Review by Ruth Brecher on 1st September, 2005

Add your review
Dear web editor Tsunami used to be one of our favourite restaurants. I’m sad to say that our last visit there was a complete disaster. The general consensus of opinion seems to be that the place has gone downhill recently – in my opinion that is somewhat of an understatement. Here is what we found: Our meal began with on of their great cocktails but we were assisted by a waitress who despite being perfectly nice, didn’t know anything about the menu and didn't know which sake we were ordering or how it was served. In fact we had to spell out some items on the menu, as she wasn't sure what some of them were. Having eaten a small part of our 'Luxury' Sashimi starter plate, I picked up a prawn only to find profuse bright green gunk oozing from the (blackened) head area. This is not something either of us has come across before despite having eaten seafood very frequently and so the plate was sent back with a query about the edibility of the green prawn. We were then told by (it later transpired) the manager that the prawn was perfectly edible and that the green fluid was just part of the 'brain'. As we all know, prawns do not have brains but a tiny collection of nerve cells situated between the eyes. Having got some advice from a shellfish information service, it transpires that although the prawn was not actually harmful to human health, it was indeed sub-standard. There are prawns that expire before they are processed and the liver/roe in the head begins to break down which together with the algal contents in their stomach creates the green colour. Boxes of prawns sold with a minimum black head count are more expensive as they are of a higher quantity. So, not only did the manager fob us off with nonsense about prawn 'brains' but we were presented with sub-standard seafood on our so-called 'luxury' plate. So not only were we treated like idiots but we were being ripped off too. However, onwards, we thought - we both had some goodwill towards Tsunami as we have eaten there on several occasions both as a couple and with business clients. Further starters included foie gras and eel rolls, which were good, and vegetable tempura which was also reasonably good. Our main course (which we both ordered as we had eaten it on several previous occasions and found it delicious) was the beef fillet in foie gras and sea urchin sauce. Unfortunately that evening, the sauce was radically over-salted – a fact that we noted when we started the course, and by half way through neither of us could get past the burning sensations that we were getting from the salt. We are both quite fond of salty food but unfortunately this was completely inedible. We tried drizzling the sauce very sparingly over the beef rather than dipping the beef into it but even so, we both found that neither of us could eat any more of it. By that time our mouth was burning and so dry that we really did need some water to ameliorate the effects. This would have been quite funny had it not been so ridiculous. We asked for one of the staff to send the food back to the kitchen as we felt that someone really should be notified about what was being sent out. The two plates were then left on our table for a good ten or fifteen minutes, and were not taken away until we asked, once again for this to be done. We were however kindly offered water by the waitress in the meantime but in another ten minutes someone else came along, plonked two glasses down, and said, “Tap water.” I wish I was joking, but unfortunately I am not. We requested bottled water instead. We still had the plates in front of us and so felt moved to complain that still no-one had addressed the problem with the sauce and we asked to speak to the manager. The restaurant 'manager' came to our table (the same person who had told us about the prawn 'brain'), we explained the problem and asked him to taste the sauce himself, there and then. He didn't and took the plates away. Some time later the manager returned to say that the chef had tasted the sauce and that it was perfectly OK. We then asked for the bill not having the stomach to stay for a replacement main course (not in fact offered), dessert or any further drinks. We sent the bill back to get rid of the inedible main course. We sent it back again to get the water removed (which, we unbelievably, got charged for!). We then sent it back again to have service taken off – 12.5% for service that would truly shame McDonalds. The people at the table next to ours also complained bitterly about the service throughout the meal - so much so that we all compared noted about how the place had gone downhill recently. They too had come on many occasions previously and I can guarantee won't be back again. We also all noticed some angry gesticulations from a large table across the way aimed at some of the staff - we all guessed that their meal wasn't going well either. We understood from one of the staff that the ‘regular’ chef had taken time off and/or the kitchen was understaffed. This is no excuse for the experience and disgraceful treatment that we received at Tsunami. Incidentally, we couriered a letter to Ken Sam who is apparently the co-owner of the restaurant, outlining our complaint. He didn’t even grant us the courtesy of a reply. It’s unlikely to be long until other customers start voting with their feet and going to restaurants which at least have a little respect for their customers. I would certainly recommend that people give the place a miss. Best regards Ruth Brecher

Date visited: 29th July 2005