One of South Florida’s most celebrated luxury resorts is now home to the newest Nobu restaurant in North America, finally giving famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa a permanent home in Palm Beach after years of pop-ups. The honor goes to the five-star Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, an elegant seven-acre beachfront property, which was acquired by billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison in 2024.
Ellison is an investor in Nobu, which was co-founded by Robert DeNiro, and has longstanding ties to the brand; and bringing Nobu to Eau Palm Beach was one of the first major changes following his acquisition of the resort. Eau Palm Beach general manager Tim Nardi has said that “Ellison’s extensive experience in luxury hospitality brings a new level of innovation to the resort,” adding that the new ownership would introduce “new amenities and services” while preserving the character of the property.
The initial result is a permanent oceanfront location Nobu with a large dining room, dedicated sushi bar and outdoor terrace overlooking the Atlantic. The former Polpo restaurant space has about 140 seats. “Being one of Palm Beach’s most famed oceanfront resorts, Eau Palm Beach is the perfect location,” Matsuhisa said when the restaurant was first announced, adding that he was looking forward to welcoming both resort guests and local diners.
The menu has all the dishes that made Nobu famous, including Black Cod Miso, Yellowtail Jalapeño and Rock Shrimp Tempura, along with Wagyu Tacos, Matsuhisa sushi specials and dishes created specifically for Eau Palm Beach. Sushi and sashimi figure prominently, as does the delectable combination of Japanese and Peruvian cooking that Matsuhisa has become well known for. An extensive sake and wine list is complemented by cocktails including the Matsuhisa Martini and Pisco Sour Nobu Style.
Nobu is the most significant recent addition to a resort that has long ranked among Palm Beach’s leading luxury properties. Eau Palm Beach received the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award for nine consecutive years beginning in 2016, while its 42,000-square-foot Eau Spa earned its first Five-Star rating a year earlier. More recently, Eau Palm Beach was again named one of Florida’s top resorts in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards, and under Ellison’s ownership with anticipated further upgrades expect more accolades to come.
The spa remains one of the resort’s main attractions and, at 42,000 square feet, is almost a resort in itself. It features 19 private treatment villas, saunas, steam facilities and extensive bathing areas, in addition to an the open-air Self-Centered Garden, where plunge pools, cabanas and hanging chairs suspended above the soothing water provide plenty of room to disappear for an afternoon. One of South Florida’s largest and most elaborate resort spas, Vogue’s Global Spa Guide recently named it the finest spa in South Florida.
Eau Palm Beach itself occupies seven acres directly on the Atlantic Ocean and has 309 rooms and suites. Every accommodation has a private balcony or terrace overlooking the ocean, pools or gardens, and the resort says its rooms and balconies are the largest among Palm Beach luxury hotels. Designer and Palm Beach resident Jonathan Adler gave the rooms and suites a colorful contemporary take on Palm Beach style, mixing bright colors furnishings with Slim Aarons photography and luxury linens.
The resort has two oceanfront swimming pools, three Har-Tru clay tennis courts, non-motorized watersports and a recently renovated 24-hour fitness center with Technogym equipment and Peloton bikes. Nobu joins a collection of stylish venues for eating and drinking, including Angle, the resort’s steakhouse; and Breeze Ocean Kitchen, focusing on casual oceanfront dining. The Stir bar meanwhile has an outdoor terrace and firepit, with live music on select evenings; Savor serves the spa; and Oceana covers coffee and lighter fare.
Eau Palm Beach often attracts the sort of clientele that prefers not to advertise where it is staying. Since the property officially became Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in 2013, Ringo Starr and Billy Joel have both reportedly stayed there, while Chinese President Xi Jinping stayed there during his 2017 Palm Beach summit with President Trump. Earlier celebrity sightings at the same property—including Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in the 1990s—date to its years as the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, before the 2013 relaunch. Now that Nobu is in residence, expect to see more celebs and high profile personages occupying tables.
Nobu has come a long way from the restaurant Matsuhisa opened in Tribeca with De Niro, producer Meir Teper and restaurateur Drew Nieporent in 1994. The privately held brand now has nearly 60 restaurants across five continents, along with a rapidly expanding collection of hotels and branded residences, including a massive multi-site expansion into Egypt that was just announced. Nobu doesn’t disclose annual revenue, but its scale is considerable: its 21 U.S. restaurants alone generated about $190 million in sales in 2023, according to industry research firm Technomic, while the Financial Times recently valued Nobu Hospitality at $1.3 billion.
Palm Beach has long been one of the centers of American polo, with Wellington’s USPA National Polo Center hosting the sport’s biggest U.S. events. Established in 1904, the U.S. Open Polo Championship remains the country’s most prestigious title and the finale of the Gauntlet of Polo, drawing many of the world’s top teams, patrons and professionals each season.
For guests at Eau Palm Beach, Wellington is only about 20 minutes away, making it easy to spend the morning on the beach and the afternoon at a match. The 2026 high-goal season begins with the C.V. Whitney Cup in March, continues with the USPA Gold Cup and culminates with the U.S. Open from April 1–26. Sunday matches are a Palm Beach institution in their own right, combining some of the world’s best players and horses with the considerable social scene surrounding the field.