ZenSushi — Restaurant in Bucharest

Zen Sushi is probably the most popular and affordable sushi and asian food restaurant in Bucharest. The food selection is insane, it takes 15 minutes to go through all the menu and another 15 to decide what to order. We had Miso Soup, Yakisoba and a Salmon/Tuna Nori platter and the food was well prepared and well cooked. Not really happy with the Netherlands-made soy sauce though, they could order something authentic from Asia.

The service is decent at best. The staff members are always playing tricks with each other like they are high-school kids. At some point one of the staff dropped one of their boat-shaped sushi plates which broke into pieces flying everywhere. The staff just started making fun of each-other instead of being professional about it or at least appologising. One particular female staff was talking on the phone continuously for over 2 hours while serving the orders and was not even wearing a handsfree headset. She also wore high heels which made a really annoying noise on the laminated wooden floors. The floors also posed a problem because they would tremble at every movement of the staff, clearly they did not built this place with traffic-enduring materials and opted for cheap ones.

But the most disturbing issue that I found is that the kitchen opens right in one of the salons. So we had a constant smell of cooked food, oil and frying because the door was right in front of us. Surely they could've designed the place better...

Smoking is permitted inside which is another minus, who wants to eat sushi and inhale cigarette smoke? This makes no sense as they do not sell cigarettes so they can't blame this on profit. They also allow people to eat sushi with forks (not dishes that require it), there was a group next to us using silverware and eating from a huge crystal bowl instead of the wooden plates they served to everyone else. I assume they were friends/management, but surely everyone should be treated equally, no?

So in conclusion sushi eaten with forks while inhaling cigarette smoke and watching the staff act like pre-pubescent teens. Would probably not visit this place again, but I hear their other place near Calea Victoriei is a bit better. We...

The place looks pretty and has an nice vibe to it. If only the food was a bit better with a little more attention to details...

The simple ramen was kind of average because it had a predominant taste of corn, which was something I never felt before in this type of soup. Katsudon was tasty and I was also surprised by the pickled ginger that came with the sushi which was pretty good.

The service was a bit slow but maybe it was a busy evening. Not sure if someone's to blame here.

The place looks pretty good. I appreciated the lights, and the atmosphere created by the wood present all around the place and I liked some of the decorations.

But then again, being picky about it, I could say it could use some fine touches here and there... Like having some quality chopsticks instead of the ones for single use, better music, softer benches and I really hated the fact that you are greeted by the toilets...

Scurta poveste despre ce mi s-a intamplat pe 26 ianuarie 2020, la locatia din Grigore Alexandrescu. Astazi, pentru a treia oara saptamanal, reveneam la aceasta locatie. Pentru prima data, personalul de servine imi era nefamiliar. Nu aveam rezevare - ne-au tinut, pe mine si pe sotie, doua minute in hol in timp ce persoana de contact disculta cordial la bar cu ceilalti colegi. Ne-au dat in final o masa in conditiile in care restaurantul era gol cu exceptia a fix doua mese de doi ocupate. Am dat comanda la insistenta noastra , dupa vreo 15 minute de asteptare sterila in care chelnerii nu ne-au bagat in seama. Comanda a fost scrisa cu rigurozitate pe un carnet de tanarul A1. Tanara F1 a venit dupa 10 minute sa ne aseze in fata vesela. Dupa 30 de minute (conform ceasului personal), tanarul A2 s-a protapit langa masa noastra cu introducerea " Colegul meu e un pic indragostit si nu stim ce ati dorit. Imi puteti spune ce ati comandat mai devreme?" I-am replicat calm: " Vreti sa spuneti ca din comanda data acum jumatate de ora nu s-a procesat nimic?" Raspuns sec, nonsalant, senin: "Da." Am refuzat sa repetam comanda si ne-am ridicat sa plecam, indignati. De aici, tonul ospatarului/picoloului/ce-o-fi-fost-sau-pretins a fost unul de repros, virulent, cu arome plangarete si laitmotive de genul: "dar e uman sa gresim". La sugestia ca al lor comportament in situatia data trebuia sa se reduca la o atitudine asumata si cu angajamente compensatorii, raspunsul a fost ca " daca ati fi acceptat situatia, ati fi fost recompensati"...Suntem o familie care ne rasfatam, din cand in cand, in localuri de top de ani de zile. Avem educatia restaurantelor de inalta clasa din Bucuresti. Niciodata nu am fost tratati mai arogant si nepasator ca aici. Dialogul a fost mult mai amplu si jignitor din partea chelnerilor, nu am taria si rabdarea sa-l reproduc aici. Cert este ca se poate intampla oricui, cu o probabilitate mare (indiferent de bacsisul gras pe care l-am lasat in datile trecute cu speranta ca vom fi respectati la viitoarele reveniri). Am plecat frustati spre locatia Japanos din apropiere, unde lucrurile au decurs normal. Aveti grija, nimic nu e intamplator! Evitati aceasta locatie, frecventa deziluziei...