The internationally-renowned Japanese restaurant Nobu will open its Doha branch on Friday, April 17, more than four years later than originally planned, the Four Seasons Hotel has confirmed.
The hotel announced on social media last night the long-anticipated launch of what is set to be the world’s largest Nobu.
This will be the second outlet of the upmarket chain in the Gulf, following Nobu in Dubai, which opened at the Atlantis The Palm Jumeirah in 2008.
R u ready to experience Doha’s new culinary chapter?Nobu Doha will open on Friday,17 April!For reservations 44948600 pic.twitter.com/YSEvSKLCCo
— Four Seasons Doha (@FSDoha) April 13, 2015
The Qatar branch will be the 32nd restaurant for the global brand, which was started by Japanese chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa when he opened his first Nobu restaurant in New York’s trendy Tribeca district with Hollywood actor Robert De Niro in 1993.
Restaurant details
Nobu Doha is situated in a purpose-built, three-story building on the edge of the hotel marina. It was designed by New York-based architecture firm Rockwell Group to evoke a pearl theme, in reference to Qatar’s pearl-diving heritage.
The 26,000 sq ft restaurant includes indoor seating for 192 diners, a 10-seat sushi counter, two private dining rooms and a rooftop lounge for 82 guests.
The building’s exterior is clad with ribbons of river stone plated with bronze accents, to create the image of a coiled shell, Four Seasons said on its website.
Famed for fusing traditional Japanese food with Peruvian influences, one of the restaurant chain’s signature dishes is black cod with miso paste.
However, the Qatar restaurant will also make use of local produce, the hotel added:
“The menu highlights Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s signature new-style Japanese fare and also showcases entirely new dishes created with the region’s local ingredients, including fresh orange-spotted trevally and black-streaked monocle bream caught in the Arabian Gulf.”
In a statement, Matsuhisa added:
“I’m very excited to finally open our second Nobu in the Middle East, Nobu Doba. It is an honor for me to be able to share my food and culture with different people around the world.”
The restaurant and bar will be open only in the evenings, Four Seasons said.
Delays
The opening of Nobu Doha has suffered numerous delays, due to changes in interior design, and also the construction of the building itself.
Its situation on the water added to complications, a hotel spokeswoman previously told Doha News.
Last fall, the hotel anticipated the restaurant would be open before the end of 2014, but the launch did not take place as planned, due to issues over “paperwork.”
Do you plan to check out the restaurant? Thoughts?
4 years of delay…. a very big question mark???,,, anyway congratulations!
4 years of delay…. I’m starving!
Isn’t this just pure advertising? Wow a new up scale restaurant in Doha… news? I’m sure a guest will pay much more for the house than the food
“designed to evoke a pearl theme, in reference to Qatar’s pearl-diving heritage” ahhhhh! how original
The easiest way to get a client to approve an architectural design in Qatar..
I look forward to trying some of his signature pork dishes, washed down with some proper saki. (None of that low quality stuff they sell in QDC).
Japanese food is fantastic.
So my comment wasn’t approved because it had the word “Persian” in it? Although it was to refer the language?
Gotcha! Its not the Persian! It’s the N word! Not that one, the one Grammar N***. The German abbr. of national socialist. Sorry DN for spamming but curiosity got me carried away.
I’m not sure why the word n*z* is banned, it’s not offensive, just part of history.
So, back to business, It’s Saké, Saki is the person who serves drink, bartender (fem.) (Persian) (also alias of H. H. Munro)
Sorry correct, I’m not a native Japanese speaker….
Pork dishes with Saki? Oh God what disgusting crap are you putting in your stomach?
I hope this kind of things will not be allowed in this restaurant.
Pork is central to Japanese cuisine along with seafood, I know some would not like that but we have to respect all cultures.
Mm mm, I was in Japan recently and the pork there was so so good. A chef explained to me why pork is so important to Japan after I complained about missing it. He said it is the perfect meat, it can be lean, fatty, take flavours but also give. He said this is unique for a small animal which can be raised in back yard and does not large need space like beef and lamb. Pork however always reminds me of Spain, let’s hope the new Spanish hotel Melia in West Bay can cook up a morsel. I see quite a few restaurants are using alcohol on the menu (advertised as such of course) why not a slice of Jamon too?
It should be a freedom of choice for the individual but it is unlikely to happen in Qatar anytime soon. The locals are too scared their food will get contaminated which is an irrational belief.
Irrational? What happened to “we have to respect all cultures.”
I agree with you, some restuarants should be allowed to serve pork especially for those cultures in which it is important.
You have raised an old argument that where does the boundary lie between tolerance and religious dictation and in this case, yes’s and no’s are rather definitive.
Let me give an example, Surely the Brits respect Korean and Vietnamese cultures but you won’t find a single restaurant in London that serve dog meat! You’d say, ‘well, that’s nothing to do with religion!” True, but here in Qatar, religion is the major (if not called the backbone) contributor to the culture.
I understand and agree with your disappointment but it is what it is!!
However eating dog meat in London is legal after a bit of research. It’s probably very difficult to find as there is not much demand for it. I’m not sure I would eat it, but I wouldn’t stop anyone else if that was there choice. What is the difference between, cow, horse, dog or cat? Not much really, all members of the mammal genus, it’s just a cultural thing where some types are not eaten.
http://content.www.rspca.org.uk/cmsprd/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobnocache=false&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1232992369396&ssbinary=true
In some countries there has to be laws to prevent people from doing seemingly obvious unaccepted things 😉 Go to Bangladesh, pork is not illegal but you can’t get it in any restaurant!
The scientific difference for meat which I follow is not to eat animal that is in or higher than the second level in the food chain (aka a carnivore). Cows, sheep or pig are herbivores so they receive the proteins etc as in their simplest form from the source. As the chain goes up the proteins becomes complicated chemical compounds that our digestive system are less capable to process. Take birds for example, I’m sure people tried and came to the conclusion that chicken is tastier than falcon!
That is your choice and I respect that.
Bit more difficult to catch a falcon than a chicken…. I’ve never tasted a falcon so I can’t compare the two. Probably tastes like chicken though…
Haha true that! It is merely my choice but the only rationale I find if someone wants to be selective among meat, apart from personal taste of course. The human species evolved to be omnivore for some reason. Only thing that’s stopping you is that responsibility of being at the top of the food chain. Imagine if we could drop by Al Meera and get some “fresh” Dodo for the dinner?
@michkey:disqus – Dog meat and cat meat is illegal in Vietnam. Please stop insulting my culture.
Oh I am sorry for that! I did not say it is a bad thing but if you think eating dog brings shame to your culture, so be it. My sources are western media only! Here, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2779364/Snatched-homes-crammed-cages-beaten-death-eaten-Inside-world-Vietnam-s-brutal-dog-meat-industry.html
Wait–what’s this “respect all cultures” thing? What if a culture values throwing small children into wood chippers?
I don’t think child murder is acceptable in any culture. What culture are you thinking of?
There is a culture (probably doesn’t exists anymore) in Papa Guiney or w/e they are called that have children engage in sexual relationship with elders to exchange life or something. Do you respect that too?
I thought we were talking culture as in related to food. I find balut pretty disgusting but Filipinos love it. I wouldn’t want it banned because I don’t like it.
Child abuse be it religious or otherwise is unacceptable and in my mind does not equate to the evils of a bacon sandwich
@Coexist (somehow I cannot reply to your last post … ) It’s not a culture thing but a religious one … and one can find pork in other Muslim countries … same as one can find halal or kosher food in non-Muslim countries … live and let live … me just saying …
One mans crap is another mans treasure.
Yeah may be. That does not mean we cannot have our opinion on things 🙂
Agreed, however what you seem to be doing is above voicing your opinion. It’s a direct attack on pork and on the establishment. I don’t like sushi. But would you expect me to say I hope they don’t serve that raw fish crap at their sushi restaurant, what disgusting things are you putting into your stomach! Or the same for lamb or anything else that you may not like. There are ways of voicing your opinion and their are ways, I just voices mine. For all intents and purposes this is not meant to offend. Merely to enlighten and be more tolerable of others decisions when living in a multicultural country.
You are right here. I can’t argue on this one 🙂
Finally !!!! Can;t wait, but I think there will be such a long waiting list 🙁
From the outside it looks like a hamburger.
I wonder why ordering Black Cod with Miso from Nobu in New York will cost you $32 (116Qar) but same dish in Nobu Dubai will cost you 215Qar.
It will be interesting to see how the prices compare here to other Nobu’s around the world.
That’s why they call it UPSCALE restaurant in Qatar… 😉
Sponsor needs to get paid their 50%
Just been stripped of its Michelin stars in London and now open? Not good enough for London but good enough for Doha?
Maybe the London one still had its stars at the time this project started? And then we had the usual Doha Delays here… Anything can happen in four years, I guess.
Yep like some of its ‘professionals’???
The expat humor in these comments is getting really tired and predictable. Let’s stretch a little, you whiners.
LAME….Nobu is so 20th century.
Will this be open or closed during Friday prayers?
Something write wroung Nobu Doba ?
I am waiting Turkish /Kosebasi/ restaurant real food everyone like if price ok…
Ask old mate in the blue boiler suit working on the high rise building if he is excited about heading off there for a meal.