Sticks'n'Sushi Chelsea — Restaurant in London

I have a confession to make. Until my visit recently, I was a Sticks'N'Sushi Virgin. My experience of sushi was a cold pre packaged lunch wholfed down without a seconds thought. So when my friends suggested this swish sushi gaff on the Kings Road, I was intrigued. We walked in to a live musician happily strumming in the background, and planted ourselves on the front bar seats. We were perfectly positioned to people watch and ready for an evening of chatter and delight.

The atmosphere was a chilled sort, with the last of the summers sun bringing out friends, families, business men and women and first dates alike. Chefs were busy in the centre prepping everything fresh and in front of my nosey eyes, and the staff were friendly and energetic.

As a novice to 'proper' sushi I let my friends order our sharing plates, content to try pretty much anything that came to the table. I was curious. I love food, so anything new is very exciting.

WOW.

Every single morsel that passed my lips was delicous. The satisfiyingly salty hot edamame went down a treat with my ice cold Sapporo beer, whilst the delectable Tempura shimp demanded that I greedily order more. Served with a nice kick of chilli, aoili and a teasing of lime, they were light and tender and perfect. And who knew grilled broccoli could be such a treat!?

After the starters we devoured a mixed plate of sushi, which was presented beautifully. The Crispy Ebi and Crunchy chicken were the show stoppers for me, whilst my friends chatted away nicely with the veggie options. It was so fresh, it was as though they had literally made it that second (which they most likely had). The Vibrant colours and textures made it that much more enjoyable, as I felt i was eating something that was good for me too- and not just filling a hole.

Verdict- A perfect evening with my friends in a relaxed but energetic and delightful setting. I only wish my postcode was in their deliveroo range to order at home!

If you're not getting your sushi from Sticks,...

I’ll start with the positive: the food is always good. The negative: sorry, it’s a bit of an essay. Strap in. The summary: for the price, you’d expect some level of service. Having said on our booking that we were bringing our baby, the staff decided it would be a good idea to seat us at a table where the only place for our pram (our baby therein) was the walkway. The staff member who sat us didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong from a safety perspective with servers wielding trays full of plates, glasses and food directly above a pram with a real, human baby in it. Besides, the other tables were reserved. After we pointed out the obvious and after quite a bit of confusion, we were eventually moved, by one member of staff, who mercifully did have common sense, to the lounge area. We deemed this a success as A&E on a Sunday isn’t notoriously enjoyable. Our relief was short lived. Given their inability to seat anyone within 5 minutes, the area was frequently taken up by 10+ standing people, waiting for tables. Not the best environment if you have to breastfeed an infant. Unless you enjoy a hungry audience. If you do, book now and fill your boots. The kicker: it took 2 hours for some of the food to arrive. We don’t believe this was the case of a systematically slow kitchen though - we saw people who arrived 1 hour after us come and go. When married, a common enemy often unites you. Thank you, Sticks and Sushi, for bringing my wife and I considerably closer together on a...

My experience tonight was a mix. The food was good, the server was alright. My disappointment is with the manager that runs this place, she definitely needs to learn to speak to all guests in the same tone. We arrived, were greeted, given a table, service was slow, orders were taken after almost 15 - 20 mins of us being seated. Fair it's a busy weekend. The order is served after almost 35 mins. When served I asked the server why the delay, it's been more than 35mins, before she could respond her manager pitches in a flat tone, we had a power cut, I go like okay, she adds, weren't you here when the power went off? I said yeah it went for 10secs, her response was I cannot control the electricity in Chelsea, your order is late coz of power cut, puts the food on table and leaves with the server. This same lady manager then serves on the table next to us and apologizes to them for the delay. I wonder whether her tone depends on the race and ethnicity of people she serves? Mind you our bill was more than 100💷 for 3 which we are alright with coz the food was good. The server however apologized when she came to clear up, sweet girl. I have eaten at multiple restaurants in Europe, England and Scotland, I have not once come across such poor hospitality and communication especially by a senior herself. All in all go for the food, not the service. Our drinks were messed too and had to send back to correct, but it's a long review...