Nobu, Robert De Niro’s luxury restaurant and residential brand, is coming to the PNW next year

Nobu, a luxury restaurant and hotel brand co-founded by Robert De Niro and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, is coming to Bellevue — its first location in the Pacific Northwest.

Nobu is set to convert two residential towers at Avenue Bellevue into Nobu Residences and to open a 10,000-square-foot Nobu restaurant in 2027. When completed, it will be the first move-in-ready Nobu-branded residential development in the U.S. Nobu also plans to have residences in Miami and Orlando.

“Nobu Residences Bellevue represents an important milestone for our residential growth in the United States,” Trevor Horwell, Chief Executive Officer of Nobu Hospitality, said in a prepared statement. “Bellevue continues to emerge as a global city for innovation, culture, and luxury living, making it a natural fit for the Nobu lifestyle. Together with our partners, we are creating a residential experience rooted in thoughtful design, service from the heart, and a strong sense of place.”

Avenue Bellevue, located north of Bellevue Square, is a mixed-use development comprising 365 condominium units, a hotel with more than 200 rooms, and approximately 80,000 square feet of retail space. Avenue Bellevue is valued at more than $1 billion.

“Bellevue has really emerged as a global destination for business and luxury entertainment,” Shawn Katz, president of Silverstein Capital Partners, the owner of Avene Bellevue, told The Puget Sound Business Journal. “We both really wanted to do this at the same time, and ultimately their vision was much aligned with ours.”

History of Nobu

Nobu Matsuhisa, a celebrity chef famous for creating and implementing Japanese fusion cuisine, was first introduced to the two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro in the late 1980s. De Niro convinced Matusuhisa to open a restaurant in New York.

Nobu’s menu blends traditional Japanese cooking with Peruvian and South American flavors and influences.

“Although this meant venturing into the unknown, the timing felt right, and I had no qualms about starting something new. The scars from my experiences in Peru, Argentina, and Alaska seemed to have vanished,” Matsuhisa wrote in his memoir “NOBU: A Memoir.” “Working with professionals to create a new restaurant in New York was stimulating and fueled my desire to work harder than ever. A positive tension seemed to course through my veins.”

Over the next four decades, Nobu has expanded into an international empire of restaurants, hotels, and residential properties. Nobu has more than 50 restaurants and 19 properties, with 28 more in various stages of development.

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