St Pierres Sushi (Riccarton) — Restaurant in Christchurch

The sliding doors open to reveal a cosy room with wooden floors. I am greeted by a wide array of sushi on offer at the bench top, ranging from bright pink sashimi to green edamame. The wide variety of sushi on offer overloads my brain and shuts down as I struggle to pick an option. I snap back from my coma and decide to buy a pack of the Salmon Nigiri and Teriyaki Chicken. I go to the samurai at the front counter to pay for my delicious meal. I jump with joy as I walk out the door. The crinkly plastic packaging gives my hands a tactile feeling. The Salmon Nigiri’s bright orange shines brightly into my eyes, almost blinding me. The pieces of teriyaki chicken sushi makes me want to cream so much. I open up the pack of Salmon Nigiri first; I moan as I put the raw meat in my mouth. The buttery texture of the salmon makes me moan even more. The consistency of the rice is perfect; nice and loose as well as just the right amount of stickiness. In a rush of excitement, I accidentally eat a whole blob of wasabi, bringing tears of joy to my eyes. I dig into the teriyaki chicken next, which absolutely turns me on. The delectable seaweed perfectly encloses the delicious rice and chicken. This meal was an absolute banger, 69/10. Will come...

The low stars are for bento box not sushi. I'm a regular here and often get sushi, but on this day I decided to get the spicey chicken from the hot section (bento box) as soon as I bit into it I knew it wasnt cooked, it was bloody and juices were pink, not clear, I took it back and the lady said oh it's just bloody...🤔 I thought but chicken isnt meant to be bloody, she said it's fine so I took her word and took another bite, nope, this was definitely not cooked, it tasted bloody, a coppery taste, I've had food poisoning before from chicken, it was a no from me, I went back up to the counter and said it's not cooked, she grabbed it off me and threw it in the bin, my partner said they were making faces at me as I walked away and bitching to one another. Not good enough bento box. I will stick...

It's pretty hard to screw up sushi, especially when you're working to a standard build, from a tried and tested menu. However......... This particular branch, out of the three St Pierres that I usually buy from, is just missing something. Let's ignore the fact that the staff here would rather you weren't there. The assembly is poor and taste is oddly different, like it's lacking flavour, plus the meat quantity is low. It's an uncomfortable atmosphere inside this store, meaning that nobody dines in very often. Parking is a nightmare, as the tiny carpark is shared with several...