Kimchi Sushi — Restaurant in Hamburg

Quintessence:

This is not your typical fancy-schmancy restaurant. It's self-service and the furniture is very simple, but the food is quite nice.

In detail:

This restaurant looks from the outside as well as inside quite plain. On their menu they have a selection of sushi and Korean dishes. Every Tuesday and Saturday (and I think also on Thursdays) they have a buffet from 12:00-15:00. As an adult you pay 10 Euros.

When we walked inside the restaurant we didn't know it was self-service until we saw a sheet of paper at the bar. So we ordered some sushi and fried mandu and got ourselves some drinks. The fried mandu came first, but there were only 12 dumplings on our plate despite being stated as 15 on the menu. So we asked the staff and they apologised and brought us more than the missing 3 dumplings, which was a kind gesture.

The mandu were good, but unfortunately they were not as crispy and they were served with a sweet chili sauce instead of a traditional Korean sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, toasted sesame, spring onion and chili. The sushi was not outstanding but good nonetheless.

It was not very crowded in the restaurant when we had dinner there and hence it was...

They have raised their price for lunch buffet to 17€. Which is I find reasonable knowing inflation nowadays.

But here are my honest reviews...

1. Food: Their kimchis taste good. Some meat dishes also taste good. The chicken is nicely fried but there is no sauce available. They only gave this very salty soy sauce that makes everything worse. The sesame balls are not delicious at all. It taste dry and very old. Could have been better if they have more desserts and sauces.

2.) Reservation and Service: Their reservation sucks. They don't control the reservations they take. We were confused where to sit and some even have to wait for someone to finish so they can eat. Some people there are eating or staying so long, they should control the hours of stay and kick out people who are more than 2hours there. Also this is clean as you go basis, you clean your own table.

Atmosphere: I find the place quite small and can really be loud...

I just want to share some support for this place because I think it really deserves it. The lunch buffet offers more than 30 different dishes with no time limit, all for just 17 Euros. The food tastes genuinely good and authentic. I’ve read some other reviews where people complain, and honestly, I don’t get it—what more do you expect from a 17 Euro all-you-can-eat lunch buffet?

I mean, nowadays even a small box of sushi can cost around 10 Euros. But here, you get unlimited sushi, rice, soup, side dishes, fried chicken and more—such great value for the price!

I’ve been there three times already, and it has never disappointed me. That’s why I feel it’s only fair to leave a positive review. If you’re reading this and unsure whether to try it, my advice is: just go and see for yourself. Don’t be too influenced by the negative comments.

Overall, I think it’s a great spot to enjoy a relaxed lunch time with friends...