Noor Nugali Riyadh 

• The Nobu restaurant has a 10,000-name waiting list, with plans for a hotel in the Saudi capital

Nobu Matsuhisa, world-renowned sushi chef, has made his way to Riyadh, opening a pop-up restaurant in the heart of the Saudi capital, with sold-out reservations and a 10,000-name waiting list.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, his celebrated Nobu restaurant in Dubai is 10 years old, and he has a restaurant in Doha.

“I’m very excited to see more of Riyadh,” said Matsuhisa, who already has lots of Saudi customers at his restaurants in New York, London, Los Angeles and elsewhere. 

Besides his pop-ups in Jeddah and Riyadh, will there be more of a Nobu footprint in the Kingdom? “I like to go one by one, step by step,” he said. 

Most restaurateurs would gloat about the huge waiting list, but not Matsuhisa. He said he feels “guilty” about people having to wait to eat at his pop-up.

His first Nobu restaurant opened 20 years ago in Tokyo, but back then he was considered far too modern for traditional Japanese society. 

“A lot of people didn’t accept my food. But now, after 20 years, my food has inspired Japan too,” he said.

When asked about the secret of his success, he put his hand on his chest and said: “I like to always cook with heart.” 

All of the chefs from his restaurants worldwide are in the Saudi capital for the pop-up. “I’d like to say to the Riyadh team: Welcome to the family,” he said.

Matsuhisa has expanded into the hospitality industry, owning a chain of 10 hotels. “The restaurant concept and the hotel concept are basically the same: Hospitality, and making the customer happy,” he said. “I like to see customers smile.” 

He attributed the idea of opening hotels to his business partner: Legendary actor Robert De Niro. “The first restaurant and hotel, in Las Vegas, is a big success,” Matsuhisa added. 

“Now we have Las Vegas, London, Miami, Ibiza, Marbella, Barcelona, Los Cabos, and lots of openings on the way.” Riyadh is on the list of forthcoming openings.