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The first Nobu in the world not designed in New York, the new-look Budapest branch of the famed Japanese brand has just been unveiled at the Kempinski Hotel. Sixteen years after its initial opening, which also brought co-owner, Robert De Niro, to town, namesake celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa was back in Hungary to see his restaurant transformed after a €4 million makeover.
“For me, Nobu has always been about energy,” said a relaxed Nobu-san at a press reception gathered in his honour. “I want people to feel good the moment they walk into the restaurant. To feel the welcome, the atmosphere and the experience that Nobu represents around the world.”
Hungarian by design
Launched in New York in 1994, first venturing abroad to London in 1997, Nobu now numbers 60 operations from Bangkok to the Bahamas – but this is the first one whose interior was entrusted to a local design studio, B.A.D., headed by Dániel Ákos Bara. “We weren’t thinking in terms of revolution,” admitted Bara, “but evolution. The intention was to preserve the classic Nobu identity while introducing a new atmosphere and new energy into the space”.
The concept is built around the duality of Japanese and Peruvian influences, the foundation upon which former Lima resident Nobu created his unique culinary fusion that so impressed De Niro when visiting the chef's first restaurant in Los Angeles nearly 40 years ago.
Nearly every element within the new space in the heart of Budapest has been custom-designed and produced specifically for the project. Illuminated stone surfaces, soft lighting and refined materials inspired by Japanese luxury aesthetics define the stunning environment.
“To me, Japanese luxury is not about decoration, it is about exceptional materials. The materials themselves should be beautiful.”
The renewed space places greater emphasis on the sushi bar and introduces a new bar concept, both facilitated by a contemporary technological infrastructure, while the atmosphere of the restaurant has been completely reimagined. Following the reopening, Nobu Budapest will operate with extended opening hours, while DJs will spin every Friday and Saturday evening, allowing guests to let loose after dinner service ends.
Teamwork the secret ingredient
Executive Chef Gábor Schreiner, who has led the kitchen at Nobu Budapest from day one, described his first experience entering the completed space as very emotional: “I’ve been here every single day for 16 years, and when I first walked into the finished restaurant, it felt like entering an entirely new world, even though I had witnessed every stage of the process. The technology has evolved tremendously, many things have changed, but what truly matters had stayed the same: the team. We continue working with the same people who have been building Nobu Budapest together for many years”.
When asked by Time Out Budapest how important Budapest was to Nobu’s huge worldwide operation, Nobu-san seemed to cherish the city and its gastronomic prowess: “When I travel, I am constantly learning. Budapest is very interesting to me from that perspective. I’ve learned a great deal here – about paprika, for example, and also about the use of foie gras”.
The relationship most certainly works both ways, executive chef Gábor Schreiner the best placed to explain: “We were made to feel that Budapest wasn’t just a dot on the map somewhere, but that Nobu trusted us, and that we had an important role to play”.
Schreiner wouldn’t be drawn on any potential additions to the menu. Neither he nor Nobu are the kind of chefs to change things for the sake of it, but they both understand the value of repeat custom, and those repeat customers being keen to sample something new.
When Nobu first opened here in October 2010, it was only a few months after the Hungarian capital had gained its first Michelin Star for Costes. Now Budapest can more than match most cities in the region for culinary expertise. Among the most influential benchmarks in international luxury gastronomy. Nobu has been instrumental in this welcome transformation.
Nobu Budapest, Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest, Erzsébet tér 7-8, 1051 Budapest. Open Mon-Thur, Sun noon-11pm, Fri-Sat noon-11.45pm
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This article was written by Peterjon Cresswell, a writer based in Budapest. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.