Nobu Malibu Los Angeles

Nobu Malibu sits directly on Pacific Coast Highway, a twenty-five-minute walk from Malibu Pier. It serves Japanese-inspired seafood within a footprint that favors the coastline over the density of the city’s more enclosed dining rooms.

While the high price tier and the 4.75 rating suggest a standard for elite coastal dining, the venue is louder and more exposed than its quieter neighbors near Zuma Beach. The room runs smart and elegant, but the real draw is the proximity to the Pacific, which changes the character of a standard meal into something more atmospheric. Choosing this over the area's other seafood outposts is a gamble on the environment; you come here for the specific collision of a high-end sushi menu and the crashing tide, rather than for the intimate quiet found further down the coast at Point Dume.