Nami Beef and Reef — Restaurant in Krakow

“The service was bad “ I learnt about Nami beef and Reef restaurant through a video on an application . What caught my eye was the aquarium that is next to the tables where you can eat and look at the fishes . Turns out the restaurant was almost only this . I’m not going to lie the food that I tried was great ,not the best presented but pretty tasty . My issue is with the service . I have never been to a restaurant that presents itself as a Michelin star restaurant that has this level of service . When we got to our table the waitress was talking about the “concept” of the restaurant and how they recommend that we go through with our meal , pretty standard . What I didn’t like was that they never offered us any water which is pretty standard in a “nice” restaurant especially with prices like theirs . We looked at the menu and we decided to go with 3 sushi plates of 8 pieces since we were not hungry and only wanted to taste ,it was four of us , we also got two beers and one bottle of water . When we submitted this order to the waitress her whole attitude towards us changed . She served us our drinks ,meaning she brought the two beers and just opened the water bottle and left it at the table . We did not think much of it at the time although we were not used to this service in similar restaurants . Serving the water and refilling it is pretty standard in high end places and this place ,given the prices that it has in comparison to others in the area , is a somewhat of a high end place to eat . Some time has passed and we looked around other tables that ordered more food than us ,so pricier bill, the same waitress served their water and generally tried to be of assistance to them . I personally didn’t like that because it was pretty clear why we had different treatments and I think it’s unfair that we got a different experience of the place because of the value of our order . Not everyone goes to a place for the first time and wants to try everything all in once . We finished our meal and asked for the bill. We paid and then when we checked the bill saw that an already submitted tip for the service was added into our bill . Of course we didn’t say anything but I think this is wrong for two reasons . First we were never told about the tip in the bill and second I think it was wrong to give us service as if we are in a takeaway restaurant just because we didn’t rack up the bill like you hoped to. The place we visited a couple hours ago that was self service the staff was far more helpfull. Really cozy place high potential but they lost the point . Food is great but you are trying to sale an “idea” a concept like you said but you cannot execute it . Great restaurants come with great food but also service and good service should be given no matter how much money someone has paid . I hope you take into great consideration what I just described and fix some of the fundamental issues that this promising place has . So all in all : food was tasty but it came all 3 sets of 8 pieces in one big plate although other tables were getting the smaller plates for theirs. Nice fun place and something different but service could use some training...

When I tried Nami for the first time last June 2022, I have enjoyed the Japanese dishes they serve as it is truly close to what you can have in Japan. So, for my birthday I decided to go to Nami again to have lunch. They did not disappoint me. The taste, the way they prepared the dish is truly Japanese technique (I might be exaggerating, but it is rare in Kraków).

Let me explain. There are 3 staple dishes I usually get in a Japanese restaurant. Tempura, sashimi, and gyoza (no photo 🤣, I ate it immediately when it was served). Tempura must have a dashi stock based dip with freshly grated radish, and not with mayonnaise based dip. It is common in Kraków Asian restaurants they have the later. I’m really jumping into joy to finally have the dashi stock dip for my shrimp tempura. So this pass my expectations. Also, the batter of the tempura. It is crispy and fragile like a glass. An awesome batter and really goes well with the dip 🤩. I do recommend their shrimp tempura. It is the best so far from what I have tried in Kraków.

For their sashimi, simple test. Pinch the sashimi if it spring back immediately and no fishy smell. That’s a great sashimi. It is fresh. The toro, akami, and salmon sashimi they served me were all fresh. They all spring back after pinching with chopsticks 😊. Might be costly, but worth it. My favourite is akami sashimi. The umami aftertaste was there and I miss that feeling for a long time after moving in Poland.

Lastly, the gyoza. I did order a non-Japanese type of gyoza as it has foie gras, but 🤩 this gyoza is one of the best. The creamy texture of foie gras elevated the gyoza experience adding a new layer of flavour to the traditional gyoza. If you will be dining here, please don’t miss to order this gyoza z wołowina i foie gras.

Definitely I will not miss to notice how was the overall service of the staffs. They are friendly, and approachable. They are also comfortable conversing in English (truly plus points for me 😁). Ambience of the place is unique and awesome. I liked the aquarium wall really great. It entertained me as I dined alone 🤣.

Truly a recommended Japanese restaurant in...

Japanese restaurant from Michelin guide in the city centre of Krakow. We checked that Chef was Japanese and decided to give it a try. Of course, we knew about aquarium and booking 3 weeks in advance we asked to sit near it. One day in advance we got a nice message to confirm our reservation and let them know if we have any diet restrictions and even upload our photo so they could greet us. Unfortunately, it was just a marketing trick. Not only anybody greeted us, they even didn’t reserve the table near aquarium for us. Only when I asked why we are not seated where we asked, they said it is occupied even though just a minute ago they gave the table near aquarium to Japanese tourists who didn’t even have reservation. But after 15 minutes they finally offered us a table near aquarium as someone left. Of course, the seats near aquarium are the best but there are only 4 tables like that. We ordered wagyu tataki which was very good and 3 sets of sushi: with crab, tuna and Rainbow uramaki. To be honest, Rainbow was the best but only because of the sauce. In crab futomaki I didn’t even feel the crab but mostly cucumber and 2 out of 6 sushi had crab legs which we couldn’t eat. Tuna uramaki were just average. And they don’t have sushi with eel, which is my favourite. To be honest, I’ve had better sushi in my life. For dessert we chose Meringue which was too big and too dry, it was difficult to even cut it. Service was ok but nothing extraordinary and for that they actually charge you 12,5% already included in the bill. So overall, aquarium did its job but except of that, I think the place is overrated...