Across The Pond — Restaurant in Phoenix

Across the pond is one of the best restaurants my partner and I have been to since moving to Phoenix. We reserved online and the table was ready when we got there. The waiters/hostess was very nice.

Overall: 4/5 with flavor and price being the most contributing factors. Is this really good sushi in Phoenix? Yeah, I'd say it's very good sushi. Do I wish I had more for the price? Yes, I definitely wish I could have had more for the price. With that being said, this is a restaurant I'd happily go to again if I wanted to splurge on a nice dinner date, but I wouldn't go here for a random dinner just because I'm craving sushi.

We got a variety of sushi and drinks. I got the Berry White and my partner got the Big Trouble, Little Yokyo. Both were good, I enjoyed the BTLY a little more than the Berry White.

Our favorite of the night was defintely the Akira - which was a spicy salmon roll that paired beautifully with the spicy tamarind and garlic crumble. I'm normally not a big bell pepper guy, but the bell peppers were not overpowering and added a nice change in texture to the roll. We ended up ordering this twice. 5/5

We wanted to order all the Bluefin options, but they only had two bluefin options available that night:

Bluefin O-Toro nigiri: 1 piece per order. Melt in our mouth deliciousness. 4.5/5 factoring in price and flavor.

Negi Toro roll: Simple, to the point. 4/5.

Other nigiri options:

Salmon Belly: 1 piece per order. Very soft, fatty, salmon belly. Good flavor, not fishy tasting at all. It is slightly cooked on top, and we were not expecting that. My partner and I personally would have preferred it not cooked. 4/5

A5 Wagu: 1 piece per order. I personally really liked the smoky flavor, and my partner was not a big fan of it. This was another dish we weren't expecting to be cooked per say since it was under the nigiri section. 4/5

Other rolls:

Natsu roll: Yellowtail roll with cucumber, calamansi, and pomelo. The calamansi ended up overpowering the rest of the dish in our opinion - and this is coming from two people who love calamansi and general citrusy flavors. 3/5

Ebi-ten: Tempura shrimp, cucumber, avocado in soy paper. This is a basic tempura shrimp roll. I'd only order this again if I was really craving tempura shrimp in...

We decided to try this place with a few friends since we were told they are part of the Clever Koi which is one of our favorite restaurants in the area. We made a reservation since it was strongly recommended in the website. Upon arrival our table was ready for us and we order some cocktails. Cocktails just like anything in the menu was pricey but they were all very good.

Menu options are limited and there are no appetizers, soups or salads. Prices seemed high but again we came with very high expectations from other Yelp reviews and as they are part of the Clever Koi.

After we placed our orders it took over an hour to start getting some ( yes not all the orders) and they pilled most roles into a single plate even thought they were not for the same person. Made eating from the same plate awkward as we were not expecting this to be family style! After about 1.5 hours since our arrival the waiter came to our table asking if we needed anything else. We informed him that one of the members of our part still had not received his order. It was hard to comprehend why food took so long when there were only 8 tables during our visit and sushi doesn’t take that long to make!

Well, waiter did not place most of our friends order and since they pilled up most of the items on one plate we didn’t realize that one order of nigiri that he ordered was on the large plate. Waiter was not apologetic for the mess up so we politely told him that we just wanted the check and would like to pay 3 different ways. Here is where this place went from a 3 star to 1. Waiter became notoriously frustrated when we asked to split the bill by loud sighs and rolling his eyes straight to our face. I am a non confrontational person and understand that he made a mistake placing our order but I just couldn’t take the attitude and politely asked him :”please don’t give us an attitude. We are the ones whose special evening turned out to be less than ideal.”

As a summary-good drinks, nice atmosphere inside small place but overpriced food, way too long waiting time for sushi and horrible customer service.

Happy end of our disappointing night was cooking hotdogs for our friend back at...

Oi, sushi stans and seafood squad! I popped into Across the Pond on a Tuesday night, and let me tell you, this place is absolutely ace. The restaurant was nice and quiet, making it feel like we had the whole place to ourselves--proper cozy vibes. The vibe at Across the Pond is totally laid-back, perfect for chilling out and enjoying some cracking food. So, if you're ready to level up your sushi game, Across the Pond is the place to be. Anyways, here's the scoop:

Walking in, you're greeted by a massive sushi bar where you see the chefs in action. Watching them work their magic is like a culinary show in itself. You can practically taste the freshness just by watching them slice and dice with precision.

We started with the shrimp ceviche, and boy, it was banging! That citrusy goodness with juicy shrimp on a crispy tortilla chip was like a mini vacation in the tropics--refreshing and downright addictive. For the rolls, we had Soft Shell Crab and Slammin' Salmon. Both came drizzled with a cashew nut sauce on the plate and with a couple dabs to which I think was wasabi. Anyway, that appetizer was pure dynamite--no soy sauce needed. The crunch on that crab was proper lush, and the Slammin' Salmon? An absolute flavor bang party that everyone's invited to.

We had a buddy who never tried Sashimi, go we thought we'd take the V-card away and got the Sashimi Assortment. The salmon was the real MVP--just melt-in-your-mouth good. And finally, there were a few items written on a chalkboard like an exclusive drop, which shoutout to our waiter for breaking it down to us. After an informative, explicit breakdown we opted for which I think was the Bluefin Sashimi Plate. There's not much said about that one, as it was written on the chalkboard for a reason--a must-try for any sashimi fan.

A heads up: they do things a bit differently here. Not everything comes at once; instead, they bring dishes to your table little by little. It's a chilled-out pace that lets you savor every bite, and trust me, it's...