We put Nobu, Zuma and Megu head-to-head in a high-end sushi-off to determine the ultimate luxury Japanese dining experience in Hong Kong.

2007 was officially the year of the luxury sushi experience in Hong Kong. One minute we were all leaping for joy that Nobu had flipped his yellowtail sashimi with Jalapeño onto the shores of Hong Kong, and the next minute we were overwhelmed with high-end Japanese dining choices. Clearly three restaurants have reigned high in the sushi stakes above a plethora of Japanese openings last year: Nobu, Zuma and Megu. But when you compare them for quality cuisine, ambience and value who should be crowned the Samurai master of modern Japanese cuisine?

Nobu

General wow factor: 95%

Make no mistake, after over 14 years in the business of feeding celebrities, food critics and the rich and famous, it is inevitable that some of Nobu’s innovative fusion creations have now reached the claws of the mass-produced Japanese eateries, so eating here is not the jaw-droppingly new dining experience it would have been a decade ago. However, the view, the undeniably delicious food, the wonderfully laid-back but courteous staff and the pure fact you’re eating at Nobu, still sends anticipatory shivers down any self-respecting foodie’s spine. 

Atmosphere: 90%

Decor and atmosphere are not as high-end as you might expect given the whopping reputation of this restaurant’s name but a laid-back but chic ambience is cleverly created through use of simple wood and stone furnishings overlooking a glittering view.  

Cuisine: 92%

Often Nobu is critisised for not continuing to expand his culinary experimentation and the menu in his Hong Kong restaurant certainly proves that the international franchises of the Nobu brand stick with what they know and sell well. Indeed, the most popular dishes (such as the famous black cod in miso) have remained on all his restaurant menus since the opening of Nobu New York in 1994. However, Nobu is the original and the best at fusing spicy South American flavours with simple Japanese ingredients and cooking styles. The whitefish sashimi with dried miso  may be re-created in every other Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong these days, but at Nobu the combination of earthy miso flavour with silky fish still tastes new and exciting. The crunchy tuna tempura rolls are dazzling and the taste buds with an unusual range of flavours and textures, while the Wagyu rib-eye anti-cucho and the roasted whole poussin in spicy lemon and garlic are both an excellent example of how Nobu perfectly injects haut-cuisine influences into his menu. 

Wine and sake: 75%

A well-rounded wine list, which touches all the usual ridiculously expensive bases but won’t blow you away.  Alternatively, try the famous Nobu house sake or a Japanese whiskey.  

Service: 99%

Some of the best service in Hong Kong, staff are friendly, helpful and clearly passionate about the food. 

Value: 89%

If you think you can go to Nobu and hold back from ordering the most expensive dishes expect to spend about $1,000 per head but if you want to let loose be prepared for a $2,000 per head bill. Pick somewhere in-between and you’ll feel you’ve had value for money given the quality of the cuisine. Drinks are not as expensive as you might expect with bottles of wine starting at $450, but watch out for the Fiji water at $98 per bottle.         

Grand Total: 90 %

Check out reviews of Nobu

Zuma

General wow factor: 91%

Restaurateur and chef Rainer Becker is not the first to pioneer his cooking styles, he freely admits that Nobu opened the doors for Zuma. However, he does have a special and unique talent, which he injects into all his restaurants. The food is new, experimental and prepared with real dedication. Combine this with a warm but sophisticated decor and very cool bar and Zuma is pretty high on the wow-factor stakes.

Atmosphere: 89%

Although all Japanese restaurants seem to favour well-lit abodes, Zuma seems particularly bright and combined with the stark furniture, it doesn’t feel like the kind of place you can kick back and relax. However, the entire wall of granite framed by open kitchens gives the restaurant a fun, busy atmosphere. We prefer eating in the bar upstairs for a more intimate experience.

Cuisine: 94%

Be it the experimental dishes on the menu or the perfect execution of the highly-trained chefs (Becker’s sushi chefs must have at least 10 years training to even get near working at the sushi bar), the cuisine at Zuma knocks the tabi socks of every other Japanese fine-dining experience in Hong Kong. Even the endamame are the best you will ever taste. The seabass sashimi drizzled with truffle oil is outrageously tasty, the spicy beef tenderloin with sesame and chilli is outstanding and the do not under any circumstances miss the baby chicken marinated in barley miso and oven roasted on cedar wood – it is hard to imagine a dish more perfectly executed.   

Wine and sake: 90%

A very impressive cellar, which can be perused upstairs. Bottles range in price from $450 to unmentionable sums and the sake is one of the best collections outside of Japan. 

Service: 65%

The service can be a little hit and miss in Zuma. Sometimes you get excellent attention to detail and other times it can be difficult to get the staff’s attention, especially during busy weekend nights. All staff are very friendly but in comparison to the standard at Nobu, the staff’s knowledge of the food and grace of service lags far behind and can often let this otherwise spectacular restaurant down. 

Value: 92%

Quality cuisine doesn’t come on a shoestring but there is an excellent tasting menu for $780 per person so if you’re careful with drinks, you can enjoy a meal for around $1,000 per head. You will definitely walk away from a meal like this feeling $1,000 was money well spent.   

Grand Total: 86.8%

Check out reviews of Zuma

Megu

General wow factor: 65%

Renowned in New York for being one of the city’s most expensive restaurants, the focus at Megu is on the best quality and most rare ingredients from Japan traditionally prepared and served in a modern setting. The food is undeniably of excellent quality but the mall location, the simple setting and the lack of innovative dishes on the menu makes it a little lacking in wow-factor.

Atmosphere: 60%

Although it is set at the top of Elements mall, Megu is part of a new restaurant complex positioned around a pleasant courtyard with a backdrop of skyscrapers. While the decor, view and ambience falls far short of the spectacular settings of Nobu or Zuma, the classic red, gold and black furnishings evoke traditional Japanese glamour. 

Cuisine: 75%

While Megu’s ethos is to remain true to traditional Japanese cuisine styles and simply showcase the best ingredients, you can’t help feeling that menu could do with a little imagination injection. All the classic dishes are presented without much variation and while the ingredients, in particular the seafood and beef are spectacularly good quality, there is nothing on the menu you won’t have tried before. The one stand-out dish that would definitely be worth returning for is the Wagyu beef that arrives sizzling at the table on a hot stone garnished with ginger and black sesame.  

Wine and sake: 75%

An impressive wine and sake list similar to Nobu in style and regions.

Service: 60%

Service is friendly and efficient but staff don't have a particularly in-depth knowledge of the menu or the wine list and are not that great at making usefull recomendations.  

Value: 60%

Unlike the New York restaurant, this is not the most expensive restaurant in the city but if you let loose with the Wagyu beef and the sake, it could certainly be up there with the best of them. Expect to walk away with small change from $1,000 per head, which given the fact you could eat in both the above restaurants for this price, seems a little inflated.

Grand Total: 55.8 %

Check out reviews of Megu

And the winner is…

Nobu! It’s an incredibly unoriginal conclusion but although Zuma wins in the cuisine category, for an all-round great dining experience Nobu takes the throne by 3.2%.

But if you don’t agree with our frankly entirely subjective assessment, why not express your opinion on our review pages of Nobu, Megu and Zuma?

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