St Sushi — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

St Sushi does everything I love and hate all in one and yet I still find myself beckoned back for repeat visits regardless.

I’ve expressed my distaste for restaurants that vainly attempt to cater to everyone’s palette through a bloated menu of lacklustre dishes in previous reviews, so I won’t dwell on this subject too much in this one. Unlike Soho, St Sushi is an unfortunate example of what happens when a restaurant attempts to overcomplicate their menu by incorporating several dozen sub-par dishes. The unfortunate reality here is whilst some dishes are exemplary, others are borderline un-edible, making for a Russian-roulette experience upon every visit. Frankly, whilst their sushi is rather good, they offer pages upon pages of more traditional Japanese street food dishes which leads one to assume they aren’t just a one-trick-pony. (Spoilers: They are.) From my modest experience with their menu, if a dish’s primary ingredient involves piscine, there’s a good chance it’ll be good. If it involves poultry however, it’ll likely be disappointing. The only exception to this rule of thumb I’m yet to discover is their Yakitori Chicken Skewers which are consistently delicious. It’s quite tragic, really, as St Sushi is the only place in Newcastle (to my knowledge) that offers the holy trinity of Japanese lager - Asahi, Kirin Ichiban and Sapporo. The saddest part of all is they have the foundations to forge an establishment that can rival the juggernauts like Fujiyama Teppanaki and Hanahana, but without perfecting their food, they’ll never be anything better than above average.

To avoid ending on a sour note, at the time of writing this, all their waiting staff are an absolute treat to interact with. Polite, attentive and helpful. Similar praise can be offered to the overall atmosphere. The decor exudes that cosy metropolitan coffee shop vibe which, whilst certainly isn’t original, is done well here.

Overall, St Sushi does many things well, but without a significant menu overhaul or introducing chefs that are skilled beyond exclusively preparing sushi, I don’t see this establishment ever becoming more than a sushi...

Gorgeous sleek interior, music wasn't overbearing but really set the atmosphere. Service wasn't exactly on point. We did wait quite a bit to get menus, by the way, the menu is REALLY extensive. I feel that could be a negative for those first time sushi goers. So back to service, once we got our menu it took at least 15 minutes before a server asked if we wanted a drink while we looked over the menus. Once done with that it was another 10 or so minutes, mind you this wasnt a super packed night. The servers were really courteous but not exactly attentive to the tables. I will say I'm glad we got edamame and miso because there was a wait for our main courses. The miso soup was nice, good umami and served nice and hot, edamame not overly salted and tender. Definitely go for the Salmon head, that nice charred skin and fatty cheek is really pleasing. I also liked the fact that it wasn't seasoned, the fatty meat and slice of lemon is all I'd say you need for this dish. The age tofu fried with prawn is SO good. The texture of the warm tofu combined with those salty baby prawns just genius. Also utilize the light soy sauce that comes with this dish! Next would be the tempura veggies, sadly this dish fell flat and the dipping sauce that comes with it just as flavourless. The tempura batter was bland, the veggies had no taste, the sweet potato undercooked and lacked any sweetness. The tofu was the only saving grace but I'd skip on this. The apple and arctic clam is a must have. As well as the softshell crab tamaki and maki. If you go for a platter like i did skip on the California rolls that come with it and see if you can upgrade to a better roll. The California rolls are insanely bland. Overall we only had a few bad dishes. The quality of fish is great any restaurant can have a few hits and misses, but I overall enjoyed what I paid for and as my first experience it didn't turn me off. Definitely try this place. There's a lot to digest with the menu but that's just more...

I had high hopes for this place based on the quality of the food — and in that regard, it didn’t disappoint. The sushi rolls were excellent: generously filled with fresh, good-quality fish, nicely presented, and full of flavour. You can tell that the kitchen team takes pride in what they do, and on food alone, this would easily be a four or five-star spot.

Unfortunately, everything else about the experience was let down by the service, which was well below what you’d expect from a restaurant of this standard. From the moment we sat down, the atmosphere created by the staff felt cold and unwelcoming. The waiters were moody and inattentive — no greeting, no friendly attitude, and no effort to make us feel comfortable. We were left sitting for a while without being acknowledged, and when we did ask for something, like soy sauce, it was as if we were being difficult. They don’t even leave soy sauce on the table, so we had to ask more than once, which became frustrating.

One of the biggest issues was the timing of the food. My friend’s meal came out first, and I had to wait nearly ten minutes for mine to arrive — which meant he had already finished eating by the time I started. There was no explanation or apology for the delay, and again, the attitude we received made us feel like we were an inconvenience. It really seemed like the staff were just watching the clock and waiting to go home. There was no warmth, no interaction, and no basic hospitality — the kind that turns a good meal into a great experience.

It’s a real shame, because the place itself has a lot of potential. The food is genuinely great and the setting is quite nice, but the service completely took away from what could’ve been a much more enjoyable evening. With better staff training and a bit of care and customer focus, this place could be brilliant. Until then, I’m not sure I’d be in a...