Nobu

NOBU 👨‍🍳 

From growing up in Saitama, Japan, in the 1950s, to risking it all for a job opportunity in Peru at the age of 20, to having his restaurant burn down two weeks after its grand opening in Alaska, and even becoming business partners with Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro.

That is just a small glimpse into the storied life of globally renowned chef Nobuyuki “NOBU” Matsuhisa.

NOBU is a documentary that brings to light the life of the above-mentioned award-winning Peruvian-inspired Japanese chef, which had its New York premiere in the Spotlight+ section at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. This was a cool full circle moment for the highly respected chef who opened his first New York restaurant in the host city of the festival back in 1994 alongside his now business partner, Robert De Niro.

NOBU as a man and a brand has been synonymous with dining excellence for as long as I can remember. This documentary brings us into the life of the chef through his daily routine as a restaurateur while he reflects on his long, strenuous road to success.

When you hear someone has 56 restaurants and 36 hotels, you automatically associate that with the glitz and glamour of the high life, but NOBU’s journey was anything but glamorous.

What started out as a mom-and-pop sushi shop in Los Angeles eventually became the international luxury brand we now know of today, yet the lesser known chapters of his life depict plenty of hardships that acted as roadblocks for decades before he actually was able to make a name for himself.

With documentaries like this, there’s definitely a worry that it can come across as a commercial for the brand, but in execution, this was an acknowledgment of a cemented legacy for the now seventy-six-year-old master chef who deserves to speak on the life he’s had, be commended for his accomplishments, and be given his celebratory flowers for a job well done.

If anything, I wish they had dived into his cooking and recipes and layered his story with a stronger connection to his culinary skill. The emotional tie to a best friend who was a crucial part of getting him global acclaim was a touching moment, but it’s also another part of the story that could’ve been woven in better to showcase how greatness isn’t a one-man road and that there are plenty of helping hands along the way.

Regardless, I feel this was an inspiring story to tell and really captures how much of a risk-taker NOBU was while also honouring the age-old adage that beside every great man is a great woman. The great woman is the unsung hero of the story, NOBU's wife, Yoko Matsuhisa, who stuck by her failing partner from Peru to Alaska to California, barely making ends meet but believing in his pursuit of culinary excellence anyways.

NOBU is a prime example that there is no clear-cut recipe to success, and even though this is a rudimentary delivery of a life story, it’s still a story worth telling. 

Enjoy!

7.8/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 1hr50mins

Where: In Theatres July 2nd..

Nobu Review (2025) The Richmond Reviewer - June 30th, 2025.

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