Nobu Shoreditch

The latest Nobu hotel to open in the capital couldn’t look more at home in the hip East London district of Shoreditch, following in the footsteps of its sister hotel on Portman Square.

With its brutalist architecture, the imposing building sits comfortably alongside the street art of nearby Old Street, with its proliferation of restaurants and bars, and Liverpool Street station nearby. Its design, not dissimilar to a cruise ship, features protruding iron girders extending from each floor over the balconies.

Inside, it’s every bit the peaceful haven you would expect from a Japanese-inspired spa hotel and restaurant. The hotel’s sliding doors give way to a bamboo-clad reception, fragrant with fresh orchids and jasmine tea.

Our huge room had an industrial-chic feel, with bare concrete walls and naked light bulbs alongside all mod-cons including wireless sound system and swish coffee machine. The cool grey and warm gold woven headboard and textured cushions and bolsters softened the surrounds. Sliding slatted screens hide the street view.

ON THE MENU

Nami Bar and Nobu Restaurant are the stars at this super-cool venue, with both found via a golden staircase that leads underground.

It’s a tranquil space, minimal in style like the rest of the hotel – concrete walls, rattan booths and low lighting. We started in the Nami Bar, stocked with sakes and whiskies and serving classic cocktails with an Asian twist – think yuzu (citrus) martinis (£12) and root margarita (£13). The Restaurant offers a huge menu of Japanese fayre, including a sushi counter.

We enjoyed tuna tataki with tosazu dressing (£22), sizzling wagyu steak (£27) and signature black cod miso (£46.50), a staple on Nobu’s menus since it first opened in New York in 1994.

After dinner the hipster set arrive to drink long into the night when the volume of the music goes up and the lights go down.

Breakfast is a more relaxed affair. There’s the full English, including the buffet (£28), or continue your gastronomic Asian journey and opt for Matsuhisa Benedict: poached eggs, crispy tofu, blanched spinach, snow crab (£18).

WHILE YOU’RE THERE

Explore the street art of colourful Shoreditch on an informative two-and-a-half hour walking tour, shoreditchstreetarttours.co.uk (£20).

WAKE-UP CALL

Doubles from £295, room only. london-shoreditch.nobuhotels.com