This place sucks. My husband and I wanted to substitute the eel and bluefin tuna options in one of the sushi sets for salmon. We wanted to do this because both eel and bluefin are endangered species. The waiter refused to let us do this. When we complained to the manager, he was nonchalant. We asked him why the restaurant was selling bluefin tuna in the first place (this is something we only found out after asking what sort of tuna it was – it is not actually stated on the menu), and he said he viewed our concerns about endangered species as a matter of opinion (well, the scientific facts about whether or not bluefin is endangered are not a matter of opinion). He said that as long as it was legal to sell it, (and this, of course, is factually correct) he did not see that his restaurant was doing anything wrong. It is true that not that many people are particularly bothered about where their fish comes from, and they get fed up with other people preaching to them about it. But for those people who do care, there should at least be a customer-focused response from businesses. Sumosan's refusal to meet our request to substitute the endangered species on its menu for a non-endangered species, salmon, and for which we would have paid exactly the same price (even though salmon is far cheaper than either eel or bluefin) illustrated how they couldn't care less, not only about the ethical aspects of their operation, but also about customer concern regarding these issues. One of the waiters told us that if we cared about these issues we shouldn't eat at Sumosan. Well, knowing now that they trade in endangered species, we certainly won't eat there again. But on that occasion, knowing that we had raised an issue that they clearly had no scruples about, we decided to ride out the meal, choosing an alternative a la carte menu, and challenging the nonchalant service by refusing to leave the “optional” service charge that is automatically added to the bill. The food was competently done, the atmosphere was slick and sterile – clearly geared towards the Mayfair hedge fund set – but the experience as a whole was thoroughly unpleasant.
