Page 119 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2024

crab legs. Titans of fashion, impresarios, and record label executives piled into the banquettes, ensuring that every dish came with a side of star-gazing. Hollywood had besieged New York and, from there, things just grew and grew.
By 2013, the business had decided to plant its first foot in the hotel sector with Nobu Hotel, Las Vegas. The idea was De Niro’s, who had witnessed the Nobu brand launch restaurant after restaurant inside luxury hotels and asked: why don’t we do this ourselves? Much like the restaurants, Nobu Hotels are noted for their dependability. The beds are large, shower heads deliver solid pressure, bottles of good sake fill the minibars, and the architecture is always handled by a bankable name. And, by utilizing clean, pared-down Japanese design — much like the wide appeal of a soft-shell crab roll — they cater to an international crowd.
One of the most recent additions to the collection — which includes loca- tions in Miami, London, and the Spanish culinary hot spot San Sebastián — is Nobu Hotel, Restaurant and Residences in Toronto. It’s the hospitality brand’s Canadian debut, and the first integration of its three pillars in one development. “Toronto is a vibrant and exciting city, with sophisticated residents and visitors who truly value the Nobu brand,” Matsuhisa says on the decision to stamp his mark on the city. “We announced the project in 2017, and the timing aligns well with Toronto’s ongoing growth as a premier international destination.”
The project sits on Mercer Street in the city’s Entertainment District, and has seen the partial reconstruction and restoration of the old Pilkington Glass Factory. Twin 45-storey towers have been built atop the historic warehouse, which their architect, Stephen Teeple, likens to a tuning fork. There are 660
condos inside the development, as well as 36 hotel suites boasting city and lake views. The stripped-back, Japanese interiors make use of polished black granite, natural wood, and stone, and the bi-level restaurant features an outdoor terrace. Signature dishes will underpin the restaurant’s menu, but Toronto-centric offerings will also make use of local produce and vendors, in a bid to reflect the city’s diverse character and, according to Matsuhisa, “make the Toronto experience unique.”
“What makes Nobu Hotel Toronto very unique is being surrounded by so many multicultural neighbourhoods which respect one another,” he adds. “Each Nobu property is inspired by the location and the culture of its people — and you will not find one influence, but a celebration of diversity.”
The Toronto opening is just the beginning of another global expansion for Matsuhisa and his worldwide brand. This year also sees ribbons cut on Nobu Hotels in Atlantic City, New Orleans, Madrid, and Lisbon. And, although the chef, who turned 75 in March, is no longer synced into the tasking demands of the kitchen — those long nights at the pass, the high-heat of the flames, the constant wrangle against Saturday night service — he still travels internationally for roughly 10 months of the year, at an age when many others would have already embraced retirement.
“My biggest motivation has always been the sight of guests’ smiling faces,” he says, explaining why he has no plans on stopping any time soon. “For me, I always say that walking into a restaurant and seeing all the guests smiling, and hearing the sound of laughter and good times, is the best feeling. When I see happy faces, I know we have done well.”
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