Zuma

Reviews 5

DE

Denby Liu

We had ostensibly come to try out the restaurant week menu, but in the end plumped for the standard menu instead as it looked more interesting. It was good that we did as it turns out it gives you buffet service at the counter, which we hadnt realised. Probably because we decided what we wanted pretty quickly and our server didnt get a chance to ask us whether it was our first time here or not. In addition to the buffet service you get a free drink, fried calamari and a main dish. Everything else (including desserts) is self-service from the various counters. One thing we did notice, for the brunch service at least, was that there was no real drinks menu given. There were some brunch alcoholic drinks listed at the top, but when I asked whether there were any non-alcoholic drinks available the waitress had to recite 4 of them. She later had to do the same for the table behind us. I suggest they actually put this down on the menu as it saves everyone a lot of time. I had the iced green tea and passion fruit cocktail, which was nice. I mentally rolled my eyes at the last option of a virgin mojito, but thats because thats what EVERYONE always offers as a non-alcoholic cocktail. The service did seem a little confused at times as our mains didnt come at the same time, mine came 10 minutes later. In fact we werent sure when they were supposed to turn up so whilst I waited for mine I went to get some miso soup. Unfortunately, the station was empty and one of the managers said theyd bring it to my table. They never did, but I finally received my main shortly afterwards. The food itself was good for the most part, though some of the sashimi and sushi were kind of uninteresting. Much preferred the hot counter food. The roast pork buns were particularly nice. Probably would have gotten more of them if they hadnt kept running out, though that could be a blessing in disguise for my waist line. 8) That was the case for other items that were popular, they didnt get restocked very quickly. The restaurant is beautifully designed and not too loud even with it being mostly full. There looked to be dining areas above too. Do note that they dont show all their seatings on Opentable for Sunday brunch. If it looks like theyre booked out then try their website online system. We had assumed this might be the case but managed to do a walk-in as we got there early on.

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MT

mt mt

Went to Zuma on Tuesday night for a friends birthday and it was excellent! I loved the vibe of the restaurant as soon as I walked in and the decor was beautiful. The downstairs had an older/more relaxed feel and upstairs was a more happening bar area/lounge. We went upstairs for a drink first and then tried to get seated in the lounge area. We had a reservation, but it apparently was for downstairs and all of the lounge area was already reserved. We decided to sit in the bar area at a table and it ended up being fine/better off that we sat upstairs. My friend and I decided to share a bunch of different dishes. Our waitress had let us know thats usually how most people order at Zuma and it just comes out whenever it is ready. There isnt a way to request a certain dish to come first. We first had an order of edamame for the table and then ordered to share: -Ebi no tempura: AKA Rock Shimp Tempura was one of my favorite things we shared. I loved how the spicy mayo sauce came on the side as a dipping sauce. Most places Ive been actually has the sauce already on the shrimp, but I liked having the option. -Gindara to ebi no gyoza: Shrimp and cod dumplings were EXCELLENT! I think the best thing we had. So delicious. -Gyu to shishito no kushi yaki: Beef skewers were really tasty! Cooked perfectly, but the peppers were a little bit too spicy for me. -Pirikara maguro maki: this spicy tuna roll was just OK. I thought everything else we ordered was significantly better. -Kinoko no kama meshi: this is a rice hotpot similar to risotto with mushrooms. My friends mom had this and we just tasted some, but it was AMAZING. Good to know for next time. -Zuma Special Chocolate: This chocolate cake is really the reason why we came to zuma and it didnt fail our expectations. The best thing we had a Zuma and I would come back just for the cake. Overall had a great experience at Zuma. Even though its on the pricier side, its a nicer place to grab a drink or go for a special dinner.

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CH

Charles Rosoff, ASA, MRICS

Spectacular room. Food prepared in almost the first order, but the horrible service does it an enormous injustice. I walked in alone for lunch yesterday at 1:30 pm and was seated at the kitchen where I enjoyed watching the food being cooked on an open fire pit. I ordered the businessmans $24 Chicken Teriyaki lunch. After waiting far too long, a clumsy waiter came up to me and asked if the soup and salad was for me. I nodded and he practically dropped it on me. The salad was beautiful and complex but the dressing was carelessly added far too lightly to the extent that most of the salad had no dressing. The miso soup was spectacular. A glass of water was almost dropped in front of me. While eating anther waiter asked me if the chicken teriyaki was for me. Very sad that the kitchen is incapable of keeping track of which meals go to which diner when the restaurant is almost empty. The beautifully prepared grilled marinated chicken breast was juicy and soft, but almost cold. It would have been nice if it were hot. For dessert I ordered the exotic fruit, which was amazing. Unfortunately I was given a dirty spoon, and had to spend five minutes trying to get the attention of one of the dozen waiters who were doing everything but helping diners. Clearly the staff needs to be retrained.

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SE

seen jee

Because its cold outside, I give myself a reason to go for a bowl of ramen. I ordered the shrimp buns: spicy mayo, pickled red onion, iceberg. There are 2 buns stuffed with a generous size of shrimp patty. The buns are oily because they are cooked in oil. Usually, its cooked with fat but the waitress was very kind for asking if I want them to be cooked in oil. The shrimp patty are juicy, the mayo is liquid and it was dripping while eating it. I had the hozon ramen with fried chickpeas and kale. What is hozon? Its a fermented product made with koji, salt and either beans or nuts. The hozon slices on the ramen were like crispy like crostini. The ramen noodles are thick like spaghetti but white. Im not a fan of fried chickpeas nor kale, although thats a good way to make me eat the kale. Still, I had a nice hearty meal on a cold day.

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KH

Khalifa Al-Khalifa

Just one word: horrible. We ordered the grilled chicken and were stunned when it was brought out to us practically raw with blood still in it. We sent it back to be cooked again while the server did not apologise nor removed it from the bill. Plus, no restaurant should be serving uncooked chicken with blood to any customer. The server then brought the sashimi, but did not bother to bring the sushi we ordered. When we reminded the server about the missing dish, she did not even bother to rush to the sushi chef for it to be prepared or even apologised for forgetting the entire sushi order.I dont mind paying a few hundred bucks for good food and decent service, but the quality of service was beyond poor and nothing like the Zumas of London and Dubai.

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