Armazém do Sushi - Afurada — Restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia

Came here today on a strong recommendation from a local friend. The weather was terrible, with pouring rain and thunderstorms as we walked to the restaurant. However, upon arrival, we were greeted by a friendly female host who made us feel very welcome. The service throughout our dining experience was attentive, and the staff were very friendly.

We opted for the predetermined course meal, starting with appetizers: panko-breaded shrimp, gyoza, and vegetable egg roll. The shrimp was overcooked but still enjoyable thanks to the panko breading. The gyoza was good, but the vegetable egg roll was underwhelming. The sweet and sour sauce was too sweet.

Next came the miso soup, served in a much larger bowl than I'm used to in the US. It was filling and good, as miso soup often is. Then came the sashimi, sushi, and rolls. I particularly enjoyed the blow-torched salmon sashimi and sushi. The rolls were mixed. Some were good, some were okay, and some were odd, like the one with what tasted like whipped cream and strawberry on top—it was not great. Some rolls felt too heavy due to the use of cream cheese, being fried, and drizzled with the same sweet and sour sauce. The rice was undercooked and could definitely be improved.

The sangria was very good, and overall, I really appreciated the amazing service and the ambience of the restaurant. However I can't say this was one of my best Japanese cuisine experiences. Sometimes the course meal may not be everything you would expect, so I will give it another go to try more...

We live in the area and were excited to try the new sushi restaurant. Our expectations were low, but this restaurant exceeded our low expectations to another level of low. The decor and ambience is nice. The shrimp tempura are frozen from the grocery store, the chicken gyoza were cold and not real dumplings, the soy sauce tasted watered down. Although they have sake on the menu, they did not have any in stock. I have eaten at the best omakase, as well as causal sushi bars and never have I ordered sashimi and received micro pieces of fish. Talk about cost savings. My sashimi plate arrived with a stinky fish head!!!! Waste of money and 2 hours of my life. We literally started ordering from Uber eats before even leaving...

I came here with a couple of friends for lunch on a Monday, and we ordered what I believe was the Tropical Menu—around 20 pieces of sushi, plus gyozas, tempura shrimp, and a few other items.

The service was good, and they have a nice balcony for outdoor seating. They also kept offering more sushi pieces if we wanted, which is generous.

That said, for me, the sushi quality wasn’t particularly special—not bad, but not outstanding either, at least not to my taste. The portion size was more than enough (actually a bit more than I should eat), but I left feeling it was an okay experience rather than a...