NIKU COCINA NIKKEI - Sushi Cartagena — Restaurant in Cartagena

Yesterday night on May 25, 2024 my friend and I decided to end our trip having Dinner at Niku. Our waiter Cristian was amazing and the service was great. The food came out lukewarm, but Cristian quickly resolved it. The whole experience and ambience of the restaurant was perfect. However, at the conclusion of our night we paid our tab and also tipped our waiter generously. Upon getting ready to exit our table, a man who stated he was a manager in the same uniform as Cristian with a low hair cut that was kind of chubby approached us before we left our table like we stole something — very abruptly. He approached us and everybody started staring at us, and he asked us if everything was okay with the service we said yes. He said that Cristian informed him that we didn’t want to pay the VOLUNTARY SERVICE tip. So I explained every restaurant that we’ve been to from our experience and paid with card, did not include it in our final payment they just ran the payment without that voluntary service tip so we believed for it to truly be voluntarily. In turn, we always tip the waiter/waitress in cash because of this. He went back and forth with us saying that people don’t normally exclude it, and it was almost like making a scene in the middle of the restaurant so many tables were looking at us it was very embarrassing and left such a bad taste in our mouth and ended our trip off on a bad note. Just the night before we went to Ana’s restaurant and when the manager was swiping are card to pay I was asking him about the tip and he said no it’s ok it’s ok, so since this was our experience at other restaurants we thought it would be the same here. I would have never imagined to be bombarded and asked Why we didn’t want to pay a VOLUNTARY SERVICE tip, that’s insane to me. I For reference our reservation was May 25 @ 7PM. I don’t remember the person who approached us’s name of it was Emmanuel or something like that, I could be wrong about this “manager’s” name I just remember he was wearing the same black uniform as the Waiter/server staff. This was such an overly embarrassing experience the fact that he kept going back and forth with us about paying a VOLUNTARY service tip , ESPECIALLY because we had tipped our waiter generously already. It was so embarrassing because people were staring at us in the middle of the restaurant during this whole encounter as if we shorted our bill or something. Unfortunately, while our dining experience was great— that manager significantly turned that around and put a bad taste in our mouth. What a terrible way to end off our trip, and I must say this was the reason why I took away 2 stars from this rating because it was down right embarrassing & an unprofessional encounter. If he would’ve approached us upon exiting by the hostess stand, it wouldn’t have been so bad but to do this right in the middle of the restaurant and have people staring at us like we stole something?! Unacceptable. I plan to return to Colombia because I had such an amazing time, but unfortunately can’t say I will be returning to this restaurant or even recommending this restaurant to my peers that plan to travel here. The embarrassment is not worth it. As a frequent traveler, somebody is always asking me for recommendations on places to visit when in certain countries & this most definitely will not be on that list. It’s not that I refused to pay a voluntary service tip that goes towards all staff in the restaurant , but if something is indeed voluntary there’s no reason somebody should be publicly shamed for...

Reservations for 5 for dinner. Arrived at 1900 hrs (7p.m.) The employee who met us as we entered was very reserved. No welcome greeting. 20 minutes after we were seated, our server came to the table. You use your phone to open a menu using their wifi app. Our orders were taken, and drinks arrived. Appetizers of sushi were severed with soy sauce and a dab of Chinese mustard in lieu of Wasabi. The New York strip I ordered had a lot of fat on the ends of the steak and was cooked rare . I order medium. It also had grissel in the meat. It's not a good cut of beef. The other New York strip severed to our party was cooked as ordered. And I was told it was flavorful and no grissel was present in the steak The larger 1000 gram steak was cooked as ordered and was very good. The sides of sauted vegetables were just ok. The French fry were good. The salads were fresh and chrisp. After the main course arrived after we were not asked if we needed any drink refills. After 45 minutes, we finally had to get our servers' attention and ordered a 2nd round of drinks. All during dinner, the restaurant had a dj playing teco club dance music. It was so loud that conversation was hard to hear from the person seated across the table. The restaurant has great decor, but the music detracted from the atmosphere of an upscale restaurant. The music gave us the impression that it was trying to be a teco dance club. As they have a dress code and reservations policy, this restaurant falls short of being a fine dining restaurant. 1. Paper napkins. You should use cloth for a truly classy restaurant. 2. Service was lacking as we had to find our server to get a second round of drinks. 3 music was not fitting to the theme of an upscale restaurant. 4. Music too loud. 5. The person who you first meet at the restaurant should welcome you . Not just do you have a reservation. Try smiling and make people feel welcome. 6. Overall, the restaurant has a great location and decor. However, it could become the best restaurant in Categena with a few simple...

After struggling to book a table online, our hotel managed to secure us a spot at Niku, an Asian-Caribbean fusion restaurant in Cartagena. Based on the hype, I was expecting an exclusive dining experience, but what we found was a restaurant trying a bit too hard to be upscale.

From the moment we entered, it was clear the booking system is more about creating an illusion of exclusivity than reality. The restaurant had plenty of empty tables when we arrived, and many were still unoccupied when we left. Despite this, we were seated in one of the side areas instead of the main section with the beautifully green atrium. Adding to the confusion, the tables were awkwardly placed right against the walls, even though there was ample space to arrange things more comfortably.

The atmosphere didn’t help either. A DJ blasting club music felt completely out of place for what should be a relaxed dining experience. Pro tip for the restaurant: there’s such a thing as relaxing electronic music – maybe give it a try?

Now, onto the food. It was a mixed bag. The baked cauliflower appetizer was absolutely delicious, but the beef tacos were cold and awkward to eat. The sushi was tasty, but the steak and shrimp rice dish leaned too sweet for my taste – though I get that’s the Asian-Caribbean fusion vibe with the coconut flavors.

Overall, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Niku is trying too hard to be something it’s not. It’s the kind of place where social climbers go to feel important, and the actual dining experience takes a backseat to the Instagrammable decor and vibe. The service, however, was excellent – attentive and friendly throughout.

Would I go back? Probably not. And I wouldn’t recommend it to others either. Cartagena has much more authentic and enjoyable dining...