Ellie C.
Yelp
Came here on a Friday night and it did not disappoint. We got the seasonal omakase (upsold by our server who said it's "much better" than the signature) and the amount of food you get for the price alone makes it worth it.
Of what we got:
Watercress salad with edamame, avocado, and crispy rice: the perfect start to the meal. Flavorful but light, with a nice mix of textures from the crispy rice to the creamy avocado. Would get again.
Tuna tataki: my friend's favorite, and we were told that the sour sauce it came with takes 3 days to prepare. I also thought it well-prepared tataki, but not that special and unique compared to tataki served at other places. Would get again if with dining with someone who really loves tuna.
Seasonal scallop sashimi: another standout starter. It was so delightfully tender, fresh, and had well thought-out toppings that didn't dominate the dish and let the sweetness of the scallops shine through. Would get again.
Pork belly skewers: delicious, tender, and with a light but flavorful dipping sauce. Definitely a well done dish, but not extra special compared to pork belly done at other places. Would get again if dining with someone who really loves pork belly.
Seasonal vegetable tempura: unique in that I've never had okra or cabbage leaf tempura before (maybe I haven't tried enough tempura), but not unique in flavors or presentation. Would skip.
Corn skewers with flavored butter: dry, grilled corn that you can dip and coat in butter to your liking. Would skip.
Sushi platter with tuna maki, sea bass nigiri, and amber jack nigiri: the tuna maki was solid and fresh. The nigiri was pretty bland and hard instead of tender. Would skip and choose different sushi options if ordering à la carte.
Seasonal botan ebi sashimi: this came out on the sushi platter, but deserves its own shoutout for how truly amazing it was. This dish was one bite's worth of soft melt-in-your-mouth texture and delicious sweet shrimp flavor. My favorite dish of the night. Would get again.
Seasonal veal chop with roasted eggplant: after so many starters (which could have been a meal on their own), we got to our entrées. This dish was definitely well done and delicious, but on the tougher, chewier side of meats than my liking. The dipping sauce was definitely well paired though and once again light and refreshing but flavorful. Would skip.
Jumbo prawn robata: maybe i'm not the biggest fan of grilled meats, but I also didn't find this dish as tender or flavorful as I would have liked, though it was definitely executed well. Would skip.
Broccolini side: a solid accompaniment to the meats, with a smoky, grilled flavor. Not especially unique on its own though. Would skip.
Dessert platter: while we could have ended our meal after the starters and sushi, we really could have ended our meal after our entrées course. Up to this point, we were able to finish everything that was brought out, but this giant final course finally defeated us. Accommodating our dairy allergy, the dessert platter consisted of fruit, two scoops of sorbet, and two prepared desserts: one coconut-based pudding and one cup of bananas foster without ice cream. I appreciated that the fruits didn't just consist of basic items that you can regularly find in a grocery store, as they included passion fruit, star fruit, lychee, yellow kiwi, and mango. These didn't taste the most flavorful and fresh though, so it would have been nice to feature in-season but still off-the-beaten-path fruits instead. The coconut-based pudding had a sour flavor, which wasn't my favorite. The bananas foster was done well, but not especially unique to Zuma. We both loved the coconut sorbet. Would just get that again if ordering à la carte.
Overall, we did not leave this tasting menu hungry. The sheer volume and variety of dishes we got to try by far makes the price point worth it.
Some notes on service:
* They were busy when we got there at 6:30 and even busier when we left at 8:30. Even though we had reservations, we had to wait to be seated.
* Maybe it's because we were seated way towards the back, but we weren't checked on that often for water refills. I would have preferred to have our own pitcher at the table at that point.
* As someone else mentioned, we didn't get very detailed introductions to our dishes. Our server mentioned how some garnishes take days to make, so I would have liked to hear about which ones and how they were made.
Though there were some hits and misses, it was overall a great experience. I liked that the atmosphere was upscale with dimmed lighting, but not so dark that you can barely see your dining companions' faces. Next time, I would come again and order à la carte so I don't leave feeling overstuffed!