Seawhip Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Dunedin

We were excited to try this place based on the reviews and the menu. What really brought this experience down was a REALLY bizarre incident we experienced with who I believe was one of the owners. The place was empty when we arrived, and they sit us at the counter, with a nice view of a dirty sink with a bucket full of mucky water, literally right in front of us. We scooch over several spots away from that sight line and try not to make a fuss.

They initially ask if we have any allergies, to which I replied shellfish (not a deadly or severe one, but a sensitivity so any cross contaminated surfaces are fine). No problem they said. I saw the menu beforehand and they had plenty of options that didn’t include shellfish so that’s why we even tried the place.

I order a custom roll off their build your own sushi menu as did my partner, and then after waiting about 20 minutes we were served. Upon looking at the sushi after eating parts of it, I noticed a different meat texture from the fish that was ordered in the roll. Upon further inspection the order was topped with Krab stick under all the crunchy bits and sauce. The menu made zero mention of this being in the selected topping (we both got this exact customization topper for our rolls). Its absence from the menu is especially bizarre because of the fact they ask about allergies from the get go.

We call the lady who served the food over and told her the menu makes no mention of the krab stick in the topper and I’d like to avoid it because of the possible presence of shellfish. She says “yeah we still need to fix the menus” and tells me that krab stick doesn’t have shellfish in it. I try to explain politely that I don’t like taking the risk and that many manufacturers do in fact, contain mixtures of crab, and other shellfish in the mix with fish. My girlfriend is Japanese, we travel to Japan regularly and we are very familiar with these food industries and the filler they contain.

The lady then walks away, pulls out her phone, and consults TikTok for an answer, and says “yeah these videos on TikTok say it’s fine”. She then declares “if you saw how this was made you’d never want to eat it, I have a video here”. Still trying to enjoy the portion of our rolls that I could eat, my girlfriend and I gesture no and said “no thank you”. Regardless, she proceeds to come over with her phone, and show us a video after politely declining, WHILE WE WERE EATING FOOD, of various meat being processed in a factory mushed, smushed and gushed together in all sorts of not terribly appealing manners.

She says while it’s playing “Yeah it’s pretty gross. Like I was saying, you wouldn’t want to eat it after these videos”. Yeah, especially not anymore lady. My girlfriend had already eaten half her portion of the krab stick because she’s not allergic and trying not to be wasteful.

Two things. One, I’m not here to argue. I didn’t even want to make a big deal out of my allergy. I really hate being an imposition and I already feel like a pain even having to mention it to people. I was just going to push it aside and eat the remainder of my sushi and not worry about it any further. But this bizarre, overly intrusive and unwarranted over sharing of really gross video footage while two paying customers WERE EATING was seriously one of the most egregious things I think I’ve ever experienced at any restaurant, ever.

I couldn’t wait to leave. We both lost our appetites after that. We told her please stop and she didn’t stop holding up the video. She finally did after I pressed her again. We politely asked for the check, paid, and left. The good? They removed the price of the toppers that made no mention of krab stick even though we didn’t ask them to. The bad? Everything else. Do yourself a favor. There are dozens of sushi restaurants within a 20 mile radius of this place. Go to any of them except this one. Even the bad ones. They’ll be...

So, I love sushi. Who doesn't? I love trying new places and support little restaurants. First time here and this is my experience and review. Atmosphere is great. The lace is VERY clean. The employee (i don't know here name, blonde with glasses) was awesome. As soon as I walked in I was greeted. She was very friendly. I ordered the miso soup yellowtail roll salmon roll. The food tasted good. Fish had good flavor. I'm more into just plain Jane rolls or sashimi. I do t do those fancy fried or topped with a bunch of sauces. Takes away from the actual fish flavor. I was kinda shocked they didn't have tako which is octopus. Now that's where I left off 1 star. The menu was limited in their own way which is okay. She did say they can add stuff on whatever. It's a fusion sushi place. Nothing wrong with that. I am more of a "traditional" sushi joint place which is hard to come by here in the states. I do wish they had more of a fish selection though. Takeaway: if you love eating out at a clean tasty and friendly joint with friends or family then this place is right for you. I'm not saying I wouldn't come back which I will just wish the fish selection was bigger. Good job seawhip! The...

What a gold mine this place is! Seawhip sushi is a creative Infusion of flavor. It’s in a great location right before the entrance to the Dunedin Causeway. So you can get a fresh batch and eat it on the beach. Though it is a starter company I’m so proud to see how they have weathered the storms of the chain restaurants not to mention hurricane Helena and hurricane Milton. I have been a MasterChef of 40 years regardless of my Ethnicity I too can make sushi, but not as good as sea whip. There is a BAD review listed on this by DAMIEN CHRISTOPHER. Would this be your American name Damien? Yep I read it and it sounds like sour grapes, Damien, are you just jealous that someone who is not Asian decent can master the technique better than most? SEAWHIP SUSHI You are a surrounded with encouragement to continue creating the AMAZING MOUTH TREATS you so delicately make. If it take a few minutes to get a fresh sushi really? Would you want it to be like fast food Ahhhhhh NO Be patient it’s...