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The food here is delicious, and the service is great. On this night the food was slow to come out. But that is not usually the case. The chili pepper water on the table is fantastic -- spicy, yet full of flavor.
The signature dish is supposedly the ginger crusted onaga, but I feel the best entree is the pan steamed opakapaka. Not big on texture, but big on taste. The fish is served in a rich truffle nage that is very nice.
All bases are covered, from appetizers to salads to entrees to wine (300+ selections) to coffees (award winning, single estate hawaiian).
Regarding ambiance, the decor is warm and home like. And the exhibition kitchen is neat, it is interesting to see your food getting prepared.
Is this review biased? I dunno, find out for yourself. ha ha ha...

Good food. Their lunch menu has combo menus that combine soup and a rice dish. I rate their service a 3 only because it takes forever to get your check, and then another forever to get your credit card back.
Nabeyaki-udon is really good.
Their pork on rice is super fatty and super good.

Appetizer: the steak is supper good. The mountain potato is gooey, but I guess that's how it's supposed to taste. The Avocado salad thing is really great.

Entree: Definately try the soup in a paper bowl. Supposedly it absorbs the fat.

Sake: The one in the big brown bottle.

Decor: Pretty white paper walls. Alot of texture.

Their least busy day is Monday.

This restaurant is so far one of the better places I've eaten in Hawaii. There is a mix of Korean and Japanese food on the menu.

Food: My favorites: Butterfish, Spicy Ahi, Unagi and Kalbi Short Ribs . The butterfish is prepared just right, neither under nor overcooked. The self-proclaimed Spicy Ahi is everywhere on the menu and is served salad, rice, or on the side. The spice is a medium spice to me, but may be too much for others. *Note* You can request for less spice when you order this item. The unagi is ono and served hot. I suspect this is prepared and lightly toasted in a oven for that crisp taste. Like the rest of the nigiri sushi; unagi is very generous in size. I had the hamachi (yellow-tail) and ikura (salmon egg); both sushi was served in larger portions than other restaurants. A few times I had the Kalbi ribs in a combination (you can select a number of dishes in a bento-style serving) which just hit the spot. These beef short ribs have very little to none fat on the bone. The chirashi is also recommended. Spicy Ahi serves a variety of drinks (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) but also is BYOB - you can bring in your own drinks into the restaurant.

Service: When this place gets busy it can be difficult to get additional water/tea so during the heavy times you will see additional wait staff. Overall the service is excellent during lunch (less busy) and dinner.

Ambiance: This is a family restaurant and very popular with local residents of Hawaii. The restaurant can roughly handle 40 people total. There is a large plasma tv mounted but no sounds emitted only captions. K-dramas anyone?

Bottom Line: This IS one of the first places you want to eat (if you haven't been home for a while) after you get off the plane. Quality food with reasonable prices.

My friends and I ate here for a holiday celebration. Since the restaurant was open less than a year ago in Waikiki, the popularity of this high-end Japanese restaurant was up there and the only available dinner slot for our party of 8 was at 830pm. Location was not too hard to find and is in the heart of Waikiki, where the old Parc Cafe was, across the Halekulani Hotel.

The Ambiance: First entering the restaurant, the lounge area is dark and the dance-house music is slamming; this made me feel like a club (not sure if this was so since it was a Saturday). Our party was seated in the furthermost back room and the atmosphere was loud (not for a romantic setting). This back room did have private areas that were separated with a long curtain. The wall decor was fabulous and designed with art that fit the restaurant.

Food Rating: Delicious and creative. Our waiter informed us that there were signature dishes that popularized the restaurant. As a large party, we had a few food items: As for Cold Dishes: The blackened-ahi salad was a good start with a generous serving. The Oysters (3 total were topped with individual sauces) seemed interesting but not justified by the price. The Ahi Poke Salad Nobu Style was OK but very small in size for the price. You can get better and more poke at a local fish market. As for the Hot Dishes: I would recommend the Steamed Sea Bass with Dried Miso, this was a tasty dish that came with 2 medium sized fillets. The Eggplant Miso was also a good vegetable dish. Our friends ordered the Sushi and Sashimi Dinners, they looked plentiful and fish looked fresh.

Service: Our primary waiter was great, his explanation and recommendations were helpful to all of us. The other staff that brought out the dishes were the opposite, some brought us the wrong dishes, failed to mention what the order and simply did the "drop and go". Our waiter's outstanding service was balanced by the disservice of the other staff.

Bottom Line: This is a expensive Japanese food-chain that caters to visitors of Hawaii. Skip this restaurant if you have a party more than 4. Based on Nobu's popularity, I expected better service from this restaurant.