Salmon sashimi at Nobu. (Photo by Henry Hargreaves for Nobu)

When Nobu DC opened its doors in September, back-of-the-house leadership quoted by heart the restaurant’s sayings like “good food, good service”and “do everything the hard way, not the easy way.”

But Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema says that there’s something fishy at the posh West End outpost, and it’s not the food—it’s the attitude.

Sietsema writes that, a mere month in, the fancy Japanese chain is “already the most pretentious restaurant in Washington.”

We wrote prior to the opening that “Nobu positions itself as a destination for diners looking for more of an ‘experience’ than just a meal.” Sietsema seems to agree, though he doesn’t characterize it as a particularly pleasant one in his one-and-a-half star review.

Among his complaints are the upselling—he says he was “offered shishito peppers and edamame as if they were gratis, only to later see them on the bill”—and the dissonance of eating an expensive (though oftentimes yummy) meal with flimsy disposable chopsticks.

One of his biggest irritations was the service:

You might want to bring a (clean) fly swatter to dinner. It will come in handy as you’re trying to dine amid the many plate-grabbers at Nobu, where meals are also frequently interrupted by “How is everything?” and “Can I order anything else?”

The food at Nobu faces stiff competition from the service, and not in a positive way.

This is the 38th outpost of Nobu, a restaurant often associated with celebrity culture. People Magazine included the Malibu location among its most recommended restaurants for folks who want to spot a star like “Kaley Cuoco, Bradley Cooper and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Kardashian clan, who celebrated Kris Jenner’s Haute Living magazine cover there.”

But if Sietsema is to be believed, the most common sighting at Nobu D.C. might just be an empty table with a “reserved” sign on it.

Nobu is located at 2525 M St. NW. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m