Nozomi

Very disappointing dining experience – none of the 6 dishes we ordered were memorable. The food was poorly cooked, tasteless and not at all the fresh fish you would expect from a good Japanese restaurant. Additionally the food was overpriced for what it was. Service was poor – staff insisted on taking our jackets and when asked for them on leaving we were told to collect them from the cloakroom in the basement! Nozumi has a good, lively atmosphere but much better for a pre or post dinner drink than a food spot.

My fiancee and I read all the recent reviews posted on this blog before going there last night. We were surprised about the negative comments as we knew that Nozomi is a top restaurant. However, once there the food was amazing, the best Japanese food that we ever had and the atmosphere was absolutely great, managers and staff were very polite and made every effort to make us feel at ease. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and please disregard all the negative reviews which are definitively and totally UNTRUE!!!

Calling Nozomi just a japanese restaurant would be very far from what this place effectively is.
The food is the most important issue for every restaurant and Nozomi thicks all the boxes but, rather than being just a restaurant, Nozomi is an experience which will give you the opportunity to eat Zuma's level of food along with the great music played by the dj at the bar area.
The Nozomi salad (an amazing combination of crab and asparagus mixed with truffle oil), Chilean Seabass, Black Cod Miso are only some examples of the great food you can get in this very cool restaurant hidden amongst the shops in Beauchamp Place which has become my second home since I met all the friendly staff coordinated by the professional managers.
It's definitely worth a try and I am sure you will be back in a very short period of time.

First time at Nozomi and I can see why so many mixed reviews on this restaurant
I booked a table at 8 pm for 8 people and we had some cocktails at the bar before dinner because the place was very quite even if they told us that would be very busy
After few cocktails we sat down and the place was still reasonable quite so we placed our order and the waiter also helped by suggesting some dishes which they turned out to be very nice
The wine selection looked reasonable and the Chablis we had was also reasonable priced
the service was quite smooth until the place suddenly filled up literally in few minutes than I could see the service was suffering a bit, as the place filled up also the music gradually increased in volume, there is a DJ playing in the bar, as we wore a group on a night out this was quite nice for a kick start to our night but if you are out for a quite dinner maybe is not so welcome the level of the music
After we finished our dinner we moved to the bar at about 11pm and the place was rocking like a night club, we stayed until the end and we had a great night
I have been to many restaurants and this is a fun place, my only recommendation is if you want a quite dinner go early

Hmmm…Nozomi. I think this place could be great if it tried harder, or maybe tried less. Its obvious as soon as you step into the place that people come here to be seen rather than for the quality of the food! The staff seem to be in a disorganised array of chaos and my friend and I had to wait what seemed like an eternity for our pre booked table to become available. We were ordering drinks at the bar and seemed to be surrounded by others who were also waiting for a table mixed in with those just there for a drink or three. We were soon brought to our table at almost 10pm by which point I felt it was a little too late to overly indulge! The staff were not apologetic about this.

When ordering I found it slightly frustrating that the waiter kept ‘recommending’ dishes in such a way that I felt forced to have what he was pressing on me to order. I can only assume that this hints at a disorganised kitchen and certain items on the menu running out or being completely unavailable. We had the Wagyu beef as one of the dishes which was very tasty and also the black cod, again tasty but I felt uneasy at eating fish that I could barely see (due to the very dim lighting) that didn't taste reassuringly hot.

Overall a pretentious place with below standard food. I won't be returning.

Nice surroundings and good music. Cocktails were good. Service for the meal very poor and totally random – there were 5 of us and the first half of the shared starter arrived, then 2 of the main courses, then the second half of the starter and then some time later the remaining 3 courses. The food was nice albeit that the 2 early main courses were not very hot. We were offered shots to compensate for the muck up which we declined.

Overall a very poor experience and rubbish value for money from a restaurant that is so up itself that I expect they are far too arrogant to take notice of any derogatory reviews.

It is rare that I try and use only one word when I can use so many others.

Awful.

There you go.

review done.

My word – you three sound like you all had a fantastic time on the evening that you all went – were you all in the same party?

I had a somewhat disappointing visit to this restaurant and I'm afraid would have to agree with the reviewers further below. I am a great believer that good service can make a mediocre venue special, and I don't think that the food has to be out of this world for me to want to go back – however, both were lacking in droves at this place. The waiting staff rude and the food is pretty poor. Subsequently, it's pretty extortionate and I don't think my hard earned pennies were well deserved.

If you want a great Japanese restaurant I'd head straight over to Zuma (or Wasabi even)!

I went to Nozomi on Friday and had such a good time that I went back Saturday as well! Food was first class (I recommend the Chilean sea bass and the wagyu beef sirloin), the management are all friendly professionals and the music was so amazing; the place has such a unique vibe – an ambience that oozes pure cool. Throughly enjoyed my weekend and would recommend it to all those that like contemporary Japanese cuisine

I was at Nozomi this weekend with my girlfriends; We havent been in a few months but were glad to see that they had not lost their charm. The food at Nozomi has always made me wonder why we go to eat anywhere else, its sooooooo yummy!! they have all my favourites, black cod, kari kari squid and tuna tar tar sooooo delecious!! In fact I would like to award the chef with my own michelin star if I could!!! I have always loved the music and the friendly DJ offered me a sample CD of his so now I drive around all Nozomi style!!

One aspect i did notice is that they have put up new mirrors and light features which i think look so stylish and chic; completely fitting for the Nozomi ethos. If you havent been then go! I will definitely go again!

Nozomi is the Godfather of these Japanese restaurants; it is cool and charming and knows who's boss! The decor set the scene, as soon as you walk in you are presented with the coolest bar in town and its DJ. I had a cocktail in the bar called a Nashi Caramel and al i can say is that I was overwhelmed with its flavour; I strongly recommend it. More to this there are so many delicious items on the menu that i will have to go back to taste them all, but last time I tried a lot of the tempura dishes, which are the best in London, as well as the infamous black cod and ghengis khan chicken, all were absolutely delicious. Generally it has such a cool atmosphere and I am desperately looking forward to going back. Nozomi is amazing food, fantastic atmosphere combined with social interaction and first class management.

Nozomi is one of the most embarrassing restaurants in London. To call it a japanese restaurant is an insult to japanese gastronomy. It is therefore extremely surprising to see it listed under ‘Best Japanese’ next to award winning kitchens such as Nobu, Zuma and Umu.
I have been there twice and both times were a waste of time, appetite and money. Both times the service was unacceptable: waiters did not understand the menu or the ingredients and were confused by the meanings of ‘handroll’ and tobbiko (which was not available). In fact the service is comical: the first time the waitress needed us to point at each dish on the menu to copy what we were ordering – she still got it wrong, brought us the wrong dishes and asked what this extra wasabi was that we wanted since she could not find it on the menu. The food is a badly executed copy from much more successfull rivals. Hardened steamed rice which was at least one day old, refrigerated and then microwaved to order, was the least of our worries. Generally most fish we were served at Nozomi was of poor quality and therefore tasteless. The salmon, tuna, yellowtail & seabass sashimi were very obviously from a cheap mass farmer and scallop sashimi did not taste fresh – we left it because it looked and smelled like food poisoning on a plate. The black cod resembled a soup and the duck was swimming in teriyaki sauce, a common trick restaurants perform, to mask poor or expired products. The music makes your ears cry, it's not a nightclub and even if it were, it'd be a really sad one full of clowns. Overall a pathetic attempt for sushi-beginners at trying to play with the London big boys, which results in a shamefull and mortifying experience for all: the management of the restaurant and the poor patrons who have to sit through a painfull and less than mediocre dinner.

Absolutely terrible. You will come away wishing you hadn't bothered ruining your evening…and paying for it!!
Also, the guy on the front desk is so odeous and rude it is mesmerising that he has a job there. or anywhere.

There is nothing to recommend about this place. Could hardly call it a restaurant given the loud dancing music playing while you dine – certainly can't have a conversation while you're there. Which is just as well because you are most likely to be talking about the very bad food: nothing from the sashimi/sushi menu felt fresh or tasted nice, followed by black cod and chilli sea bass which were uninspiring to say the least and served with an embarrassingly bad portion of steamed rice (yes, the “chef” even failed to get that right). I could explain in more detail that the main courses took over an hour to show up, that the waiter had the nerve to ask to move our table to accommodate a larger party next to us (who were clearly more important than us it would seem), but actually prefer not to talk any longer about the worse restaurant I've been to in London. If it were cheap, I might be able to say go if you're desperate, but all I can really say is stay well clear.

A new low for restauarants in London. All the reviews below concerning the incredibly poor service are correct. Incompetent, disorganised, rude. The only thing I can add is my own “special” experience. While I was eating, someone went through the pockets of my coat which I had handed in to the cloakroom and took the money from my pocket. Not a big sum – about five pounds. But the principle is pretty shocking. And that is on top of a bill which had two phantom dishes added to it – which were removed when I pointed them out to the waiter.

I wish I had read the reviews below before choosing Nozomi. I can only hope that you read this before making your decision and are saved from this awful experience.

very bad food especially black cod .
it,s smell like 1months old.
and atmosphere very dark and loudly music.it,s like london night club not restaurant

An absolute disaster of a place!!! In earlier days it it used to be great but now they have a new chef who does not even know how to cook a simple bowl of steamed rice. Our first portion was hard and crispy and then when we asked for another bowl it came back mushy like porridge. The chef we were told is Australian. Maybe he should stick to surfing rather than cooking.

The service was also terrible as the waiters kept bringing us dishes and champagne that we never ordered (on multiple occasions) and also taking away unfinished half full glasses of champagne. Also, they brought our starters and main courses out all at the same time! What was even worst though was the attitude of the staff, especially the French guy at the front desk who greets people and shows them to their tables. We had to hunt him down when we first arrived, and later we found out that he had a really ugly side. He was extremely rude and arrogant and walked away from me when I was still talking to him and then when I called him back to question him about the bad service he huffed and puffed with complete disregard to what I was saying and didn't bother to even look me in the eye. SHOCKING.

When we finally told him that we were not going to pay the full price of bill he had the nerve to ask us if we went around other restaurants trying not to pay. I was so upset by this comment I burst into tears. Still he never even bothered to apologise. I was totally disgusted and humiliated by him and the whole experience and will never go back there. As one other reviewer said (on another site) you'll find a far better service in a kebab shop.

Oh, and I agree with the other reviewers that the music is way too loud!!

My advice to you is to not bother with this restaurant. REALLY.