Zen Sushiya, Japanese Restaurant, Manchester禅寿司和食日本料理 — Restaurant in Manchester

I feel compelled to write this complaint after what can only be described as one of the most disappointing and unpleasant dining experiences I have ever had in Manchester. I recommend you to never come here, unless you want to waste your money and time.

I ordered the Soft Shell Crab Roll and was surprised to discover that the sushi rice was mushy, sticky, and entirely unacceptable in texture. My children had already eaten most of it before I noticed, and when I tried a piece myself, I was appalled. Sushi rice is the foundation of Japanese cuisine, and it should never be served in such a poor state.

I raised my concerns with a waitress named Yuko, who not only failed to listen but responded with irritation and rudeness, even saying “what do you mean” in an annoyed tone. Instead of addressing my concern, she dismissed me and called over another waiter. Her behaviour was shockingly unprofessional.

What made the situation even worse was Yuko’s behaviour regarding the bill and our seating. She suddenly announced that we could only sit for 90 minutes, despite this never being mentioned before we sat down. At that point, we had only been there for around an hour, and the restaurant itself was only about 50% full with plenty of empty tables. Despite this, she abruptly placed the bill on our table without us asking, clearly trying to push us out. When I expressed that I wanted to stay a bit longer, she snickered in a passive-aggressive way and made up a story about a supposed “reservation.” Barely two minutes later, she returned to ask if we would be paying by cash or card, which was pushy, disrespectful, and extremely unprofessional.

She even told us in a dismissive tone to “sit outside and wait,” whilst still laughing at us which was humiliating and offensive. This behaviour made us feel unwelcome and degraded.

On top of this, my son developed a stomach ache after eating the Tonkotsu Ramen, which raises alarming questions about the hygiene and food safety standards in your kitchen.

It is important to note, however, that later in the evening Amanda -the chef and one of the bosses -came out personally to speak with us and offered a very sincere and polite apology. Her professionalism and kindness were appreciated.

I have visited many Japanese restaurants across the UK, and none have ever served sushi rice in such poor condition, nor treated customers in such a degrading manner. What makes this even more disheartening is that last year, when I visited your restaurant with my family, the food was excellent, and the service was outstanding. It is shocking how drastically the standards have fallen within a year.

In summary, I can say with confidence that this has been one of the worst restaurant experiences in Manchester. My family and I will never return, and I will not hesitate to share this appalling experience...

This is the second visit we have done and the first time was pretty bad but we decided to give it a second chance after a year and judging by the reviews, I expected this place to improve but after we finished, the expectations were not met. The food was very mediocre at best just like the first time. The sushi rice lacked the seasoning and texture of any authentic sushi restaurant you'd find in Japan where it would be a fraction of the price. The fish wasn't the best of quality, especially the ama ebi which directly translates to sweet shrimp and for sure it was not sweet at all. From my memory the sushi was slightly better the first time round so consistency is not there, talking about consistency we ordered the gyudon again. The first time we ordered it, it was not saucy, it was soupy and watery, this time round it was saucy however it was bland, the beef was barely seasoned at best, the sauce itself also lacked flavour. Our friend ordered the una don and for £15.50 I expected a decent portion size... it was half the size of any unagi don you'd get in Japan and double the price and also lacked the authentic char you'd get from cooking the unagi over coal. The okonomiyaki starter we got was probably the only thing we really enjoyed however if this did not have the sauces on top, it would have again, lacked flavour like the other dishes we had. But the bad ends there, the staff and service there is really good and friendly, they even suggested us to sit in the main area rather than the tatami seating (which we used the first time round) since it was a very hot day and would be cooler...

Visited this casual Japanese restaurant in Withington to sample some of their mouthwatering dishes ~

We tried the following: 》Karaage Chicken 》Mixed Sashimi Platter 》King Prawn Tempura 》Ribeye Beef Yakitori 》Salmon Avocado Roll 》Spicy Salmon Volcano Roll 》Unagi Nigiri 》Mixed Seafood Yakisoba 》Tonkotsu Pork Ramen with black garlic

Everything that we had was very satisfying from the fresh slices of assorted sashimi (Salmon, Tuna, Ama Ebi, Mackerel) well-seasoned beef yakitori, perfectly cooked karaage chicken & prawn tempura, scrumptious ramen to the addictive rolls. Washed these all down with a lovely sake. Their portion sizes makes them ideal for sharing too.

The Yakisoba had a substantial amount of mixed seafood and the moreish sauce on it was delightful. There's a great variety of assorted rolls too which were packed with flavour and complimented the richness of the hearty ramen - its broth and springy noodles were impressive. The first mouthful was lovely, elevated by the different elements on it.

The robust flavours plus delicate textures of their signatures dishes were exceptional. We dined in one of their tatami rooms which was cosy and quite intimate, the experience transported me back to my trips in Japan several years ago.

Zen Sushiya focuses on the quality of food and customer experience which were both evident during our visit. Their main chef has 15 years experience making Sushi.

They have an extensive menu and offers hot/cold starters, yakitori, tempura, sashimi, special rolls, yakisoba, ramen, sake, desserts etc. Please do check them out, I highly...