Nobu London Old Park Lane

Nobu opened on Old Park Lane in 1997, the first of Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurants in Europe and still the address that set the template for the group worldwide. On the first floor of the Metropolitan by COMO, the long dining room runs beside an open sushi counter, with full-height windows looking across to Hyde Park. Its Japanese-Peruvian cooking, from black cod miso to yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño and the sushi that made its name, has kept the room a fixture of Mayfair's evening for close to three decades.

For private events the restaurant offers a real spread of options. The Shiro Room is the dedicated private dining room, lit by a skylight atrium through the day and darkened for evenings, seating up to fifty or holding seventy for a reception. The Oku Space screens off a section of the main room beside the sushi counter for a semi-private table of thirty-five, and a place at the counter itself sets a small group directly in front of the chefs. For larger occasions the whole restaurant is available for exclusive hire, taking over the dining room, the sushi counter and the bar and lounge.

The original London Nobu remains a name that carries its own crowd, which is what makes it work for a launch, a milestone or a corporate dinner as readily as a quiet celebration. The events team handles bespoke menus and full buyouts, and the space reads as unmistakably itself in every configuration.