Negishi — Restaurant in Zurich

Went with my teenage daughter (both of us are sushi lovers) on family’s last night in a long weekend in Zurich, for the Monday all-you-can-eat (AYCE) sushi special (60 CHF pp) after seeing a sign on the street nearby. I was able to make the reservation online on the same day for 6pm.

Service was very good: no wait to be seated with the reservation, choice of seats at the sushi table (we were the first there), traditional Japanese seating with shoes off and sunken seating below the table. Server explained the rules in English. Standard AYCE sushi rules where there is an additional charge for what you order but don’t eat. Menu was in German.

Meal included a choice of edamame or miso soup starter, a plate of chef-selected sushi samplers (rolls, no nigiri/sashimi) followed by unlimited rounds of sushi ordered (menu had place for up to 5 rounds). Daughter had 2 of the non-alcoholic drinks (loved them both) and I had 2 of the Japanese lagers.

We did 3 rounds of sushi, a medium first round, large second round, and smaller third round. In terms of the menu, there was only one type of sashimi (salmon) but about half dozen types of nigiri, and many roll selections. Some I had never seen before included pumpkin maki roll and a mit reis gefüllte süsse tofutasche (sweet tofu dumpling filled with rice). Each order comes with 2 pieces. In all we probably tried half of the items but both really loved the crispy prawn roll. Overall quality was very good for the price.

We didn’t feel rushed nor did we feel that we had to wait too long between rounds. We had a 6:00 reservation and finished around 7:15. The server told us that the AYCE serves sushi until 10 but the kitchen closes at 9:30 so after that they only offer what has been made up to that point. We had a 6:00 reservation so I suppose we could have stayed as late as 10:00 if we wanted. Depending how hungry you are or how long you want to spend there, would recommend making reservation for no later than 8:30. We were the first AYCE customers at 6:00 and the next party didn’t arrive until probably 6:15 or 6:20.

We didn’t get dessert. Walking past the non-AYCE part of the restaurant on the way out, people were eating a la carte sushi and other Asian dishes; all looked good but I cannot comment on the quality.

Total bill for 2 people (2 AYCE @ 60 CHF pp, plus 4 drinks, before tip) was about 170 CHF.

Would definitely return, and...

I don't understand the hype nor the five stars to this sushi. I stopped by only for some desserts having already had tried the food in the Zug restaurant and found it very unsatisfactory, especially given the price! Somehow I still came back wanting to give it another shot, as the desserts looked so appetizing. Needless to say that what we got didn't look not taste nothing like what the menu promised. We tried 5 different sweets but the most disappointing was the FLAMING MARACUJIA. It came with some alcohol, brown sugar and a lighter on the side, as you can see from the pictures, but no one cared explaining what we were supposed to do with those, especially when usually is the waiter who takes care of the flambè process. And when asked, the waitress started preparing us for failure. She said that everyone tried, but none succeeded, so, my question is, why serve something that you already know won't work? Just take it to the table already flambèd by the chef or without alcohol at all, cause at the end, what might have been the most delicious dessert was hard to swallow as it carried a strong taste of vodka since it didn't evaporate but soaked in the cream. Big disappointment on all fronts. Definitely not going back...

We were greeted by the waitress upon arrival and taken to the back of the restaurant. We were seated in a sunken table setting and were asked to take our shoes off. This setting was a bit of a novelty and a bit of fun!

The menu itself is quite large and overwhelming. There’s also quite a lot of drinks options. To view the menu you can scan a QR code or ask the waiter and you’ll be handed a tablet. When scrolling you can add items to your wish-list, which is quite helpful. When the waiter comes to take the order you can show them your ‘wish list’ and they will take it down.

There are a lot of different sushi options with combinations we had not seen before such as the miso roll! You can definitely see the creativity come through the menu. They also have poke bowls and ramen. Overall the sushi was alright-good. The sashimi was good and very fresh, that was probably the highlight of the plate. We also ordered a few other options. It’s a little annoying that if you order anything individually that it’s one or two pieces and theres no real option to order a roll.

We also tried a dessert - for me, this wasn’t great and the flavour combination wasn’t my favourite.

Overall it was a good experience and a...