Nobu Malibu

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#3 of 51 Restaurants in MalibuJapanese, Bar, $$$$

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Nobu Malibu

Review

At a glance

Open until 8:30 PM

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Website

+1 310-317-9140Improve this listing

About

Nobu Malibu is known for exquisite cuisine featuring Nobu Matsuhisa's signature dishes such as Tiradito, Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno, and Black Cod with Miso. We also have some Malibu favorites created by our Executive Chef Gregorio Stephenson including Ribeye with Yuzu Butter Truffle Sauce, Heirloom Tomato New Style, and Kobe Beef with Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms. The views of the ocean from nearly every seat in the restaurant complement the experience.

Features

CUISINES

Japanese, Bar, Asian, Fusion

Meal types

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Late Night

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Free Wifi

Full Bar

Outdoor Seating

Parking Available

Private Dining

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Valet Parking

Waterfront

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

22706 Pacific Coast Highway Ste 18, Malibu, CA 90265

Malibu

Parking Available, Valet Parking

Does this restaurant serve Bar / Pub food?

Yes

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Hours

Suggest an edit

Open until 8:30 PM

Sunday

12:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Monday

12:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Tuesday

12:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Wednesday

12:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Thursday

12:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Friday

12:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Saturday

12:00 PM - 9:30 PM

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4.3

1,628 reviews

Excellent

1,039

Very good

317

Average

119

Poor

Terrible

Scott S

Chattanooga2 contributions

Unbelievable food, high price, but worth it

Sep 2023 • couples

Our dinner was unbelievable with a very original take on Japanese and Sushi dishes. We went with a large group and the staff was able to portion our selections so all 10 people had a taste. The bill came to $550.00 a couple with two drinks per person, so if you don't have any alcohol it would be about $100.00 cheaper.

Written September 12, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EBBCT

Riverside28 contributions

Experience the best

Mar 2024 • family

Expensive but half the cost is experiential, and 100% worth it. Craft cocktails with crashing waves and freshest seafood… no wonder it sells out. Miso Cod a MUST! Reservations are definitely not impossible. You just need to call 30 days out exactly at 10 AM West Coast time, and Stay patient.

Written March 13, 2024

Eva W

Jakarta53 contributions

Experience Nobu @Malibu

Dec 2022 • none

It was such a hyped that when you visit LA must go to Nobu. We arrived before the door was open as we had a reservation at 12 pm. We were the 2nd guests to walk in and were greeted just normally by the hostess Alexa, she brought us a table which is a small table for 2 in front of a folding door. I looked around there were plenty of seats and I was looking around if she could show me a better table. But she just simply said this is the size of a table for 2 people and walked away not even trying to help. With such a high-end restaurant how could a hostess treat the guests coldly without even trying? The server saved our expectations, KARDELL is such a warm person, explained the menu in detail and not trying to rush us at all. Such a lively and cheerful person which was just the opposit of the hostess.

Written December 14, 2022

Hayley R

4 contributions

If you not famous or a “regular” in Malibu. Don’t bother. You won’t get a table outside.

Sep 2024 • couples

We had booked Nobu Malibu for a birthday celebration - when calling and booking 30 days in advance and being 4th in the que we had a selection of tables. We requested sunset as this would be the most beautiful. We flew in from Scotland so this was 14hr round trip. The server said it’s first come first serve but as it’s a special birthday it should be accommodated and we could wait at the bar! We arrived exactly at our arrival time of 6.15 - instantly told our table was ready I explained the situation and our table was supposed to be outside. We waited by the bar seeing 5 tables outside empty we thought we were in luck… She came back and said these were reserved for hotel guests and regulars only. I was appalled and unsure how we could be regulars when we live outside Usa and have visited multiple Nobu destinations. After speaking to the manager he told us he didn’t want to explain or list the requirements for outdoor seating. If it was full to capacity I would understand but not five tables empty. Lastly our server handed us three incorrect cheques, it was a birthday celebration and asked if she could take a photo. We set the flash on (iPhone) she panicked and said we aren’t able to have flash… I love Nobu and the food is insane, but avoid Nobu malibu it’s pretentious and only cares if you are famous or a name. Go to another Nobu where you are seated accordingly. I thought 30 days in advance was suffice.

Written September 29, 2024

Discover48174943834

12 contributions

Disappointed

Aug 2023 • friends

I go to Nobu Malibu a few times a year, usually for business. This time I went and took my best friend and her kids there and unfortunately, what a regret. Every drink we ordered took 40 minutes to arrive. By the time we ordered and paid the tip, we were STILL waiting for the food. I will never make the mistake of paying a tip before we finish dinner but I wanted to make sure I paid for my friend and took care of the bill before her. Our server was Dillion and though he started out nice, it ended up being a nightmare. The last thing we ordered after the medley of food, was salmon sushi with truffle oil. It was delivered without the truffle oil, and I mentioned it and sent it back. 20 minutes later, our waiter, Dillion, came and apologized for making the mistake and said that he was sorry. Then he asked for $5 more for the truffle oil!!! At Nobu?! After I gave him a 25% tip. Wow. Ok, I said, no problem and gave him a $20 dollar bill. Ten minutes later he comes back and asks if I want change!!! He says that he is going to have to re-open the bill if I want change! Yes, I said, after everything that has happened, I do not want to give him a 300% tip on the truffle oil sand yes, I do want change. Then the manager comes, Troy, and gives me my $20 and says that he is going to comp me the $5 truffle oil charge. Yes, these are first world problems. In fact, these are the top 1% of first world problems. But this still ruined the evening and I am still disappointed. I was so looking forward to enjoying the evening on a special occasion.

Written August 3, 2023

twotripsamonth

Malibu6 contributions

Bad Experience, Not the Same, Could care less about the Customer

Oct 2024 • family

Have been going to Nobu Malibu for years and usually all good experiences. Not tonight, horrible experience, something has changed, all the Instagram hype and popularity have killed a great place. Horrible service, bad table, too noisy, great music but too loud for a dinner table , charged us $150 for someone else’s bar tab, then they wanted to credit us back in a few days for the incorrect charge vs void the first charge and start over. Manager had a bad attitude. I frankly believe Nobu Malibu could care less about the customer anymore. $800 for 4 people buys you a bad experience at Nobu Malibu. Only a fool would return.

Written October 11, 2024

ekoshka

Brooklyn11 contributions

Ridiculously overrated and overpriced

May 2024 • couples

This place is so overrated. The only star is for the view if you are lucky to get the table on the outside terrace. Nothing here is talking high end. Service pretending to be friendly but really college town canteen style. High end Japanese restaurant serving cold rice, probably cooked the day before ( we were there when it just opened for the day). Their $20 rolls are a joke, $5 in the hood are better.

Written September 9, 2024

askworldtraveler

126 contributions

Know before you go - 1st visit great - last night very poor

Aug 2022 • none

We were 5 people. Not the first visit for any of us. I personally had a great experience the first time. We booked 30 days out, to the minute. We were canceled by the restaurant less than 2 weeks out- someone had bought out the Nobu for the entire summer weekend day and night. We knew who the person was, our waiter had no problem talking about it. We were stuck with an 8:30pm res. on a Monday night. This Nobu has an extensive menu, also offers 2 levels of Omakase tasting menu last night, one just under $150 and the other just under $200. Our first time was fantastic, we did it again for the 5 of us. As we had done before I requested two appetizers to be included (edamame and a delicious popcorn shrimp), our waiter said no problem. We ordered drinks – they came slow – over 30 min after being seated, followed shortly by the two appetizers. A waitstaff came and started clearing, I asked politely not to clear anything including the two shared dishes which still had food in them while people were still eating. Pet peeve of mine. The remainder of the meal also came out very slow, with expiations of what we were eating brief, soft in tone, difficult to impossible to hear, and a quick dart away from the table. Dish 3 had just been served – once again. The same person as the first time started clearing with 3 of us still using our chopsticks. This time I firmly said I had asked not to begin clearning while we were eating. The response was ‘oh” I’m sorry. Our waiter J came back twice during the dinner. No engagement with us, only asking about drinks. The other time to tell us how stressed and exhausted everyone was from the recent buy out, going into detail about what staff came in and did what. We still didn’t know what we were eating. We were never told that the kitchen closes. We were never told that the two dishes thrown down on the table together, a soup (delicious) and Seabass (wonderful) were to be our final dishes. We had to seek out someone to bring us our bill. Had J brought us our check, had he been polite, had he hoped we would come back, I would have asked him why were charged for the 2 appetizers, when the rest of the menu was supposed to be adjusted. (Or told that was impossible to do). Leaving there was not one person to speak with to be seen.

Written August 9, 2022

sashanyc99

New York City32 contributions

Great Food; Service Disaster

May 2024 • family

We’ve been going to Nobu since the very first location opened in Manhattan 30 years ago. We’ve been to Nobu Malibu at least 10 times. When I reserved 30 days in advance, I informed the reservationist that we would be celebrating a birthday, graduation, and Mother’s Day and would like an outdoor table. She said that she would try. When we arrived at 2:30pm, there were 4-5 outdoor tables empty for 5-6 people. The hostess told me “you are sitting inside” and was extremely rude. Upon asking her about the empty tables, she informed me that they were for VIPs and the owners’ friends. One of the women seated at one of the outdoor tables happened to be in the ladies room at the same time as me; when I asked her about the table, told me that she was a tourist and was just seated there without even asking. Things went from bad to worse. Tables that were seated after us, were served before us. It took hours for our meal. Our server was out to lunch. Net/net, the experience ruined our celebration and everyone left in a bad mood despite the great food. Yes, Nobu is a destination and does great business. However, with this level of service, it will go downhill. It will no longer be my restaurant of choice. Extremely disappointing!

Written May 17, 2024

sreiter2017

Las Vegas157 contributions

The place to go if you don’t want to talk to your company!

Dec 2023 • family

I can’t remember the last time I was this uncomfortable….the tables were crammed in so close together. The worst part was the noise: I could not carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to me. The people at the next table were also yelling at each other ( just to be heard - not in anger) so their conversation was overpowering. Although the staff was courteous, it must have been difficult to have patrons screaming orders just to be understood. Our waiter actually took only five of our six orders ( we had to find him again to remind him that there was a forgotten order!). The food came in some random order. My husband, a fast eater, was served first, and had finished before anyone else had eaten! My daughter-in-law got her food after the entire table was finished! Plates were removed quickly….too quickly, and bussers were constantly wiping off the table (this was annoying). The food, itself, was unremarkable.

Written January 1, 2024

Scott G

Los Angeles564 contributions

Good but not amazing food, great location and staff

Mar 2022 • none

I went here today for my birthday, a solo diner. They don't let you make reservations for one person so I was advised to show up and hope for the best. Nobu opens at 12 so I got there at about 11:45, and joined a small line that had formed. I overheard other people in line, including a party of 3, with no reservations. I also overheard people saying if you get there early in the day you can usually get in without a reservation. Sure enough we all got in reservation or not, though the tables outside by the water were all fully reserved already. I was given the choice of eating at a table inside or at any high table I wanted in the bar, and picked a stool table at the bar that overlooked the water, which was essentially the same as eating outside. The party of 3 sat at stools inside the bar overlooking the water as well. Beautiful view, and unlike most restaurants that play annoying or bad music way too loudly the music playing was the right volume and was catchy and upbeat. I asked about it and was told they hire someone to curate a custom playlist, very cool. The entire wait staff was very friendly, casual, and helpful. I ordered their signature dish, the black cod miso, plus a baked crab roll, 2 drinks (passion fruit lychee and passion fruit shichimi), and chocolate harumaki for dessert. All of it was very good. I wouldn't say amazing, or notably different from other sushi and seafood I've had, but definitely tasty and on the higher quality end. The drinks were excellent and somewhat unusual, however, in a good way. I paid $104 for everything, with tax. The prices are high yes, but pretty comparable to many restaurants in Malibu in general. Cos... Malibu. The views are worth it! A great experience, definitely worth a visit to feel fancy!

Written March 8, 2022

Polina

1 contribution

DISCRIMINATION BASED ON DISABILITY AND NATIONAL ORIGIN

Jul 2022 • business

My partner, who is elderly and suffers from serious disabilities—namely, diabetes osteoarthritis, and recent total replacements for both knees—had an atrocious experience after many years of loyalty. After we arrived on July 14 at noon, hostess Alexa sized us up and visibly scoffed at our Ukrainian badges and insignia, which we both prominently and proudly wore in support of Ukraine during the war. She rudely insistent that we wait despite our pleas to be seated as our third person was unlikely to make it due to circumstances beyond our control. As we explained to her manager (see below), if we were not to seated my partner would have likely passed out and been in a lot of pain. After a very embarrassing exchange with Alexa, she finally sat us at a table, which was inappropriate for a handicapped person despite our plea to move us. Alexa refused, using the excuse that “all tables have been reserved” as she again looked our Ukrainian outfits up and down. Her discrimination was obvious on its face. We immediately addressed this issue with Alisa, the alleged manager on duty. She squarely refused to do anything about it and refused to move us to an appropriate table despite me reminding her that their actions were in violation of both federal and state law. Indeed, she has implemented a double standard right before our eyes as she sat a single gentleman at a large table, whose party showed up at least 30 minutes late. Again, very obvious discrimination. Unfortunately, my partner was quickly fading away, so we had to stay and have him eat at least something before we could leave for another place. All in all, this has caused significant public embarrassment and discomfort for my partner. Poor sole. This incident is particularly disappointing because both my partner and I have been very loyal patrons of Nobu across the world. The Nobu restaurants used to be where we’d take out business partners, clients and family for years without an issue. That will be unlikely the case moving forward. We will escalate this issue to the HQ, as well as the local government, including congressman Ted Lieu. Nobu is in a serious need of management change, staff training on disability laws and an anti discrimination policy.

Written July 14, 2022

Traveller

Lancashire183 contributions

perfect!

Oct 2022 • family

we arrived a touch late and our car was taken by the valet which all went smoothly we were greeting and promptly shown to our table; it was outside and had the must stunning views of the sea and the rest of the restaurant. straight away we had still water, which was constantly refilled throughout the meal, i didn’t have an empty glass once! we then ordered food after the menu had been explained to us since this was our first time in nobu, we first pursed a few cold fish dishes, some miso soup and the ribeye tacos, all of which were perfect and i would get again in a heartbeat Our second course of lobster, two different types of steak, squid pasta and dover sole arrived, yet again all of them were perfect The rest of the party i was in eat fish however i’ve never liked it at all, however every single bit of fish i tried here i had seconds (or thirds!) Next we ordered some pieces of sushi as a palette cleanser which tasted perfect with the soy spice and finished with the iconic bento box. I particularly liked the style of the bento box and it was really fun! All in all, this was one of my favourite meals ever! We are in California for 6 more nights and i don’t think we’ll get a meal better than this! (we phoned up exactly 30 days in advance which i would recommend if you want an outside seat)

Written October 27, 2022

Cyrusallen

Las Vegas142 contributions

Horrible service- Rude people, Overpriced, BAD experience ! Don't fall for the HYPE!

Jul 2022 • none

I wished I had looked at the low-rating reviews on google before going here as they all have a common thread.. " Bad attitude and Service". This generally means the company has. poor culture and this trickles down from the top. The kitchen is super slow, the food very small, too salty, and overpriced. After spending $150, had to drive to Malibu Farm and have a real meal.

Written July 9, 2022

purplewonderland2000

Monaco61 contributions

Best time!

Sep 2024 • family

Amazing food and view. The food came decently fast so we didn’t have to wait too much time in between dishes. The service was also very good! 10/10! Highly recommend if you are in Los Angeles for more than a week!

Written September 8, 2024

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