Sushi Zo had gotten rave reviews from two of GameBoy’s friends, one of whom works for Bon Appetit (though in the marketing division). A quick search on Chowhound yielded very good reviews as well. GameBoy had been wanting to try it for a while, and last Saturday, we finally did. It’s located in a surprisingly shabby area of town, between Cheviot Hills and the Culver City/ Palms area, just east of the 10 on National. Though we were able to find street parking just outside, at 6 pm it was about 1/3 full, with an all-Asian clientele.
I’m not sure if it’s because GameBoy is white, or if we just looked clueless, but the first thing the hostess said to us was that this was not a place where they served California rolls or cut rolls. Familiar with the Sushi-Nazi reputation, we reassured her that we were still interested. Then came the next question- whether or not we wanted omakase. Though we had heard it was well worth it, the fact that a price wasn’t listed on the menu gave us pause. When we inquired as to the relative price, she told us it would range from between
$100-200. Though I understand that sushi can get pricey at top places, the location, florescent lighting, and unremarkable interior of Sushi Zo certainly did not warrant that price, especially since I had seen omakase menus as low as $65 at Sushi Sushi in Beverly Hills. Since GameBoy and I aren’t making that kind of money yet, we opted to just order a la carte.
Surprisingly, we were still seated at the bar, possibly because the tables were reserved. This is especially remarkable, because I’ve found that seats at the bar normally book up before table, since people prefer to banter with the chef. I began to understand, however, as we began getting our food. Though there were only four diners besides us sitting at the bar, the two sushi chefs ignored us, and we were forced to order over our shoulders to the waitress. Our only communication with the chefs were when we were gruffly instructed on how much soy sauce to use (or not use).
As I may have mentioned before, GameBoy is a bit slow at reading menus, and even I have to admit that the waitress came to take our orders way too fast. In contrast to, say, the impeccable timing at bushi-tei, the timing of the service here seemed calculated to make you feel rushed and unwanted. Since you order by the piece, it was difficult for GameBoy and I to coordinate our orders so that we both got food at the same time. I didn’t think this was as big of a problem as GameBoy, but then, I knew that they would serve one piece at a time, to ensure freshness, while he didn’t, adding to the confusion. While we could have just kept bothering the waitress for each piece, ordering from her made me feel like I should at least order a few each time, to save her time, whereas I would have felt fine ordering sushi one at a time from the bar. In any case, we didn’t enjoy ordering from the waitress at the bar. To make matters worse, there was a bit of a language barrier, and she didn’t get down all of our orders.
Once the sushi got ordered, however, it was quite nice. It was very good quality, but definitely overpriced for what we ate. GameBoy felt stressed about eating the sushi correctly, but I thought the little guide they had on the counter on sushi etiquette was helpful in maximizing my enjoyment of the experience.
Besides the pricing, which was too high for the service, atmosphere and location, I was also bothered by the fact that I had to keep moving to let the waitress remove my plate while I was still chewing. This may sound minor, but I like to savor each bite of sushi, not be interrupted. The worst was when I was prompted to order by the waitress when I was still enjoying my mirugai (giant clam).
Having gone to many Chinese restaurants, I am very familiar with poor service. While not atrocious, the service at this restaurant clearly needs some work. I left with the feeling that they were upset we didn’t go for the omakase, and that we weren’t particularly welcome there. The sushi was really good, but given GameBoy’s particularly negative reaction to the service at Sushi Zo, it might be a while before we go back.
Though it is possible we hit it at the wrong time, the flurry of negative reviews recently posted on Chowhound makes me think our experience was not unique. I think we’ll head to Sushi Echigo or somewhere else next time we want fine sushi.
Date of Visit: 4/7/07
Sushi Zo
9824 National Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 842-3977
Hours:
Mon-Fri 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
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