This might be the most indulgent way to experience Nobu
Nobu is well known for two things: one being sushi – many a footballer quotes “Nobu” when asked what their favourite type of food is – and the other being that it’s co-owned by Robert De Niro. But the hotel side of the business is more recent, with the first one opening in Las Vegas in 2013, nearly ten years after the original NYC restaurant appeared. Fast forward to 2017 and the first London hotel from Nobu (there are now two in the city) opened in Shoreditch along with a restaurant, café and spa.
The Nobu spa is located in the basement and, whilst it’s compact, they have managed to make it feel like an oasis below the chaos of the Shoreditch streets above. I recently went to try out ‘The Essence of Five Elements Journey’, a treatment that includes a 60-minute facial, the signature Five Elements Massage, and £35 credit to spend on the new wellness menu in Nobu café following your treatment, so you really do leave feeling like you’ve had a good MOT.
The treatment starts with a five minute foot ritual. When I scooted on the bed at first I thought the therapist must have forgotten the foot bath, and being the kind of person who rarely complains during an event (but definitely does afterwards), I stayed schtum. However, the foot bath was then filled and carried out on the bed whilst I was lying down and it was genuinely one of the closest things to a legal high I’ve experienced. With clean feet, I relaxed into the bed for a 60-minute firm massage with the addition of heated stones and a good focus on my shoulder knots. The treatment ends with a 60-minute facial, and by that point you’re feeling positively float-y, falling in and out of sleep.
Then you can head upstairs afterwards to enjoy the vegan Elements menu, which features five different “sets” inspired by fire, water, metal, wood and earth. All sets come with a juice, tea, a couple of very healthy dishes – we had a buckwheat salad and a selection of veggie sushi – followed by an apricot sorbet. Having spent three hours on some ‘me’ time, it felt even more indulgent than if I’d had black cod and champagne. New year, new me? For now at least…
10-50 Willow St, London EC2A 4BH
nobuhotels.com