| rev:text
| - After seeing that all the reviews for this place were four 5-star reviews by people writing their first and only review (as of this writing), I was a bit skeptical, especially since it opened very recently. So I thought I'd go take a look, as everyone had such nice things to say about it.
Arrived at 11:30am on a Monday and the place wasn't very full. About 8 people sitting down at the tables and 1 at the sushi bar. Things got a little busier as the lunch hour progressed, but never got more than half full (if people didn't mind sitting at the bar). Looked like maybe 5-6 staff were working, 2 of those were servers.
They have 13 tables that sit 2 people, with the majority (8-9) up against the side wall so the people on that side get a booth seat. The other 2 person tables are up front with a view of King Street. If you have a party larger than 2 people, they just push the tables together. However, I could see it potentially being an issue if you walk in with a large party without reservations. The sushi bar looked like it seated about 15 people.
The decor is modern with a gray, black, and (you guessed it) red color theme. I decided to try a chair instead of a booth, and it was comfortable enough for my bad back. Nice sturdy wood disposable chopsticks at the table, not the ultra cheap kind you're used to with Chinese take out.
This place advertises itself as sushi/grill.
For the sushi portion, I counted 55 rolls to choose from, with assorted sushi/sashimi if you wished. Some of the rolls were quite unique, but at least half were the "old standards" if you weren't feeling adventurous. You could also get some different combos if you're looking to mix and match, or get a sushi appetizer.
For the grill, they had some hibachi offerings, but the fusion aspect of the restaurant reared its head here, as there were some pasta dishes, and you could also order your hibachi with teriyaki, Korean BBQ, or Italian seasoning (what?!). I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but it definitely wasn't expected. If I had money to burn I might have even tried it just because I was intrigued.
They have lunch specials during the week at least (not sure about weekends) where you can order 2 rolls from a reduced list for $10, get some sushi/sashimi/roll combos for $10 and up, or go the hibachi route for $9.
Regarding liquor, they have a small bar, a wine list about a page long, a handful of sake/plum wine selections, and some bottled beer. No beer taps.
Service was ok after I sat down. I was greeted, told to sit wherever I wished, and handed the full menu, the lunch menu, and the wine menu. My beverage arrived in adequate time, and then I placed my order.
I ordered the Shellfish Lover appetizer for about $10, which consists of 5 pieces of sushi, specifically: shrimp, scallop, surf clam, conch, and whelk. The shrimp wasn't specified as Ebi or Amaebi (cooked, or raw respectively) and the server wasn't sure either and said she could check. While I prefer Amaebi, I hadn't had Ebi for awhile so I told her not to worry about it.
I also asked if I had the option to order fresh wasabi. After checking on this it was discovered that they only have the standard powder-based wasabi quail eggs. That's too bad as other places in town have it and it's really so much better that I'm more than happy to spend a couple extra bucks for it. With all of the emphasis on sushi, I was surprised they didn't have any.
For a 5 piece simple sushi order, it took 20-25 minutes. I'm not sure what combination of factors contributed, whether the order got in late, or my order was competing with other more elaborate roll orders or what. I don't know about your office's lunch policy, but I can't really wait over 30 mins after sitting down to get my order, unless I work a couple of blocks away. I would have also appreciated it if the server had acknowledged the wait.
When I finally did get my order, the server told me that they were out of Japanese whelk, so the chef substituted crawfish. You would think that since I love crayfish/crawfish that this wouldn't be an issue. But actually it's kind of a big deal for a couple of reasons. 1) What should have happened is when the chef saw my order, they call the server over to let them know, and have the server tell me what's up and ask me if I'd like to proceed, or offer me another choice, or whatever BEFORE the food arrives prepared at the table. This is common sense both from the customer's and restaurant's perspective as I get to revise my order, and they don't go to the trouble of making something I may refuse. 2) Ideally before each service, the sushi chef should notify the servers what's unavailable on the menu and keep them up to date if they run out of stock.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars, deducting one star for the substitution faux pas, a half a star for the speed of the order, and a half star for the lack of fresh wasabi.
I may stop back but I've reached my 5000 char limit!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)