Samurai Bowl — Restaurant in Christchurch

10th Jan 2021 - It has been over a year since my last visit this eatery. What I can say is the customer service standard has slipped and the portion size is getting smaller. The taste is not yummy as before. Also, if you pay by credit card, there is a surcharge now.

Would I go back? No, unless I have to. There are other Japanese eateries that serve good ramen noodles with better pricing and service.

P/s: I have reduced the rating from 4 to 2 stars based on today's visit.

Disclaimer: Please note that this review is entirely based on my personal experience at the time of the visit (10th Jan 2021). You might have a different experience than me and also, the food may or may not suit your taste.

25 Feb 2019 - having dinner since my last visit in Sept 2018. I ordered a miso ramen 🍜 and fresh salmon 🐟 don (you need to ask the waitress 👩‍🍳 as this dish is now not in the menu). The rice for the salmon don is a bit dry and crunchy when you chew it. The broth for miso ramen is salty. Overall, I'm slightly disappointed with the food and customer service during this visit. Hence, I'm dropping a star from 5 to 4. I'm hoping that everything will improve when I come back next time.

This is a licensed (🍻🍸🍷🍾🍹🍺) eatery and not a BYO. There is no outdoor dining area.

There is street parking 🅿 only.

They accept cash and EFTPOS including credit card payments (Paywave payments are available, for those who want to know).

Would I go back? Maybe 🤔. Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. It is not as yummy as before. Miso ramen is slightly salty. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Relax and cosy. Price: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. The portion size for salmon don is slightly smaller and closer to half size don. Customer service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. The staff forgot about my extra egg that I ordered 😑. Slightly disappointed but not a biggie.

2 September 2018 - we were having father's day lunch as the kids were keen to have Japanese food. We ordered ramens and salmon don + gyōza and prawn twisters. The restaurant was nearly full when we arrived at around 12.23 pm and it was full of people within 15 minutes. Anyway, the food was good and enjoyable. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

There is a paywave enabled Eftpos machine and they can also accept credit card payment (visa and master card).

There are Japanese comic books for the customers to read. However, these comic books are in Japanese language.

This is an on licensed premises (allow to sell alcohol) but no byo. There are Japanese beers and the Asahi beer is available on tap. 🍺🍻

Would I go back? Of course yes ☺ Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. It was yummy 😋. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Very lively atmosphere and the seating is tightly packed. Very typical Japanese eatery Price: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Reasonable priced.

One of my favourite eateries in Christchurch. Food is always yummy, friendly staff and is priced reasonably. I do recommend if you need authentic Japanese food, this is the place to go.

27/09/2017 - Dinner tonight @Samurai Bowl. The portion size is getting smaller but still delicious. I have to get two bowls to satisfy my...

A few weeks ago I placed an online order at Samurai Bowl. I didn't get a pick up time or anything so I allowed 15 minutes but when I arrived they hadn't seen my order yet. This meant I had to wait a further 20 minutes in the restaurant while they prepared the order, not in the end of the world but a bit annoying. We'd ordered 2 vegan dishes and when we got home we noticed there were 2 mains and 2 sides, we thought maybe they threw in a couple of free sides due to the wait. The vegan mock meat in my vegan katsu Ramen looked a lot meatier than I was expecting but I didn't think too much of it. On biting into however it was very obviously meat. One of the sides was also meat. We didn't try anything else after that and called the restaurant to let them know and our experience just got worse. At first they completely denied they'd given us the wrong meals and then they realised they'd mixed our order up with someone else's. At this point it was late and we just wanted a refund and they said ok but they can't refund until they get the order back. They asked for our address to come pick it up so that they could give the food to the customer who actually ordered it. We told them we'd already opened everything and taken a couple of bites but they didn't care and still wanted it back to give to another customer. We couldn't believe it and said no due to bad food hygiene and then they said we'll need to call the third party online ordering company (Tuckerfox) to ask for a refund. I called Tuckerfox the next day and they said the restaurant shouldn't really be telling customers to contact them as they still need to approve it. They contacted the restaurant for me anyway and I was eventually refunded for the part of the order which was correct and cost less! Honestly the worst experience, absolutely shocking customer service not to mention...

The staff the girl was horrible oh my gosh... She was a bigger Kiwi girl working there. Stomping around closing up dragging the sign across the ground instead of lifting it.... Customers being disturbed by her loud and quite abusive gestures and comments. Sprayed a table on the customers, he looked disgusted. She was rude and slapped plates down... Absolutely disgraceful for a Japanese restaurant and the chef if of Japanese decent should be ashamed of the way his servers represent the restaurant..... Would not recommend and would not return .

The pork meal was cheap bacon bits and not pork and drowned in teriyaki sauce on soggy wet sushi rice.... Not even rice was made nicely

Overall while the big girl is treating the customers and the business that way the owners should be ashamed.

If she don't want to work she should quit. What a shameful and disgraceful employee..... No respect for herself either, she wanted everyone to be in her mood

The owner should be ashamed of his employee and of the food. If hiring sumo wrestlers please hire kind ones.... She really ruined the entire restaurant

Wouldn't want to take children round that lady ..... Disgraceful employee ruined the...