Ishi, Bezirksgebäude, Zurich
Mar
2009
02. March 2009
Sechuan Tako (Octopussscheiben angebraten mit Sechuanpfeffer und Sprossen)
Assorted Sushi
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy….. where shall I start. Ishi is a Sushi place, next to the Schmuklerski building at the Bezirksgebäude. We had a reservation for three people on Saturday night. The interior reminds me of a typical trendy restaurant in New York. It looks flashier than it is, the quality of the furniture and accessories not quite up to the impression it is aiming to give, eg. the flimsy table cloths or the uneven tables. The menu looks promising, but untrue to the japanese way of dining, no pictures of the dishes are published. My table ordered Edamame and I decided to go for Techuan Sako, grilled Ocotopus slices with szechuan pepper and bean sprouts. The Edamame were served swiftly and while my partners were tucking in, I had to wait another 10 minutes for my Techuan Sako. I’m accustomed that appetizers are served at the same moment. Looking at my Techuan Sako it didn’t match what was promised on the menu. It was served with salad (which screamed and looked like QuickReady salad bought at Denner, which in turn had it imported from an Aldi store in Magdeburg…) instead of sprouts. Octopus was rubbery and the salad was a slap in my face, the cook’s certificate of proficiency in culinary arts should be revoked by the federal agencies immediately. But back to the restaurant were things went downhill from there on. We were served a sushi platter with only two plates (we were three persons). Since only five instead of the six sushi creations we ordered had arrived, I asked the waitress. She got snappy and defensive, shoved her scribble pad down my throat and told me that we’d only ordered five. Not wanting to be a pain in the ass I didn’t pursue the issue any further. What really got me angry was when instead of bringing me the missing plate, she was taking orders and dropping of drinks left and right. Finally after five minutes I got my plate. Bitch. The sushi were quite okay, especially the Temaki made a good impression. Still people left and right were complaining about the service. A couple next to us got up after ten minutes of not being served and another one was disappointed after not having received any food after 45 minutes. It’s surprising that this place obviously doesn’t need clients, it’s a typical trendy spot, where a diner has to be thankful for being blessed with the staff’s grace of getting the chance to eat here. Getting the bill, we were charged six pieces of Sushi. I’m wondering why if the waitress earlier had “proved” me that we’d only ordered five, how do suddenly six pieces show up on the bill. I guess that would make her not just a bitch, but also a lying and conniving one. When walking out, we exchanged a couple of words with the couple who was still waiting. I told them to go to Samurai if they prefer a real dinner with friendly staff. I complained to the management the next day in writing. They replied by saying that the couple that got up and left had received an SMS from their babysitter. Now if management believed that, now wonder their employees get away with everything. The remainder goes without saying:
Unsere Philosophie im ISHI ist, dass der Gast im Mittelpunkt steht,
freundlich empfangen, aufmerksam bedient und auch verabschiedet wird. Der
Gast soll sich bei uns wohl fühlen und auch die gewünschte Aufmerksamkeit
erhalten.
To calm my nerves I would need to treat myself to some fish and seafood in Le Divellec, anybody interested in joining me in finding out if a lobster press adds that extra kick of flavor to the meal, contact me (see About Link).
Finances:
Rechnung