The New York Times
A Nobu for Midtown, Inspired by Asians That Swim and Some That Don't
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July 14, 2005
After exporting the upscale downtown vibe of Nobu to London, Milan, Miami and beyond, the Japanese-born chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa has finally ventured into Midtown Manhattan. The Rockwell Group, which designed the original Nobu restaurant in TriBeCa and the outposts in Las Vegas and Dallas have turned the first two floors of an office tower at 40 West 57th Street into Nobu 57, scheduled to open next month.
One of the designers, David Rockwell, said the design is "about water," apt for a chef who specializes in sushi, though the firm has also piled on an eclectic--and borderline kitschy--array of Asian objects that don't swim in the sea.
Sake barrels are hung over the onyx and walnut bar, and thousands of abalone shells dangle from eight-foot chandeliers. To line a private dining area on the second floor, the designers sliced bamboo stalks and set the circles into terrazzo tiles. A patchwork of brightly colored fabrics, inspired by Japanese quilts and set against red leather seats, lines banquettes in the dining room. Ceiling panels made in the Philippines with abaca rope wrapped around wire frames echo traditional Japanese fishing baskets. And walls shingled in reclaimed wood recall Japanese fishermen's shacks. Those scorched-ash tables and classic black Thonet-style chairs? Ideas borrowed from theoriginal Nobu.