Robert De Niro on Nobu and developing a hotel and restaurant empire

Though known for his acting, Robert De Niro is also a very successful hotelier and restaurateur, a co-founder of the Nobu chain. We caught up with him and fellow stakeholders Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa, Meir Teper​ and Trevor Horwell at the launch of their latest hotel in Marbella.

First thing's first, what should I eat tonight?

Nobu: Have you tried my food before?

I've not, it's my first time.

Nobu: Try the black cod, it's his favourite [motions to De Niro]. And also I recommend tiradito - yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño, baby artichokes and a dry miso, that's very popular, and also if you like crab try the king crab tempura.

Will do! I'm interested to know what you would cook at home for your families.

Nobu: My wife tends to be the chef in my household, but I have my own sushi bar at home which I'll use to make sushi for my family occasionally.

Robert, is there a dish that's your go-to?

De Niro: No, I can only make coffee, that's it!

Nobu: And martinis!

That's a good skill to have at least. I was watching one of those old Robert Altman films set in a hotel recently and thinking how so many people have a sort of cinematic affection for hotels. I was wondering, with all your experience, if you've been able to crystalise what it is about the hotel experience that people so enjoy?

De Niro: Well certain hotels you enjoy because they have a welcoming feel to them I think -

Nobu: It's about what makes you feel comfortable as a guest. Good energy, good food, good service.

Horwell: I think a lot of hotels when you arrive in a city and know the hotel it feels as though you're coming home - I think that's important because then you know the staff personally and they look after you and know what you want.

Do you think there's a difference in atmosphere or vibe between a restaurant and a hotel restaurant?

Horwell: Very much so because you have more locals coming to a standalone restaurant whereas in a hotel restaurant - it's the biggest problem in hotels today they can't draw the locals in because everybody thinks it's just a hotel restaurant. With Nobu that's what we do very well is we bring the locals in and that really creates the stage for the hotel, they're the foundation for what we're doing.

You guys have worked together on restaurants, on hotels, on films - I remember Nobu doing a cameo in Casino with Robert, what would the next venture be, if there was one, what would you expand into?

Nobu: For me, I have no idea because cooking is my whole life!

Trevor: We were talking before about whether we should we do any other concepts apart from Nobu, but I think as you grow bigger - it's like all these hotel companies today they have a proliferation of a lot of brands, some of the bigger ones have 25 brands, but then it comes down to can you keep the accountability and the quality of each one...

Just finally Robert a question for you, there's a perception of you as incredibly hard-working and still very prolific in terms of the number of films and the fact that you're still opening hotels, what is that down to, where does that come from?

De Niro: I don't know, I just enjoy it and I'm just taking advantage of opportunities that come along and it's something that I like doing and I saw the opportunity - I thought 'let's just do it let's try and open the hotels'. So many people were asking us to go into a hotel or into some other kind of building which would give it a certain caché or credibility. I met Trevor at the Hard Rock 12 or 15 years ago and we went there to open a Nobu in San Diego and they asked me to move a Nobu in and I said 'why are we talking about the Hard Rock?' because somebody asked me a question 'what do you think about the Hard Rock?' I said 'I don't care about the Hard Rock I care about Nobu why am I having to answer these questions, why aren't we doing this for ourselves?'

Sure. I spoke to Sam Jackson once and he said that for him he felt almost like an old school work ethic that when work comes along you take it, do you feel that way?

De Niro: Yeah, I mean I... yeah.