- 🎬 Robert De Niro co-founded Nobu with chef Nobu Matsuhisa and producer Meir Teper · a New York restaurant that became a global hotel brand.
- 🏨 The group boasts 46 hotels, 57 restaurants and 20 residences worldwide (as of late 2025).
- 🇮🇹 A Nobu Hotel Roma opened in late 2025, with European expansion accelerating across Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK.
- 🏝️ Coming soon: the Nobu Beach Inn in Barbuda (36 rooms, late 2026), the Maldives (Laamu Atoll) and a first venture in Egypt.
From TriBeCa restaurant to global hotel brand
The story began in 1994 in New York, when Robert De Niro persuaded Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa to open a restaurant with him and producer Meir Teper in his TriBeCa neighbourhood. Matsuhisa’s Nikkei cuisine, blending Japanese and Peruvian influences, became one of the most sought-after tables on the planet, packed with celebrities and spawning addresses from London to Malibu.
The pivot to hospitality came in 2013, with the first Nobu Hotel nestled within Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The gamble: translating the restaurant experience into overnight stays · Japanese minimalism, dark woods, understated service and room service signed by Matsuhisa.
46 hotels and unstoppable growth
Ten years later, the gamble has paid off. Nobu Hospitality boasts 46 hotels, 57 restaurants and 20 branded residences worldwide. In late 2025, the brand opened its Roman outpost, inaugurated by De Niro and Matsuhisa in person. Flagship addresses include:
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel Roma · the latest addition, opened in late 2025 on Via Veneto
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel London Portman Square · the brand’s London anchor
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel Marbella · Andalusian beach life with a Nikkei twist
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel Barcelona · a tower offering city-wide views
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel Marrakech · riads, spa and fusion cuisine in Morocco
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel Chicago · West Loop spirit, perched above the restaurant
- 🏨 Nobu Hotel Miami Beach · Collins Avenue’s coastal lifestyle
- 🏨 All Nobu addresses · the complete collection, continent by continent
The pipeline: Caribbean, Maldives, Egypt
The roadmap is already set. In the Caribbean, the Nobu Beach Inn in Barbuda, an intimate 36-room property, is slated to open in late 2026 within the island’s Beach Club, famed for its pink sands. In the Maldives, a Nobu Hotel featuring residences and a restaurant has been announced on the Laamu Atoll. In Egypt, a partnership with developer SODIC paves the way for the country’s first generation of Nobu hotels and residences. In Europe, projects are progressing in Poland, the Netherlands and the UK.
The De Niro formula: star behind the scenes, brand in the window
Unlike other celebrities who merely lend their name, De Niro is a long-standing hotel entrepreneur · he also co-founded The Greenwich Hotel in New York. At Nobu, the star is not plastered on the signage: the cuisine and Japanese aesthetic carry the brand, which is undoubtedly the secret to its longevity. A model now inspiring new generations of celebrity hoteliers, from Cristiano Ronaldo to Pharrell Williams.
Cover photo: Robert De Niro. © David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Photos: © Nobu Hospitality.
