Nobu 57

Humm, I found it a little rude that we were told a few times that our table needed to be clear by 8:30. Our reservations were for 6:30. We were ordering many items off the menu but our server insisted that she tell us X dish has only 1 piece of fish.. as if we were only ordering dish X and nothing else. By the end of our dining experience we had tried a considerable amount of dishes and our server finally started acting friendly toward us (I'm guessing she realized by that point she had a nice tip). We didn't have a bad dish, but I wasn't impressed with the sushi. Overall, for the hype that surrounds Nobu, I wasn't that impressed. I've never been to the original so I can't draw a comparison.

Keep in mind we're talking Nobu57, not the original Nobu. And there were some less than palatable dishes. Two come to mind: The halibut cheeks, which were very chewy and served in a brown sauce that was reminiscent of a Swanson's creation. Also a major disappintment was the tempure rock shimp, which were limp and tasteless. The sushi was passable and the rolls could have come from any half-way decent sushi joint. I think the bad left a stronger impression than the good because of the rushed (almost to the point of being rude) service. The reminder that we'd need to vacate our table at a certain time was especially irksome, as was the impression from our server--given multiple times--that we hadn't ordered enough food (our bill topped out at more than $400 for three people). There are so many less expensive places in the city that have charm and fantastic food, that I just can't see an educated New York diner feeling satisfied with the experience.