Newest Nobu debuts in L.A.

Newest Nobu debuts in L.A.
Nobu partner Richard Notar (not visible at left), Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Nobu partner Robert De Niro, architect David Rockwell and Executive Chef/Nobu partner Nobu Matsuhisa attend the opening sake ceremony of Nobu Los Angeles on March 4, 2008 in West Hollywood, CA.
Photo Credit: WireImage

Jessica Gelt

At one point during the opening party of Nobu Los Angeles, the popular sushi chain’s highly anticipated 17^th restaurant, Robert De Niro, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Kenny G mugged for photos around a giant wooden barrel of sake. There may be no more unlikely collaboration in the history of raw fish.

The low-key event (there was no red carpet) drew an equally hodge-podge crowd of celebrities, designers, city officials and restaurant and nightlife power players including actress Carla Gugino (who co-stars with De Niro in the upcoming film “Righteous Kill”), Fran Drescher, Bill Maher, Cedd Moses, Brent Bolthouse, David Rockwell and Police Chief William Bratton (who said being police chief wasn’t a glamour gig?).

The fete peaked a little after 9 p.m. when De Niro, who is a partner in the Nobu restaurant chain, joined Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, managing partner Richie Notar and Villaraigosa to pound wooden hammers wrapped in colorful ribbons through the lid of a barrel of sake. The rice wine was ladled into square cups and passed through the crowd.

The sake ceremony is a slightly superstitious ritual performed at every Nobu opening.

Standing next to the brightly-lighted sushi bar, De Niro looked serious but dapper with graying hair and a light blue shirt. “I came to Matsuhisa [Nobu’s first L.A. restaurant] 20 years ago and I told Nobu if he ever wanted to open a restaurant in New York to let me know. It was a no-brainer but I never expected it to be as popular as it is,” he said.

The mayor, dressed in a smart gray suit with a bright yellow tie, oozed enthusiasm. “The food is great and there’s elegance, but the graciousness is there whether you’re in Tokyo or L.A.” De Niro nodded and stuck out his lower lip while Villaraigosa went on to tout the significance of Nobu’s new flagship restaurant being in L.A. “L.A. is the cultural and entertainment capital of the world,” he said. “He’s supposed to say that,” De Niro joked dryly.

Standing to De Niro’s left was smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G, who is a partner in Nobu Malibu and still in possession of his trademark dark-blond shoulder-length curls.

“Nobu is my Japanese brother,” G joked mysteriously.

Nobu, dressed in a crisp, white chef’s shirt, smiled benevolently. “It’s beautiful that the restaurant is open, we have a beautiful partner. I tried my best, this is it.”

As the staff passed through the crowd with trays of cucumber martinis, crispy rock shrimp poppers, succulent black miso cod on tiny shreds of sweet butter lettuce (a Nobu trademark dish) and beef tenderloin, Fran Drescher’s good-natured whine emanated from the patio.

“If there’s a Nobu, I’ve eaten in it,” Drescher said, her words picking up speed. “When I go to London, I stay at the Metropolitan because there’s a Nobu there. I spent New Years at Nobu in New York, they had the classiest hats and noise makers. I just ate at the Nobu in the Shore Club in Miami. I never go without ordering a shrimp tempura hand roll, which is absolutely symphonic.”

When it comes to the flavors of Nobu, everybody has their own true love. Cedd Moses, owner of downtown bars the Golden Gopher and Seven Grand as well as the new members-only club the Doheny, enjoys the monkfish liver with caviar on top. Brent Bolthouse, who just opened up the Art Nouveau supper club Foxtail, loves the spicy tuna rolls while his partner and president of the SBE Restaurant & Nightlife Group, Kevin Stuessi, can’t get enough of the creamy crab. “It’s the most comforting thing after a long night of having fun.”

One person not focused on the food was designer David Rockwell, who has worked with Nobu for 14 years. Rockwell is especially proud of the hyacinth wall, which looks like a loose woven basket and is backlit with a soft red light. He nodded approvingly at the hanging bleached silkworm pods that serve as the main light source. “I love how, when you look around at people, there’s a stippled, dappled light,” he says.

Standing beneath a silkworm-pod light, and indeed looking dappled, was Shane Rasmussen, who owns neighboring Gray Morell Antiques & Designs. “This is the most excitement North La Cienega has had in 20 years,” he said, then joking: “The only concern I have is for the department of transportation because the red carpet is gonna have the street permanently shut down.”

jessica.gelt@latimes.com

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