Tsunami

As I live in the area and Japanese food is a favourite of mine I have been to Tsunami a number of times. To say this restaurant is resting on its mediocre laurels is to do it a service. The management need to examine how they want to position Tsunami in an increasingly crowded market. They also need to put on a disguise and sample their employee’s service for themselves.

I am certainly not precious but I do not expect service that can be best described as smug and at worst, rude- in any restaurant. Not least one that has such pretence of grandeur with its glitzy interior furnishings and overpriced food.

I must stress that I do like the food- the Sushi is fresh and the main dishes, although they will not set the world alight, are flavoursome enough. The issue here is the price and the service- expensive for what you get and downright rude. The latter leaves a sour taste that not even the sweetest of teriyaki sauces can improve.

Two notable examples spring to mind. One Sunday lunchtime, not wanting a heavy Sunday lunch after sampling the nightspots of Clapham the night before, my girlfriend and I went for a medicinal Miso soup and Sushi. We walked through the open door to find the staff still eating their lunch. We were rudely told they were not open yet and were sent away. Not being open is strange enough at 12.30 pm during a weekend- but the manner in which potential customers were turned away was staggering. When we had dared to try and get some light lunch the staff collectively looked at us like we had kicked in their door and forcibly rubbed wasabi paste into their eyes.

I recently returned and had a stranger experience. Our waiter was self-important to the point of intensely patronising. It was baffling. Such was the way he spoke to us that by halfway through the meal I expected him to exclaim: "Of course you know I am not really a waiter… I am waiting to receive my call up the West End or the government”.

Apologies for being facetious but I hope this gives some indication of the character. Basic orders were taken wrongly, which of course can happen, but it was his unapologetic and arrogant manner that truly grated. This came to a head when he was openly disapproving of an order and stood in mock confused silence whilst rudely waving his finger at the side of my head towards my long suffering girlfriend. In this world you get judged many times over, but I have never been openly judged for ordering soy source to accompany steamed rice in an Asian restaurant.

My advice for what it is worth is even if you have a craving for Japanese food and you find yourself outside Tsunami- go somewhere else. The food here may satisfy your craving, but you will likely leave angry. Oh, and don’t take a significant other there twice… you may not get the opportunity for a third time.

Tsunami is the worst restaurant I have been to date. Appauling service. I booked a table several days in advance and as we were a large group & pre-ordered the appetisers to make it easy(A total around 10 dishes for nine people to share) It was a different story when at the restaurant. We waited for nearly an hour appetisers. I asked several times about the food as most of the group were extremely hungry. I had to repeatedly asked for water & drinks to be brought to the table. Eventually one bottle of white arrived, with 9 people in group it did not go far. Finally the appetisers arrived – 1 plate. This seemed just ridiculous so I queried about the res but was told “it was made for sharing”!! 1 plate betw 9 again does not go very far, & it was chicken which completely excluded the vegetarians in the group. Finally another plate of food arrived “made for sharing”, and then maybe 20 minutes later the third. I was totally ignored by the waiter. To make matters worse, only one of us received a main dish about a half an hour before the group. Finally the rest of the mains started to arrive, but no side dishes. We waited again for about 30min but in the end had to send back some of the mains because they were cold. By then we jsut asked for the bill as we had enough of the appauling service.Yet again this process took about an hour. At which stage we were slightly annoyed by the lack of attention and asked to speak to the manager. We were charges for items that never made their way to the table. He refused to come to table & discuss with us – extremely rude. In the end it finally got it sorted but not without much stress and upset. What could have been a fantastic night with friends, all willing to pay a lot for a nice meal, good atmosphere, good drinks was ruined If the food is designed for sharing, fine, but forgive me for thinking it’s impossible to share 1 small plate between 9 people! In light of current economic conditions it’s not the way to treat customers.

The food is excellent but the service is appalling and some of the staff rude. What a shame!

I really enjoy the food at Tsunami, the ambience is nice but – my god, I wish the servive were better! First of all, I can never get through to actually book my table, always goes to voicemail, have left a message but didn't receive a call back. I booked on OpenTable but when I turned up my booking wasn't actually on their book, they found a table for me anyway but treated me like some kind of lying imbecile trying to wangle a table on a busy weekend.
So, in short, nice food, but the poor service really lets it down.

I have to confess, I eat at Tsunami at least twice a month – it's my favourite ‘local’ although it's not within walking distance. Not only do I eat here fortnightly, for the most part I eat nearly the same dishes each time: favourites include yellowtail jalapeno, duck and fois gras nigiri, beef with a truffle and terriyaki sauce, king crab tempura, tamago… The blackened cod is very good, though I usually find it too rich to eat often, both here and at Nobu…

Pretty much anything you'd expect to find in a good Japanese restaurant is here, including really fresh sashimi – there aren't many places I'd eat raw scallops, but I do here often.

The decor is ‘dressed’ regularly, though it could really do with the kind of overhaul that requires shutting it for a couple of weeks… We have our favourite staff, our water appears on our favourite table, they know which wine we like, they always accommodate us – what more could I ask? And as for the poor lady who complained about a lack of plates and attention, I can assure you that really must have been an exceptional event – I must have eaten here over a hundred times, and never experienced anything like that – genuinely!

There are times you want to get dressed up and head into town. Sometimes you just want to go local, wear your crappy cardigan and just enjoy the food. Don't expect this to be a particularly cheap option though – sashimi grade fish and shellfish is expensive wherever you go! I'll see you there…

Had to wait for ages to mediocre, overpriced food.

Went to Tsunami on the Tuesday night after a bank holiday weekend when the weather was cold out, so expected it to be very quiet, but was pleasantly surprised that during our time there from 8 to around 10.30, it was at least half full and at times nearer 2 thirds full, so good buzzy feel to it.

Went as birthday treat for my boyfriend who loves Japanese food especially sashimi. Overall we thought the food was exceedingly good quality – I am no lover of Japanese food but opted for fairly simple veg tempura and chicken teriyaki which were both really good. We also had miso soup, sashima platter and one or two others. All beautifully presented. Saw other people's going to table and all looked fantastic.

Service was excellent also – helpful but not overbearing, and when we asked for a little more time between the dishes coming out, it was no problem. Bit of banter with the waiter which always makes for a pleasant experience for me.

Bill wasn't too bad considering we had drinks to start, bottle of wine, and liqueurs, on top of several dishes of food – came in under £100 inc of gratuity.

This has always been a favourite of my husband and I. Excellent Sushi and Sashimi with some inventiveness (see Foisgras and chive cut roll). The flaming scallop with spicy sauce is a masterpiece and excellent combination of flavours. Yes, it is getting a bit tired in atmosphere, but when you think its about half of the price of Zuma and Roka it is definitely not half the value.

Tsunami is a fantastic local restaurant – although the prices are West End – where the food is always the best quality I have ever found. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and never feels too cluttered or noisy. The service is fine, if a little slow at busy times. The food turnaround time is good and the dishes tend to be staggered well so you don't get all the dishes at once.

It is a pricey treat of a place, perfect for a special occasion, with the the best quality sushi that I have found in London, without the poncy atmosphere!