Welcome to Tsunami

I went to Tsunami last week with my boyfriend, we sat in the back section on a quiet-ish Thursday night.

We booked online, and had a prompt reply confirming the booking. However I requested a garden table online, and I was never told that it wasn't open on weekdays, so I got there expecting to sit in that lovely garden. The back room was still great though.

I had a pot of the 'Nihon Sakari Sake' (hot), and my partner had the lychee coke, both were very nice. It was the first time I had had sake and I was impressed, didn't expect it to be that strong though! We shared the Nigiri and Maki Sushi ($28.50) as an entree (it was served as either a main for one or an entree for two) and it arrived very quickly considering the work that goes into making it. The sashimi was excellent, the fish tasted very fresh. It had salmon, tuna and another white fish (not sure what the white fish was!). It was well prepared and presented beautifully. Tsunami roll was delicious (inside out prawn tempura roll with sesame seeds and avocado).

For main I had the Teppanyaki Wagyu steak ($35.50), it was served on the 'stonegrill' (ishiyaki). Best beef I have ever tasted. It was very tender and succulent, and always hot because it was on the stone grill. The dipping sauce was also delicious. My partner had the Char-grilled salmon with green tea noodles ($32) and I stole a taste, it was gorgeous. Presentation was lovely also, it looked like art (as did the entree!). The sauce was tangy and slightly citrusy, the salmon perfectly cooked, however he thought the serving was slightly small and the 'green tea noodles' just tasted like regular spaghetti.

For dessert I had the twin creme brulee ($13.50), one was frangelico and the other satsuma plum. They torched it at your table. I loved watching the caster sugar caramelise on top, it made my mouth water! The brulees were lovely. My partner had the ice cream sampler ($11.50 - Japanese vanilla, green tea, sesame and ginger) , however it said it included 4 ice creams and he only got 3, I only liked the green tea ice cream I thought the ginger was too strong and the sesame too bland.

The service was good. One man whose name I believe is Brett, was fantastic. He was very informative and gave us tips about Japanese etiquette, and recommended the dishes that we ended up ordering. My wagyu cooking skills were a bit poor so he gave me some help telling me the best way to eat it. Although the other guy that was there was prompt at serving food/drinks and collecting plates, he was rather unfriendly to us.

Overall my experience was excellent. Delicious fresh food served beautifully, good service and great atmosphere. They played Midnight Juggernauts when I was there! The dimly lit room was quite sultry and calming, I thought the decor was great although the chairs in the back room were sort of uncomfortable (you will know what I mean if you sit in them).

Highly recommended, and I would advise to check their menu before you go to get a good idea of the other foods/prices.

I came to this restaurant three years ago for my birthday and I loved it. A few years later, well over-due, I paid another visit. This time round I did not think it was anything special. The place is looking a little run-down and in need of attention. The food was nice, but nothing jumped out at me. The menu is humorous and can make for a fun read. I was a little surprised when my $15 desert came out. It was ice-cream covered in a Japanese rice pastry and it looked suspiciously similar to a $3 packet ice cream I bought from the freezer at my local Japanese supermarket the week before.

Some friends and I went on a Friday night when they have a jazz duo playing the piano and trumpet. This adds a nice ambient touch to the night whilst not being too overbearing. My friends had their back to the band and didn't realise they were there; in fact they thought a cd was providing the nights music.

Service at Tsunami was not the best. We did have one very accommodating waitress who helped us when we wanted to change tables and was very friendly. However, throughout the night we had three other various waiters/waitresses, waited about 30min to receive a bottle of wine, constantly had to ask for more water, and was given the wrong bill at the end of the night.

Overall, my latest Tsunami visit was adequate but not good enough to make me want to return anytime soon.

A couple of friends came over from Sydney for the week so with a spare night available, we decided to come here for a dinner.

The restaurant has a good mood to it, nice lighting, a rather pretty garden and some soft music. It was quite relaxing as we chatted and waited for service.

I ordered the Spicy no Jiddori for entrée and had the Tokujyou Sashimi for my main. The food was very well presented and looked great unfortunately it didn’t taste as good as it looked. The chicken entrée was very sweet and the sashimi was a little dry and wasn’t very fresh. My meal was average at best.

Our waitperson was quite rushed when serving us and made sure that we knew our meal would take a while because it was busy, although the restaurant was less than half full. My friends had ordered the steak and prawns stone grill and a tsunami sushi roll. When asked if the chef could cook his steak, the waitperson responded quickly and harshly with “no”, the chef is busy. The tsunami roll came out 20 mins after our mains were served, only after I had inquired to whether they had forgotten the order.

Overall, the experience wasn’t that great. The food was not great and the service quite poor. Not a place that I’d go back to.

Four of us went for dinner and we were placed out the back overlooking the garden area.

The waitstaff were very attentive and helpful.

The menu had lots of great options, many sounded nice and healthy but also scrumptious.

Everyone was delighted by their choices, my seafood was so the best I'd had out for ever.

Definitely going back.

Food:
I had the gyoza + friends for entree which was okay. I don't know why i keep doing this to myself every time I have jap food - end up ordering the deep fried stuff. Would have probably enjoyed more if was just gyoza. Felt like the some fried stuff was missing some sort of dipping sauce. Was kinda oily actually. My other companions had the Agedashi Tofu which had a strange tasting coating on the outside sitting in lots of sauce and Prawn + friends which looked interesting as it was wrapped in noodles and deep fried but again - quite greasy.

For mains, I had to try the controversial Patagonian Toothfish with Suppei which turned out to be steamed fish in generous portion with miso based dressing and wilted bok choy. I felt it was quite ordinary. My friend had the eel on the stone plate which was quite tasty and my other companion really enjoyed her sashimi.

For dessert just can't go past the black sesame ice-cream - yummy!. Sadly, for me this was the best part of the whole meal. Then again I always look forward to dessert the most :)

Ambience: We were seated a booth at the front section of the restaurant. The ambience may have been better in the garden which i hear is very pretty with the fairy lights.

Service: Our french waiter was quite attentive and our plates were cleared fairly quickly. The other senior staff members could have showed a little more warmth or friendliness.

Overall: Maybe it was my choice of meals that failed my experience but it hasn't lived up to my expectations - have tried better elsewhere.

I celebrated my birthday with my girlfriend at Tsunami last night. After a recommendation from my friend few months ago, I thought I had to go there.

We thought at first it was a fine dining but to my surprise the place was more of a casual dining place, typical of a Japanese style restaurant except with the dim lighting and candles on tables, and decorations here and there, but the overall ambience is standard and not excitingly romantic.

We ordered Tsu-tsumi Age (Prawn on crispy noodle) and Sushi (flying fish roe & quail egg and salmon sushi) for the entree and it was very nice especially the sushi! I have never tried eating raw quail egg before so this gave me a very good experience.

For main course I ordered their most recommended Wagyu Beef and a Toothfish Karai. The beef was very nicely served raw on a hot stone for us to cook ourselves and the toothfish came in two generously fillets. It was nice but the taste was not a to-die-for dish. The taste didn’t actually meet our expectations.

For dessert, we tried their recommended black sesame icecream. It was tasty but again, not superbly amazing.

As we finish off our drinks (sake and green tea) we ended up paying $100 using our entertainment card, which is not bad for a three course meal.

Overall, I am not that impressed with the place. Although it gave me a good experience but It didn't give me the feeling to come back a second time.

Hint: The Mosman Park Train Station is literally down the road so if too much merrymaking is had unintentionally/intentionally then there is hope of getting home still. Or perhaps if you are in an adventurous mode, Fremantle is only minutes away, so leave your car, take the train there and be back in good time like we did before the night is done, what a fantastic locale.

Tsunami Sushi Restaurant: an uneventful looking, small, bright blue terrace box in the daylight, but come the evening, something inexplicable takes place and the restaurant is transformed into an eclectic, hazy beauty with booths at the front, formal dining out the back and an alfresco area all ablaze with fairy lights, and much bigger than it appears on the outside. I book online and I request a table in a quiet corner where I can talk properly to Ziggfried. Wish granted without a problem, we are shown to a nice secluded corner out the back.

Firstly, I love the humour of this restaurant. As one reviewer has suggested, take a look at their website (www.tsunamisushi.com.au) and this is also apparent in their menu, the spiel for their Teriyaki Fish Deluxe reading "We don’t like it, but it's got a cult following. Try something else instead". I have the "Karai" (Patagonian toothfish, number 61 - $28.50), I love Patagonian toothfish and as I explain to Ziggfried, the menu says it is controversial and this place is crazy, so why not? Ziggfried has the Salmon (the "signature dish" - no 60 - $27.50). Both dishes are presented beautifully and taste wonderful, a Japanese/French fusion. Portions are small (read: nouveau) and expensive, but very flavoursome and interesting (Ziggfried initially hesitant about the green noodles). If you want a big hunk of steak and all you can eat salad bar... then there is a different time and place for that. The wine list is extensive, but unfortunately there is only a limited amount of wines available by the glass, so we had to settle for the house red. Not sure about the lack of wine expertise as commented by others, but seriously it's wine. If it were a good wine served in a post-mix paper cup it would still taste like a good wine. It is duly noted however that the staff appear to be shift-workers and not "professionals", but this is something that I personally don’t mind, but if you do, take note.

In all, this would be a highly recommended restaurant for a romantic dinner or with a good friend, where conversation (and other "things") rule, and you are after good wine and small interesting meals, and you want a fine dining restaurant with more "quirk" and "cult" and less "swank". I daresay this is the type of restaurant that makes memories. I have since (indefinite basis) lost contact with Ziggfried, but this restaurant is integral to my memory of him and I guess I will be back at this restaurant when he is. Starrsheep says: "Woolly good restaurant!"

I have to agree with Milno in all respects. The food is fresh, fabulous and imaginative, and the design of the place does show some obvious cultural contradiction (e.g. the front section of the restaurant includes semi-circular booths very much in the European pub style). Perhaps this is a product of the site's previous usage?

Service only rates 3 stars - mostly as Milno states, for the wine service. If you're attracted to the place by their very post-modern website, then reality is a little different and the staff knowledge lets the place down somewhat. Otherwise, you're looking at one of the best Japanese restaurants I've had the pleasure to step foot into!

Put simply, this restaurant serves up some of the finest food in Perth. The menu has variety, the dishes are outstanding, and the presentation is excellent. What also becomes apparent after a few visits to Tsunami is the quirky sense of humour that pervades the place. Have a look at the FAQ on the website - it is also placed in the menu. A great deal of effort has also been put into the wine list. It is broad, caters for all budgets and has several options by the glass. The Reserve list is better than you would expect. Why only 3.5 stars for service? The biggest and most consistent problem with Tsunami is their wine service. Every single time I have eaten here the waitstaff seem to have difficulty with the wine. They do not know the wine list, have no idea about different wines, and (my pet hate) overfill the wine glasses. I was also once served white wine in a champagne glass. It appears as if the waitstaff are students from Japan paying their way through Uni. This is the only aspect where Tsunami seems to cut corners and the only amateur part of the Tsunami experience.