Etsu — Restaurant in Liverpool

Me and a friend went to Etsu on 07/11/2019. This is a place I usually come back to atleast once a year.. and this year was extraordinary!! The entirety has been renovated to provide a more spacious inside with more seats, comfy seats and a variety of places on where you can sit i.e. near a window, near the sushi chefs at the counter etc.

Outside of Etsu is always beautiful, there's this water bucket fountain thing which fills up with water then lets it all go, then the outside of Etsu is gorgeous especially around xmas time where they put up xmas lights... The decor inside is gorgeous and gives off an authentic Japanese vibe.

The toilets are shared and even that looks bigger than how it used to be.. having 1 male, 1 female, 1 male/female, and 1 disabled toilets.. the overall look of the toilets look really nice. The overall hygiene of the Etsu is great! it felt really clean and everything from the utensils used, to the tables after use.

Because my friend is a vegan/vegetarian I picked a variety of starters that were suitable for her to eat. The customer service of Etsu is amazing and they even recommended me some starters in addition to ones i've chosen myself.

Kaiso Salad - This was amazing and I highly recommend this regardless of whether you're a vegetarian or not. The dressing and the different seaweeds were astonishing.

Pickles - I personally love pickled vegetables from japanese restaurants and I can say that Etsu makes really great pickled vegetables. You get an assortment of three different kinds and I highly recommend this.

Agetofu - This has been something I ALWAYS get everytime I come. I love tofu and the flavour profile is amazing, the texture is great with the nice crisp outside and the soft pillow inside, and the sauce I can just drink on its own.

Ohitashi (Rolled Spinach) - I personally love spinach and I think this is a great dish which was recommended to me by the lovely waitress, I do recommend this if you're looking to try something new.

Gindara Saikyo Miso - Black Cod glazed with the chefs miso sauce, This is the second time I've got this (last time being last year) and it is definitely as tasty and succulent as I remembered it to be. Highly recommend this for anyone!

Nigiri & Maki - Inari (tofu pocket), Tamago (sweet omlette), Shittake (mushroom), Shinko (picked radish) - These were all great and I really love the flavours and the portions. The omlette is big and fluffy, the Inari has so much rich in and the pickled veg (radish & mushroom) were amazing. This is the only place I've found that does the pickled shittake mushrooms.

Sashimi Platter - I personally think the sushi at Etsu is average, it isn't bad but I have had better sushi and I personally don't come to Etsu for sushi (i rather come for other dishes.. main dish being the Unagi-Don coupled with the eel sauce i rate 5/5, I did order but took it away instead as they was near closing time). The waitress also asked the sushi chefs if they were able to substitute some scallops into the dish as it is the chefs choice when ordering mixed sashimi. I do very much appreciate all the effort, I do still feel the sushi isn't as good as other places I have been to before.

I love how they poured the sake inside a little square box which caught the overflowing sake, I have seen this in videos but never seen it in person (sake was not served like this last year). I have to say I love it.

Overall I do give Etsu a 5/5 for everything from the ambience, the decor, the customer service, the food. If I had to give an improvement I would say the sashimi could be nicer, but apart from that I really really love the restaurant and I do plan to still visit once a year (or more), It is in my respects the best Japanese restaurant in Liverpool so do give it a visit. I have ordered other starters from the menu and would happily recommend others if people wanted to message me on...

We went to celebrate a birthday. Choose it partially because their social media page has been saying business was slow which made us sad. It was always a nice place, and we had remembered it as packed and thriving. This meal was absolutely amazing and we will continue to go both to "vote with our feet" and to enjoy it whilst the atmosphere is low key and lovely for a quiet meal.

Arrived earlier than our reservation on a rainy Sunday evening which was no problem. Chose the chef's choice mixed sushi plate first and we were delighted! Unlike the chain sushi place nearby, it wasn't only tuna and salmon but also seabream, surf clam, octopus, mackerel, yellowfin tuna and more. All very fresh - perfect. The sushi was presented as an art form, as I remember it from the favourite sushi places I've been - much more like a California Japantown. Edible flowers, lovely fine seaweed. The chef treats it as the delicacy it is which adds to the experience, I think. And, by the way the lovely server who brought it sang a few lines of the birthday song very quietly to us, which was really cute. She could tell my companion would be embarrassed by a fuss. The platter arrived with a single lit birthday candle. Celebratory but not over the top.

After the variety sampler, it was time for each of us to finish with one of our favourites. My companion chose a softshell crab dragon roll which was coated in flying fish roe. Beautifully presented and delicious. I had a simple five pieces of mackerel sashimi presented on a bed of seaweed. The mackerel had some extra prep. I think it was very mildly pickled which was lovely. We shared these as well, but only a little.

The bill was reasonable and there was no "service charge" or suggested tip added to it. We tipped well as we enjoyed it and want it to succeed.

This restaurant is only slightly off the beaten path, and travel from James Street is easy! I highly recommend it. There must be a collosal waste of resources here for them not to compromise on quality when they aren't very busy. I would urge you to go. We will certainly make this a higher priority and go in January. And we'll take advantage of the quiet there until business is booming again.

A final note is that while steak restaurants seem to be the latest trend in Liverpool, a visit to this place reminded me of how lovely it is to dine on a lighter cuisine that's always valued vegetables and fresh fish. No calorie regrets afterwards, no feeling...

We enjoyed the ambience here, but there are some real issues here that could make this restaurant much better:

1. Wait staff - friendly initially, but nobody checked on our meal after it was delivered, no drinks order was offered or taken after the initial one (we had to literally flag a person down for second drink), and the waiting staff seemed to intentionally move about the room avoiding all eye contact with customers.. like it was an actual objective never to look at anyone. Is this a Japanese custom? It became a bit silly trying to get someone’s attention. Even Nando’s have a system of checking on customers after the meal is delivered!

2. Main dish (fried chicken) was incredibly expensive considering it had no sides, no sauce, no topping, and no rice. Waitress seemed surprised that I asked for some kind of dipping sauce. This should be offered as standard - plain fried chicken for about £18 is very, very poor value!

3. Drink order was wrong - I ordered a special tonic, as described on the menu, but discovered later (via the bill), that I didn’t get it. Perhaps confirm with customers which tonic they want, as there was obviously an error, despite me asking for it.

4. Octopus starter - slimy balls were not pleasant, and actual amount of octopus inside very, very small. Felt like we were eating a cheap, reheated mass product from a wholesaler. Need to change...