here actually kobe beef or kobe-style beef? I don't remember how much Kobe beef goes for in Tokyo but know it's in the hundreds so that $20 or $27 per ounce is about right.

                        That being said, this isn't Tokyo and that server of yours should have been more specific!

                        Arigatou gozaimasu for posting of your experience here so that we can all boycott Nobu! Well, I couldn't afford to eat there even if I wanted to!!
                        Last edited by kiwidiva; November 29, 2007, 11:41 AM.
                        Toku toa, he toa rangatira ~ He whakatauki
                        My bravery is inherited from the chiefs who were my forebears ~ Maori whakatauki

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                        • #13
                          Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                          Originally posted by Pomai View Post
                          This brings to mind Creative-1's "What $4 Billion Dollars Can Buy" thread (regarding the rail transit issue).
                          It can buy Hawaiian Airlines a brand new Airbus widebody fleet.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                            damn, that much for a dinner? I coulda used that money for 5 more pairs of shoes.
                            Twitter: LookMaICanWrite


                            flickr

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                            • #15
                              Re: BEYOND Ridiculous!

                              DAYAM...I don't think any of us can top your story, Kalei! I haven't had any yearnings to try Nobu and now I know I never will. Did the waitperson really not tell you the Kobe steak price was per ounce? If not, you probably had just cause to refuse to pay for it or at least negotiate it way down. Must admit I thought the $27. price was a deal. Eldest spawn and I had dinner at the Chart House earlier this year and she ordered a steak off the menu that was $36. (iirc). I found that way over the top!

                              To add to the BEYOND ridiculous thread...
                              All I'll say is...an employee at my Makaha condo. Ooooh how I'd love to elaborate!

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