Suzuna — Restaurant in Stuttgart

I am very sad to write this review as I was super excited to finally have an authentic Japanese place that isn't just ramen and sushi in Stuttgart. First the good: Service was really nice and terrace is perfectly shaded for hot summer days!

Now onto the dishes...

I was so excited to finally find a place that serves hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi but it was sadly quite overpowered with the yuzu dressing and I was not impressed with the fish quality...

Tuna tartar was tasty, but an incredibly small portion for almost 10 Euros (see pictures). Served with potato chips which was a little bit interesting...

Teriyaki chicken wings - very tasty and tender, fall off the bone. But 3 pieces for 9 Euros is also quite extreme...

Gyudon (beef rice bowl) was also tasty, but the portion is so small and there was only a few strips of meat in it and mostly rice for 8 Euros.

Mini Okonomiyaki was not good, I did not like that they cooked the pickled ginger into the pancake, which overpowered the dish, should rather be a topping and optional. Some flavor was missing from the batter but I couldn't put my finger on it...

Appetizer platter was underwhelming, the potato salad was mostly mustard and fried onions on top (???) which was surprising, as I was expecting a mostly mayo-based potato salad...

Overall, there are "authentic-sounding" dishes on the menu and the waitress at least was Japanese and I'm curious how the other dishes on the menu taste, but for a first tasting I am disappointed and if you are a little bit versed in authentic Japanese food, you might be too...

The portions were so small that I was hungry after paying 40 Euros each person....

Maybe it's just a beginning phase since they are a new restaurant and they're trying things out, there is potential for this to be a great place but there is...

I didn't believe that Stuttgart finally had an Izakaya, but we checked out Suzuna last night & we are sold.

Simple, bright interior (brightness was a little off for an izakaya, but it was still nice). Warm "Irasshaimase!" as you walk in.

Great variety of items. We tried: 🐟Tuna Tartar 🍗Karaage chicken 🥬Mini Okonomiyaki 🥒Cucumber salad (it was sold as pickle) 🍜Miso Tonkotsu Ramen 🍖Chasu Don

Everything was truly excellent. The ramen was surprisingly delicious and creamy. The cool thing was that they offered 1/2 size mini portions of Ramen, so you really can try a full variety of things. Food started arriving quickly after ordering. Fun chuhai cocktails and decent sake selection. German beers only.

The only disappointing thing was that gyoza are only offered as vegetarian (literally never seen veggie gyoza at an Izakaya in Japan in my life)

Full menu: https://suzuna.de/suzuna_izakaya_stuttgart_japanisches_restaurant_speisekarte_2024

You can easily reserve tables online. We did last minute when our previous plans...

By far the best Japanese cuisine I had the pleasure to have!

Friends and I were dining in yesterday evening on a pretty short notice, only an hour before the kitchen would've closed and lots of customers already inside. Thinking that the four of us might not be able to get a table, we were pleasantly surprised to be welcomed so politely and forthcoming by the service staff, and were sat shortly after. They were quick to look after us and we got our drinks and food just a few minutes after ordering.

The Roastbeef Maze I had was most delicious, paired with their sake and a bottle of cold Ramune. The atmosphere was casual but very authentic, it was the best dinner out I had in a long while and made me feel just so comfortable. ✨ The prices are a tad higher than other Ramen restaurants around, but justifiably so!

It was a delight discovering this lovely Izayaka, and we will certainly come back here to try all the other lovely dishes and beverages they...