Dozo Soho — Restaurant in London

Been coming to Dozo for the past few years, and it gives me mixed feelings. This spot is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants however, their service is questionable. Feels unwelcoming.

I have tried many of their options, from lunch menus to ramen, sushi to sashimi, and alcohol. All of the food are excellent quality as always.

Though every visit, the waiters can be quite rude or agreesive. Especially this one particular older woman, she always seems like she is in a bad mood and forced to work there. Never smiled once; I feel like she was never happy to serve anybody, even any other table.

As I try to be on the best of my behaviour every visit, even bowing and showing my respect; I could hear them speak Cantonese and feel the hostility.

Few of the occasions being:

1 / Booked a table for 3 and was forced to wait 20 minutes after our booking time. This is so that one of the tables could finish. Why bother booking in the first place? Served by the same older lady.

2 / Once having ordered my dish, the wait time was very long. They were busy but it's understandable. However, once everybody else received their food, I didn't get my order - served by the same older lady, who took my order. I waited 10 minutes after and asked her, she responded in a rude tone, saying I had to wait. Anyways, I asked a different waitress 20 minutes later, she was nice but she said she check that for me. Total waiting 40 minutes AFTER all of my friends had finished their food. (Not including wait time in total).

Overall, the service is appalling, they are not doing purposefully but at least have some respect amongst everybody. I did not dare to ask that older lady for the bill. Very rude.

Though that does not stop me from coming to Dozo, I can sacrifice experiencing the service for excellent food.

3-4 stars overall. Easy 5 if they did something about the service, seeing other reviews have...

Dozo used to be one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in the UK, offering decent sushi/ donburi alongside the much talked about Volcano Maki. The former was of a reasonable if not unspectacular quality but the latter truly was culinary sublimity! The rich, cheesy mayonnaise blends beautifully with the eel within and - together with the leeks, bonito flakes, cucumber and avocado - delivers a sensational experience you’ll have a hard time trying to forget.

So why did I give them a 3/5?

Well, the Volcano Maki still tastes delicious in case you’re worried but it’s now priced at a hefty £20.80. One can ostensibly argue that its flavours justify the cost but what about the very mediocre Chirashi Don, that they now boldly price at £17.50? (And when I say mediocre, I feel I am being very generous. The quality of their fish is at best equivalent to those you would find in a budget UK chain à la Wasabi; when compared to offerings in South East Asia, they are, frankly, subpar.) And if you find that palatable, then what about the £21.80 Sake Teriyaki & Soft Shell Crab Bento, for which the salmon tastes dry and the crab feels soggy?

I am not here to tell you how you should spend your hard-earned money; that’s your business not mine. What I am here to tell you however is that if you willing to spend £40+ per person for a Japanese dinner (including a drink + service charge), there are better options elsewhere in London.

Dozo used to be great and the price, if not favourable, was at least competitive for the value it offered. This no longer seems to be...

​I decided to visit after seeing some posts on Instagram, and there are certainly a lot of positives. The interior is warm yet modern, creating a pleasant atmosphere. I can see why it's popular with young couples and for private gatherings with a mix of ages. The menu itself is very stylish, with high-resolution photos of the food, and impressively, what you're served looks exactly like the picture. ​I ordered an eel roll and two pieces of flying fish roe (Tobiko) and two of salmon roe (Ikura) sushi(gunkan). The roe on the sushi was exceptionally fresh; the colours were vibrant and they had a wonderful, refreshing burst of flavour in the mouth. It was clear they use quality ingredients. ​However, the service was puzzlingly slow. The roll came out first, and I finished it completely, but the sushi was nowhere to be seen. I kept waiting... for 15, then 20 minutes. After all that, for the eel roll and two pieces of sushi, the bill came to £38. That's when it hit me: this is an expensive restaurant. ​It strikes me as the perfect spot for a date if you're a young guy looking to treat a girlfriend and don't have a family to support. For the head of a household like me, though, it's a different story. For that kind of money, I could have had a couple of big Tuscan-style sandwiches or a pile of chicken wings, with enough left over for ice cream, which honestly might have been more satisfying. ​It’s a place with good qualities, but the value just wasn't...