Nishimura Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Wales

We previously LOVED Nishimura and couldn't wait to try the new Mumbles restaurant. We found the the decor of the new restaurant was very nice, though quite stark due to bare walls and really bright lighting. It was great to sit together at cosy dining tables rather than long benches. However, the atmosphere was really cold and even though the restaurant was quite busy at the time of our visit. Many diners were still wearing coats and shivering. It was FREEZING. I know bills are high right now but you shouldn't be uncomfortably cold when going out for a meal.

We found prices much higher than they used to be, about £2-3 more for everything on the menu. This is a sign of the times and what we expected. What annoys me though, is when the prices go up but the quality goes down, and that is how we feel about Nishimura.

We ordered salmon hosomaki and found them to be fresh but quite rubbery, with the seaweed coating peeling off and claggy in the mouth. The fried chicken wings were described as "crispy" on the menu, but weren't crispy at all. In fact they were only just cooked, certainly not raw enough to complain about, but there was enough pinkness for us to discuss between us if they were OK. At approximately £7.50 for THREE wings, we expected something a bit special, an amazing crispy coating and a dipping sauce maybe. But no. They are a total rip off.

The chicken Gyozas, however, were delicious. We wished we had just ordered two portions of them and not the ridiculously priced wings.

Onto the mains, and we did not find complaint with the spicy chicken soba noodle dish which was tasty and savoury sweet. However, the spicy beef ramen soup consisted of boiled chewy beef in a tasteless broth with very overcooked noodles. It didn't used to be like this?! The beef was grey and had no flavour, as though just boiled separately in hot water beforehand and then thrown in afterwards. I will say though, there was plenty of it. A little bowl of chilli oil came on the side of the dish and when added to the soup it just made for a barely flavoured watery soup with lots of chilli heat on top. There was no real flavour or balance at all. I've had this dish lots of times before and it just wasn't even half as good. However I could at least take my coat off as I had finally warmed up with the heat...

We ate the food and left without complaint and we were not left hungry. How could we complain about the food being 'not as good as it was before', or 'just average'? The food wasn't terrible, but it has certainly made us question if and when we would rush back.

This is another example of a much loved restaurant charging more but lowering quality, and it's...

TL; DR - food? Great. Service? Poor. Atmosohere - suboptimal

We had a table booked for 7, we turned up at 6:45, 4 of us, ready to eat as much sashimi as we could stomach! We get some water and decide what to eat. This was at the mumbles branch.

It gets a bit weird here, because we all put our menus down and are then ignored by the wait staff? Ok fine they’re busy, whatever - we place our first order for the buffet at around 7:20 - this is an important element later. We only know this because we were actually debating whether to just leave, and we were looking at the time. Multiple other tables were served before us which was cool too.

So the service was off to a strange start but we got our food and we’re ordering away. At around 8:30, no one comes over to us. We’re keen to make another order, but the staff are just sort of… sat around?

We finally manage to catch the eye of one around 9, and then someone comes over and explains to us ‘you’re actually out of time guys sorry you started at 6:50 :(‘. Bit of a patronising tone; but also we started at 7:20. We walked in the door at 6:50. I explain this and she’s like ‘hmm ok’. Not to mention the staff haven’t come to take our order in ages, so I feel the timer is unfair in this circumstance.

She comes back to take our order, and we order two ice creams each. They only bring out one each. Ok, fine, I don’t want to push it, they don’t seem too happy with us.

We go to pay, and given the staff just ignored us instead of explaining we were out of time (especially as we weren’t), we’re not too pleased. The bill comes up, we have a discount from the uplands branch, and the bill is £174. I query this as it should be £152. They correct it.

So nishimura is a really complicated one. Would I go back there ? No. Would I like to go back there for the food? Yes absolutely! It’s just let down by questionable staffing

If you do go:

1. take note of when you walk in, and also when you place your first order.
2. double check your bill. It’s £40 per person, so just make sure...

My group of four and I visited Nishimura last Friday evening, and we were absolutely blown away by the quality and variety of the food. We opted for the all-you-can-eat buffet, and it was one of the best dining experiences we've had in a long time. The concept is brilliant – instead of a standard buffet line, you order fresh dishes directly from the menu, and they're all included in the set price. This meant everything arrived at our table freshly made and delicious. The service was impressively fast and efficient, especially at the start of our meal, with dishes coming out promptly after we ordered. We tried to sample as much as we could from the extensive menu. The sushi and sashimi were incredibly fresh; the Octopus Sashimi was tender, and the Spicy Dragon Roll had the perfect kick. We also loved the Salmon Roe Gunkan and Surf Clam Nigiri. Beyond the sushi, the hot dishes were a real highlight. The Pork Katsu Curry was rich and comforting, the Spicy Beef Udon had a wonderful depth of flavour, and the Yakitori skewers were grilled to perfection. Everything we ate, from the Chicken Gyoza to the various rice bowls (dons), was delicious and well-prepared. It was clear that the restaurant uses high-quality ingredients. The restaurant itself has a great atmosphere and is clearly a popular spot. It did get quite busy as the evening went on, and while the service slowed a little, it was completely understandable given the crowd. It was great to see the place buzzing, and everyone in my group thoroughly enjoyed every single dish. We finished the meal with some mochi for dessert, which was the perfect sweet treat to round everything off. Overall, Nishimura offers fantastic value, incredible variety, and high-quality Japanese food. We are already planning our next visit. Highly...