Maido Sushi — Restaurant in London

I love the food at Maido and have been going once or twice a week ever since they opened, but this week my family and I had such a poor experience with customer service that left us so disappointed :-( We always prefer to get the ready-made sushi sets and it’s never been an issue over the past couple years to sit and eat in the back tables, especially the round booth in the back that we always enjoy sitting in. On this visit we were made to feel so unwelcome and were told, while purchasing £65 worth of food, that we would only be permitted to sit in 3 narrow tables in the back, all of which were occupied while the rest of the restaurant was not busy with plenty of open tables at 5 pm. These tables are ONLY for table reservations, and there was no budging on the matter. When I asked where they suggested we sit given all 3 permitted tables were occupied, the man named Justin rudely told us we should just go outside in the rain. We even offered to get up and move if someone with a reservation were to come in but they simply said they would not be able to accommodate us….and this was AFTER we’d already purchased our food and were left standing there awkwardly with our hungry tired 3 year old who was looking very forward to sushi. We couldn’t understand the stern inflexibility that left us feeling bitter and mistreated after spending a considerable amount on dinner. Sadly I don’t think I’ll be able to convince my husband to return if they continue to alienate customers. Up until now service has always been stellar and the employees always help me with the door when I come and go with a buggy….but Justin’s attitude is...

I was really excited about trying our new local sushi spot.

Firstly, the whole concept is really confusing. No table service, but you get fresh menu items at the counter but NOT at the tables- you can’t open a tab unless you sit at the counter but NOT at the tables- you don’t even get the soya sauce bottle if you eat at the table- we sat there because we had a buggy, so, for comfort reasons- we had to keep going back and forth to the fridge and the check out counter each time we wanted something- and we did a few trips- so quite frustrating and annoying- especially as you have staff LITERALLY standing there watching and smiling.

We also had to keep taking serviettes from the other tables because NOBODY came around to check if we needed anything or had everything.

So that needs revisiting, dear owner.

Overall- sushi from the fridge was ok. The freshly sliced tuna sashimi wasn’t as good as the one in the fridge, pre-sliced. The slices were cut way too thick.

I guess the concept is a bit diluted, so it gets confusing and frustrating. It should be an easy ‘wasabi’ style casual eats OR a sit-down table service- not both, and both in a communal area.

The only place that I saw this concept work is at Liverpool train station, but there the takeaway fridge is positioned outside so there’s no trace of confusion- all that happens inside is table service or running sushi self service. ANYWAY. We will be back as it’s convenient, close and sushi is GOOD- but we won’t eat...

I just had the great pleasure of dining here in this wonderful Japanese restaurant.

I made my reservation and my table was ready.

As soon as I walked through the door I was greeted with an "Irasshaimase!" which means welcome in Japanese. I was absolutely delighted by this because it made me feel like I was in Japan.

Now on with the dinner: First I was offered a drink and I ordered the kamoizumi shusen junmai sake which comes nice and hot. I enjoyed hot sake. This went really well with all the Japanese dishes that came afterwards.

I ordered the Volcano roll, the cucumber maki, the tuna sashimi, the gunkan salmon roe, and the octopus takoyaki. All of them came with some ginger and some hot and spicy wasabi. The soy sauce came in a nice little pot that was always nice to look at.

The restaurant is very clean and tidy with a wonderful interior design. With consistent colours and wooden textures, similar to other Japanese restaurants I've been to. The staff were very friendly and well dressed, they were very welcoming. It felt like a very Japanese experience.

Overall I had a wonderful dinner here. I highly recommend. ^_^

Thank you very...