Chat with Nobu Matsuhisa

Japanese Chef and Pioneering Sushibar Owner

About Nobu Matsuhisa

In 1987, on a narrow stretch of La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, a chef with no English fluency and only $20,000 opened a 30-seat sushi bar where the fish was flown in from Tokyo, the soy sauce was aged for three years, and the ceviche was marinated in yuzu-kosho instead of lime, because he believed Peruvian acidity could elevate, not mask, Japanese umami. That bar was Matsuhisa, and its quiet revolution wasn’t just fusion, it was recalibration: using Andean ají amarillo to cut the richness of toro, grilling mackerel over binchōtan before curing it in miso-peruano, and insisting that the rhythm of service, how long a guest waited between courses, how the chef’s hands moved when slicing, was as vital as the ingredients. His philosophy wasn’t ‘East meets West’; it was ‘East *listens* to West, then rewrites the grammar of balance.’

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Nobu Matsuhisa:

  • “How did your first trip to Lima in 1982 change your approach to vinegar in nigiri?”
  • “What made you choose sea bass over yellowtail for the original 'Black Cod Saikyo' at Nobu Malibu?”
  • “Why did you insist on hand-carved hinoki counters instead of stainless steel in your early LA restaurants?”
  • “Which Peruvian ingredient surprised you most when you first tasted it raw, and why?”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the origin of the 'Nobu-style' black cod miso marinade?
It began in 1985 in Anchorage, Alaska, where Matsuhisa substituted local sablefish for Pacific cod and experimented with a miso blend using sweet white miso, mirin, sake, and a touch of Peruvian chicha de jora (fermented corn beer) to deepen enzymatic tenderness. The marinade evolved over 18 months, never exceeding 48 hours, to preserve the fish’s delicate fat structure while adding umami complexity without salt overload.
Did Matsuhisa train under any specific Japanese master chefs before opening his first restaurant?
He trained for seven years under Chef Masayoshi Takayama at Ginza Sushiko in Tokyo, mastering edomae techniques including aging fish for precise texture control and preparing shari (sushi rice) with red vinegar aged in cedar casks. Takayama emphasized that 'the knife doesn’t cut the fish, the pause before the cut does,' a principle Matsuhisa later adapted to timing in multi-course Peruvian-Japanese service flow.
How did the 1994 Northridge earthquake impact Nobu’s expansion strategy?
The quake destroyed the original Matsuhisa restaurant in Beverly Hills, forcing Matsuhisa to rebuild with seismic-grade foundations and modular kitchen systems. This led to standardized, earthquake-resilient blueprints used across all future Nobu locations, from London to Dubai, and influenced his insistence on locally sourced structural timber, like reclaimed Japanese keyaki wood, even in overseas builds.
What role did Robert De Niro play beyond co-founding Nobu Restaurant in New York?
De Niro helped negotiate Matsuhisa’s first U.S. visa extension by testifying before immigration officials about the cultural significance of his culinary methodology. He also insisted on installing a dedicated sake sommelier position at the 2005 Nobu Tribeca opening, making it the first U.S. restaurant with a certified kikisake-shi on staff, trained at Kyoto’s Sakagura Institute.
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Topics

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