Enso Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar
| Address: | 210 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA |
| Phone: | +1 704-716-3676 |
| Site: | ensocharlotte.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 12PM–1AM 4–10PM |
Location
Photos 62
Reviews 5
A
A Private User
If you like a heavy techo beat and have an obscene amount of money to spend this may be the place for you. We got into charlotte really late (there for the carnival of madness concert) really late. It was midnight when we went wondering into the city center looking for something to eat. Someone from our hotel told us this was one of the few places open out this hour to eat and we wanted sushi. I liked the look of place. It was in the epicentre (this would have been a tip off had we ever been to the epicentre before).It was set up kind of like a club/lounge with a giant golden budda near the bar and was lit up more like a club not a restaurant. Because we are not a big fan of fluorescents this seemed nice to us. But this is were the enjoyment ended. We had to seat ourselves as there was no host or hostess at the door. The dj was playing really loud beat thumping techno (which I personally despise(two types of music I can’t stand…country and techno). It was like nails on a chalk board. We sat down anyway as we were ravenous. Looked at the sushi menu and it was priced pretty on part with many sushi joints so we ordered a couple rolls. While we were waiting for our food we decided to order a couple drinks (so the music would sound better or perhaps we wouldn’t notice it as much). So we get the drinks list and it was ungodly expensive! We asked the waitress how much how sake would be. Her reply was $35. We decided we would deal with the music until we finished eating. Sushi comes out. It was only ok. Nothing to write home about. Certainly not worth the aggravation. We ate, paid our check, and practically ran out of there. FYI for those who feel the same as I do a sky high prices and techno there is a place called Rusans about 15 mins outside city center in the “South Park” area. It is much less pricey, they have a MUCH bigger menu, and you don’t have to suffer through music to loud to hear yourself over (also open after midnight and serves drinks (not liquor liquor, but sake based tinis and cocktails). Edit - Delete
ER
Erik Rosengarten
Im giving it a 2 because it wasnt horrible, but Im not impressed enough to casually come back. Honestly just go over to Vapiano off South Tryon and have some freshly cooked pasta dishes and other items for half the price of Ensos. Visually this restaurant appears to be pleasing. Looking at their menu it seemed three times as much as it should be, but theyre located in a popular Charlotte uptown location and probably cater to business meetings, tourists, and local night life. Looking at their sushi menu everything was over priced, and the vast majority of options were either were fried, contained spicy mayo, and/or chili sauce. Its the south, so its probably going to be spicy or fried (or both). I ordered a tar tar dish (sans chili sauce and mayo) and a seared sesame seed tuna salad. Looking at the ingredients tuna tar tar (and variations on its name) doesnt usually include it, so this struck me as weird, unless youre making a tuna salad for sandwiches. When I got it was was more like a fancy guacamole dish with a sweetened thin couple of spots of what seemed like it was once wasabi paste. When my salad arrived at first glance it looked nice. The dressing, which seemed like a thick ginger-sesame version, the fish was cooked right, I think they went a bit overboard with the sesame seed coating, large sliced tomatoes, and greens. Other than that it was pretty boring for $14. For what was spent we could have made it had home. A coupon compelled us to try it out. If you are stuck in uptown and seriously just want sushi theres cheaper and just as good options nearby.
JA
Jacob McCulley
Ordered two rolls of sushi; one with brown rice. The rice on both rolls was too hard to chew; couldnt get through more than a few bites before having to stop to prevent choking (even with drinking water). Also, my father was served his chicken entree completely raw, with raw chicken juice all over the plate! We explained the problems to wait staff who were slow, indifferent, and lackadaisical. They initially offered to microwave the raw chicken, but were corrected by another employee who said microwaving probably will not help. He added that it should not have been served without being cooked thoroughly, but that the kitchen sometimes forgets to cook certain menu items! As far as the rice, I was told it was probably over-prepared, "which can be expected to happen" now and then. I told him to have the kitchen discard poor rice batches instead of serving them blindly, but was told they did not want to waste the bad batch and make a new one for just one order. We asked the food be removed, refused to pay (which they agreed to), and left with no intention of revisiting in the future. They barely apologized before returning to their group conversation. Instead of Enso, go to Room 112 one block north up Trade St in the 121 South Tryon building, behind the Polk Park fountain. This restaurant is a much higher quality experience with exceptionally superior food quality, attention to detail, and staff who enjoy interacting with guests. You wont be food poisoned or written off as a nobody here!
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Patrick Moore
Not the best. I would complain about the wait times but "the dumplings are made to order!" and I was with a large group. The dumplings were delicious but I wish they had placed a few more on the plate. My entree came with the sushi roll we ordered and I felt like they didnt give me a proper portion. The rest of my friends had plenty of food filling their bowls, which were huge by the way. Who ever designed the menu really likes pineapple because almost every other item had pineapple in it. The sushi just didnt pan out like I was expecting it to. I know when dining in any city like Charlotte, food is going to be marked up. But, when thats the case, at least put some effort into it. The rice was too dry, and the vegetables in it were lacking their natural juices as well leaving the entire roll flavorless. Presentation was okay. It kinda looked like someone was in a rush when plating the sushi. Honestly youd save more money and time going to Harris Teeter and grabbing some sushi and a bottle of wine. TL:DR Sushi is better elsewhere and its overpriced for what you get. And for Gods sake, please get a new DJ. So many lame remixes of current pop songs set to an 80s bass track
A
A Private User
On Monday evening, May 17, 2010 I took my seven years old daughter to Enso - we were visiting NC for about a week. She loves sushi. Sushi was good. One of the rolls I ordered was a Maryland roll $22; there was no indication that it had peanuts, and there was no standard warnings of any kind on the menu, besides, you do not expect peanuts in this kind of food. She had one piece, and later it made her very very sick. The worst thing was while the waitress was very concerned and helpful, (the subject came up when we asked if there were peanuts in dessert) some guy came out to talk to us, and he said that this roll did not have peanuts, and even suggested that we stick around for dessert (which could have potentially put my daughter in anaphylactic shock). We left, and fortunatelly I had a chance to give her medicine before the reaction started. I could clearly feel aftertaste of peanuts myself and smell it in her vomit. Her reaction could only be that severe if that roll had peanuts or peanut butter. I have seen another reveiw of this place which points out to the same problem - peanuts without warning! Are you nuts? Do you really want to have a dead customer one day?
