Gaijin Sushi — Restaurant in Birmingham

As a sushi lover myself and having eaten sushi all over the world, unfortunately my experience at Gaijin sushi was a disappointment. My husband and I went on a lunch date after having to arrange childcare for our children, we really looked forward to eating there. We were the only customers having lunch there on a Sunday and we didn’t feel the warmth of the place at all, instead we felt being watched all the time. We thought we would start with some hand rolls and order as we eat. While we were still getting settled, we were handed two hand rolls and had to hold them by hand. It was really awkward with nowhere to place it while I wanted to pour some tea and get the soy sauce ready, I was told off by the chef that it had to be eaten quick. I appreciate you have to eat a hand roll immediately otherwise it loses its crispness but the restaurant could really benefit from a hand roll rack. After asking for some wasabi very politely, we were told it’s already in the hand roll and the chef said “I can give you some more if you want” in a really unpleasant way. I just feel this could have been handled in a much nicer way, I was socked I was told off about how to eat a hand roll - believe me I have eaten many hand rolls in my life. I felt like leaving at that point but we decided to try a few more dishes. The ingredients were fresh but that’s about it. The miso soup was served cold and with two slices of mushroom - no tofu (while I clearly see tofu in other customers photos?) The portion was extremely small to any standard. The presentation was far from being exquisite. The worst is the spicy tuna maki we ordered, it was charged £9.5 so not the cheapest, the chef used tuna trimmings to layer on top of the maki! We wonder if it was because we were the only customers there the chef didn’t want to waste his ingredient, but it’s an utter disgrace to use trimming on top of maki roll and charge a full price on that. The bar stools are meant to add the intimacy to the sushi dining experience but when it’s all quiet and you feel you are being watched, you just can’t help but notice how wobbly and uncomfortable the stools are. Overall the bill came at £65.5. When you charge that much for a lunch, it really could have...

One of the best Japanese in the midlands, I'm only being picky because I've tried better in the far East...

For anyone wanting to try some high quality sushi with very fresh seafood I would definitely recommend this place.

The flexibility of the time slots of the omakase is something I haven't seen anywhere in Japan or the authentic places in China. It's really nice that you can have omakase without having to arrive on the hour/minute!

Areas of improvement (again I'm being really picky...) Interior colour scheme and cleanliness could do with an improvement. Music could be a bit calmer to match the theme. Omakase doesn't have to have the chef waiting for you to finish each course before proceeding to the next item. It can feel a bit pressuring being watched as you enjoy food. Also as such a high price meal set it could do with some simple sides like a simple dessert (I've seen stuff like cantaloupe with icecream or some matcha cakes). Starter quality should also improve, the wakame salad is really generic and tastes identical to what you can get from Asian stores, although that probably wasn't the focus... Karaage wasn't really as juicy and crispy as I expect. Miso soup (for the standard of a higher end restaurant) was missing the crutial matsutake or equivalent mushrooms.

The sushi and quality of the fish were commendable, almost nothing bad to say about them and were really impressively fresh and flavoursome. The only suggestion would be to get a bit more soy sauce on the fish!

Overall really pleased with the visit and will come again, 1 star down just due to the...

Hands down one of the best sushi places you will find in Birmingham, and the price does reflect it. A recommendation for a celebration or even just a treat (but do expect to splurge a bit)! A booking is recommended to ensure you get a space.

The menu has slightly changed to the one found online so please bare that in mind. Highly suggest ordering the Dragon Roll, definitely my favourite even though salmon is usually my winner.

It's fantastic that you are able to see the sushi being prepared right in front of you, and the service is welcoming and friendly enough. Please also keep in mind that the ingredients are limited so may be sold out when you arrive (probably best to check when reserving/call beforehand); when we went, the urchin (I believe), sweet shrimp and scallops were sold out which was unfortunate.

The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the Genmaicha green tea - it is very very bland and weak in flavour (compared to how it normally is). Also, they don't do a free refill which is fine, but when I ordered another pot, it seems that the same leaves were used as the tea was even more flavourless than the first pot. This was charged though as an extra £3.50.

In total, our bill for a portion of flamed salmon nigiri, dragon roll, two portions of salmon nigiri and a small set, along with two pots of Genmaicha and sake + service charge came to just over £106. Definitely (much) pricier than your usual sushi meal, but again I see it for a celebration or a treat - and the quality does reflect it...