Shiso Asian Fusion — Restaurant in Amsterdam

I see a lot of reviews saying the decor is amazing. The restaurant feels a lot like a factory or prison, very grey and dark. I liked the old decor much better. The waitors were hit or miss with their service. The guy who showed us to our table was delightful, lovely big smile. However out of the 5 or 6 waiters taking food to our table only one was friendly. One of them made a weird buzzing noise with their mouth. Initially we thanked the waitors but not one of then replied with you're welcome so we just stopped altogether and let them just deposit food to the table in silence. When asking for the bill the lady came over with the card machine switched on and ready to go with the total imputted already which made the whole interaction feel forced. She did not even make eye contact or say a single word. Incredibly rude. Issues with the food: the food was extremely average for amsterdam all you can eat sushi. They have an obsession with teriyaki sauce. They restrict you to 4 dishes each every10 minutes and sometimes a 'dish'could be literally one piece of sushi so we found ourselves waiting for the tablet countdown to drop. Also they refuse to serve tap water despite having both taps and water in the kitchen. A 750ml bottle is €8.50 so be prepared especially as sushi is salty and its summertime. Many of the sushi is charged at a premium and you only get two desserts per person which would typically be two blobs of ice cream from the freezer visible to guests as you enter. It lies next to the table full of stale ginger and wasabi They bring to your table as they seat you at the beginning. We went for my partners birthday and included this note on the reservation. When we walked in They asked do you have a reservation, took our word for it and didn't even check. Overall the food was average the atmosphere was sombre, and the waiters by the most part hate their life. I recommend other mojo by Central Station- much better vibe. Also, if you want water just ask the waiters for several cups of ice which is free and over the course of your meal you'll have a...

We came in for lunch. There is a reception, no one was there. You are forced to wander into a this huge space and try to find a staff member yourself to be seated. It's possible for staff to remain in the kitchen for several minutes, so you could be standing there all that time. When we were there it was extremely quiet, so some areas were closed. No problem. But even within the area that was open and had loads of empty tables, we were not allowed to sit anywhere except a 2-person table. In this massive restaurant with loads of potentially nice places I ended up with a view of empty bottle crates and lit up freezers.

When our 3rd round of orders was placed, we waited. And waited, and waited. At some point we informed one of the waiters. He had trouble understanding our complaint since his English was poor (and did not speak Dutch at all). He informed the manager, the manager brought our drink order. Good, so it was settled. Or was it? Because the food still did not arrive. We waited, and waited. The manager walked past our table many times, having a look and seeing us sitting waiting and becoming moody. No action was taken.

When the manager walked by again we halted him, we had now been waiting about 30 minutes for our food (and the limit is 2 hours). No clue what we were talking about. No apology. He started rambling about "the numbers". Then I said we were leaving. Still no apology, but suddenly he was extremely willing to quickly put in whatever we needed. We left a partial payment on the table and departed. I have never done something like that in my life, but I have never been treated so poorly in a restaurant all my life. First visit, last visit....

Somewhere in a corporate boardroom, an executive realized he or she could reduce employee headcount and save some money by forcing patrons to order everything on their phones with virtually no human contact. That executive does not eat in restaurants.

Want to interact with your waiter or ask a question about an item? Too bad. Ask your phone (maybe Siri knows!!) Welcome to Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, or as the above-mentioned executive calls it “SHISO” – where you get to manage your entire meal via QR code. Finally a way to spend more time on your phone!

There are no waiters – just miserable food shuffling zombies who mindlessly accept your phone’s instruction and plop the results on your table. SHISO has sucked every ounce of dignity and individuality from the food shuffler zombies. One zombie, whose eyes were as empty as SHISO’s soul, twice attempted to remove plates as diners were eating from them (unlike most horror films, in “SHISO,” one feels tremendous pity for the miserable zombie horde of seemingly over-medicated hollow husks as they lurk around the restaurant). SHISO has all the charm of a methadone clinic.

A knock-off 1950’s Sci-Fi robot roamed about collecting dirty glasses. The vapid food shufflers gazed upon the robot with as much hatred as their soulless bodies could muster, envious that the robot could not feel the misery of working there. Oh, and the food was prepared with masterful efficiency, each ingredient no doubt sourced from its cheapest supply avenue. Boiled white rice was disguised as “fried rice,” as if the efficiency model would not permit the time...