Ginnan

KT ( 30s, Male, London )

We had lunch here a couple of weeks ago. I'm a big Japanese food fan and hadn't been to a Japanese restaurant for a couple of weeks (although we do cook Japanese at home). So I was looking forward to our meal at Ginnan. Unfortunately it was really disappointing. The only positive that came out of it was that when we refused to pay for certain dishes, the staff and owner did not contest it which was gracious of them. But there were plenty of negatives. The primary issue I have with this restaurant is that none of the ingredients appeared to be fresh. We ordered a few dishes inlcuding sushi and sashimi platter aswell as a bowl of unagi-don (bbq eel on rice). The fish was not fresh and it was mushy in texture which is a tell-tale sign that it had been in a freezer for some time (something I learn't from a relative of mine who is a sushi chef). It was well presented though which would fool some diners. The unagi was definitely not fresh but then again a lot of places do not serve fresh bbq eel. But the problem was that it was not only old and probably frozen for a long time but because they had decided to cook it in a microwave. I can't say for sure it was cooked in a microwave but I'm 80% certain as there is no way a dish like that can be cooked in 4-5 minutes from ordering. Overall, I was very disappointed and won't be recommending this restaurant to any friends. It's such a shame as it's got so much potential if only the owner focused on quality and freshness.