Kensei | Sushi & Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Adeje

I made a surprise for my husband’s birthday and took him to kensei. The food , cocktails and treatment of the waiters were amazing. The problem is that when I booked the table I wrote a comment asking for the candle in our dessert to surprise my husband. I received no reply to this comment so I assumed that there will be no problem with it. ( never was before in other restaurants ) When the time of the dessert approached we ordered one and when we received it there was no candle . I commented to the guy who served it, he left to clarify and we never seen him again 😂. We spent a while waiting so anybody comes and explains ( although the surprise was already spoiled ) but nobody arrived. We felt ignored. We ate the dessert and when the waiter came to collect the plate we commented the situation, he apologized and told that nobody let waiters know that the dessert had to have candle. The manager of the restaurant( as far as I understood ) were passing by and heard our conversation. She told that instead of candle they give “mignardises” to the people that celebrate birthday and they did not forget ( but unfortunately they forgot to let me know about it so we don’t order dessert which nobody of us wanted and I ordered as a detail ).

Having an experience in hostelería never faced a place where mignardises are given as a “birthday cake” , it’s a complement from a restaurant never “happy birthday”. It’s sad that a restaurant that intends to receive a Michelin star can’t offer this basic thing as a birthday cake or at least a candle 😄 I can understand that this restaurant can have their own rules concerning HB but they should have replied to my email letting know about their policy so I don’t come with false expectation. It was very easy to avoid this situation by simple explanation. From the restaurant of that level this is the least that you can expect.

It’s a shame because as I have already mentioned food was excellent, cocktails were ones of the best I’ve ever tried in Tenerife and waiters were super professional and pleasant. They deserve 5 stars.

P.S my humble opinion about desserts: would like so the desserts have the same level of taste and elaboration as the salty food. The dessert was nice but noticeably loosing and not reaching the level of the main menu. But it’s true that we tried only one dessert and “mignardises” and it’s difficult to judge the whole sweet menu but it feels that all time and love were dedicated to the salty menu and desserts are a...

Such potential, sorely let down by the experience. The chefs are great & the food was delicious, but it was sullied entirely by the service. I’m used to fine dining & this was by far the worst experience I’ve had to date, which makes me dubious over how they ever got Michelin recommended, although I imagine that was the only time the staff behaved.

Firstly, upon arriving myself & my partner were sat at the worst table in the restaurant (for his birthday!) which was enough to make me nearly forego the meal altogether. Thankfully they moved us to a nicer spot, but the fact that table even exists (in a corner, beside the bar and service carts, zero ambience, feels “in the way”) is bizarre for a high-end restaurant.

Once we moved I asked about the wine pairing to go with the tasting menu. The menu itself is €90 per head. I specifically asked 3 different servers what the cost would be WITH the wine pairing. We were finally told €110 per head, so of course said yes.

While we were eating, the staff weren’t attentive - there were glasses, plates & towels left on the table, water not replaced (even after asking) - for the amount of service staff on it felt bizarre that it wasn’t running like clockwork. Nevertheless the dishes were gorgeous & I really can’t fault the chefs.

The real kicker came when the bill was brought out. What everyone had (I can only assume deliberately) failed to note was that the wine pairing with the tasting menu did not cost €110 - it was €110 on top of the original €90. This doubled the cost of the meal. I’ve never been anywhere where the wine pairing was more than the cost of the meal itself. I’ve especially never been anywhere where this isn’t explicitly stated. I believe they don’t list the cost of it on the menu in order to confuse people. I’m incredibly lucky that I had enough to cover this at the time, but being hit with it by surprise is jarring.

I am autistic and make a point of asking direct questions so that I can fully assess situations before I opt into them. This felt like shady business to me.

Overall, not an experience I’d be keen to repeat, and I feel for the chefs because with better service this place would probably get a star. I suggest a shuffle of...

2023 Update. Well, I didn't think Kensai could top our first visit, but they did. We had Artur look after us throughout the evening, and we opted for the tasting menu, which he helped us out with.

Each dish was a piece of art in itself, meticulously pulled together ingredients, displayed in unique ways, that really got the mouth watering!

I wouldn't have even been able to choose my favourite, however we had wagyu beef and creamed potatoes, sashimi, scallops with tiny mushrooms, quail egg in a cracker with tuna... so much goodness!

It's a place we will likely visit every time we are in the Adeje area, not just for the food, the service and the experience.

2022 Where to begin. The whole experience at Kensei, from start to finish, was a memorable one. From entering, we were greeted by the host and shown to our table, and given a little stool for my handbag. Our waiter introduced himself, and was kind, patient and attentive, not overly so. We had ordered two rounds of sushi, and some tempura prawns. Each item on each of the sushi plates was displayed artistically which didn't take away from the flavours which of course were all delicious, to the point I can't choose a favourite.

Our waiter and waitress explained all the various types of sushi, recommended which to save until the last bite and again, really took their time to ensure we were happy.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, very tastefully styled, with the little things making quite the difference. You feel you're in a smart, high end restaurant, which of course it is.

The icing on the cake, was the staff bringing out a dessert to wish me happy birthday, that included an edible candle made with white chocolate.

The while evening was special, my partner and I loved every minute.

Thanks, Kensei, for making my birthday even...