HOZE Sushiya — Restaurant in Göteborgs Stad

I have debated with myself to leave this review, but I would appreciate knowing what I know now, had I been thinking to reserve a seat.

Reservations are made through their website. I made a request approximately one month in advance and did not hear back until approximately one week before. I agreed to the seat, despite having a suspicion about why I hadn't heard back from the restaurant sooner, as I did not trust their reason for a delayed response.

I arrived a few minutes earlier than the start of the reservation, and to my surprise, a party of 4 had already eaten the first dish and were promptly being served their second dish. This was very unusual to me, as for a maximum dinner service of 6 people, to wait for the remaining guests, or to wait until 18:00 wouldn't be remarkable. I was the 5th and last guest that evening. The sixth seat remained empty. This reminded me of my suspicion.

The food itself was tasty, and I particularly enjoyed the scallop and daikon in browned butter and the prawn nigiri - a special prawn, gamba carabinero, if I can remember correctly - that the chef personally brings from Spain. As for the majority of the courses, the quality remains excellent, but a little uninspired.

Here come my criticisms. The menu is fixed at 2100 SEK with a total of 21 pieces/courses, approximately 50-100% more costly than expected. Dinner was presented without an option to add sake, as none is available. From my picture stamps, the duration was exactly 1.5 hours. This is far too short for the meal and it felt impersonal and rushed.

Each course is presented on a beautiful slate at a spotlighted bar in front of you, and it is quite a beautiful way to view the food and work performed. The guests and chef mix with the darkness of the unlit background, so the food takes center stage. You can imagine that this imparts excitement and anticipation of the food you will eat. However, this feels a bit unlike other omakase experiences, where the connection between the chef and guests is just as important as the quality and choice of fish. A peacefulness, attentiveness, and discrimination of how each creation was received was missing.

Again, dinner was delicious, but I cannot recommend it. I realize that my criticisms of the environment and service are unusual for me, as I do not normally care for these ambitious details, only food. However, at a this price point, the expectation of refinement is much higher for all senses during an intimate experience like omakase. The value is simply not worth the effort to make a reservation, and to not walk away from this dinner refreshed makes it...

I visited Hoze with some foodie friends last year and we all loved it. I had tried to book several times in the past and it never worked out but I finally got a spot. Let me start by saying that the feeling you get in the restaurant is really special. It is traditional Japanese style but with a colder Swedish touch. The focus is the sushi. No alcohol is served here so that you can be focused on the fish, which is primarily locally sourced. I got to taste things I hadn’t before. You start with a few otsumami (small appetizers), then the nigiri, and finally dessert (usually some fruit). This is typical in edomae sushi progression. If Jose is anything, I would say he’s a total geek (otaku in Japanese). He travels yearly to Japan to constantly improve. He is obsessed with perfection and extremely attentive to detail. You definitely feel like he is knowledgeable about Japanese cuisine and culture; and more specifically sushi and fish. I highly recommend you visit and book in advance. Worth a...

Wow, if You haven't been here already you are in for a treat. We were a party of six persons who had read about the restaurant in the local newspaper...wondering could it really be as good as the review said?

The setting is six chairs in front of the chef preparing the food. The menu is updated or rather created day by day, depending on what delicacies that are available that day from the local fish market.

I had several favorites scallop in browned butter and a dish with "just" rice. Words cannot describe the dish good enough to make you understand the taste.

While preparing our food he was very keen on talking to us all about the food, his history as a chef and anything we wanted to talk about. All in a very comfortable environment, soft music all six persons could hear all other talking without any problem. A godsend in this time where other restaurants think that we visit to enjoy the music rather than the company...