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Finally had dinner at Tsunami last night

Posted on 12/7/16 at 8:56 am
Posted by LSUZombie
A Cemetery Near You
Member since Apr 2008
28905 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 8:56 am
Girlfriend Zombie and I attended the "Hot Jazz and Cool Nights" concert at the Shaw Center last night. Before I get to the food review, I highly recommend attending it. It was our 2nd year in a row, and it's a great show featuring some really talented jazz musicians playing holiday favorites.

We made reservations at Tsunami at 6:00. It's the GF's favorite restaurant for some reason, mostly because of the view. The view is really nice, and we were treated to a long line of traffic on the Port Allen bridge. All those red lights kind of looked like Christmas.

We are both eating low carb/paleo, so we did our best to be good.

Started with a snow crab salad and it was very good. Nice portion of "crab" and while it's not real crab, they way they prepare it makes it taste less fake. It was a good start to the meal.

Next we had miso soup, just because it was cold and I wanted to try theirs. I figured it had to be good since it wasn't included in a meal like most sushi restaurants do. It was one of the better bowls of miso I have had in the city. Very nice portion and the broth tasted good.

I ordered the Lucious Lemonfish for us to share. The menu said "thin slices" of lemonfish, but these were some pretty fat slices. Lemonfish is a muscular fish, so texture-wise, my GF did not like it. I ate her portion, but picked off the thin lemon slice on each one. The meal was composed with:
lemonfish-thin slice of lemon-thin slide of jalapeno-ponzu sauce.

I tried one piece with all components and it didn't work for me. The lemon was bitter with the rind, and overpowered everything. Also the fish could have been colder, which is funny because this was the opposite of our entree.

We both ordered the sashimi dinner, which came with 4 slices of tuna, escolar, yellowtail, and salmon. All of the fish was beautiful. Nice fat slices. The salmon, escolar, and tuna were all delicious.

But when I bit into the yellowtail, it was mostly frozen in the center. I made a point to just lay the pieces out and let them thaw for a few minutes. I informed the waitress that the yellowtail was frozen in the center and she made sure to tell the manager.

I will give big props to Tsunami. The manager genuinely cared about our dining experience and he wanted to make it right by offering free dessert, extra fish, or anything I wanted. I had eaten the yellowtail, and it was delicious once thawed, and I thanked him for wanting to do something but said nothing was necessary. I enjoyed the meal, but just wanted the kitchen to know to watch for frozen fish.

Bill was about $100 and while Tsunami was good, I don't think it will replace my favorite of Sushi Yama.
This post was edited on 12/7/16 at 9:46 am
Posted by AbitaFan08
Boston, MA
Member since Apr 2008
26584 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 9:01 am to
I think the view and location gives Tsunami more accolades than it deserves. The food isn't bad, but it's nothing to write home about either. I will say, I agree with you that the customer service is great.

As you said, Sushi Yama is far superior in terms of quality of food, but the fact that it's in a random shopping center vs. the top floor of a building downtown gives it less curb appeal.
Posted by J Murdah
Member since Jun 2008
39784 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 9:04 am to
Best part about Tsunami is the view. It is a shame downtown BR does not have more rooftop bars/restaurants with outdoor areas.
Posted by gmrkr5
NC
Member since Jul 2009
14892 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 9:09 am to
The quality of the food at Tsunami was MUCH better under the original ownership
Posted by LSUZombie
A Cemetery Near You
Member since Apr 2008
28905 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 9:17 am to
quote:

The quality of the food at Tsunami was MUCH better under the original ownership


From what I had, I found the quality to be good. The sashimi was delicious and tasted fresh.
Posted by LSUZombie
A Cemetery Near You
Member since Apr 2008
28905 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 9:17 am to
quote:

Best part about Tsunami is the view.


It does have a great view, but as I told my GF, the view is one of the last things I think of when deciding where to eat
Posted by Degas
2187645493 posts
Member since Jul 2010
11398 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 9:29 am to
quote:

I informed the waitress that the yellowtail was frozen in the center and she made to sure to tell the manager
At least you got somewhere with letting them know about a problem.

Along with other food on my only visit, I ordered hirame nigiri (flounder) which was rancid and inedible. I had to spit out one of the two pieces. I let my waitress know that the hirame was bad and to please let the chef know. I was seated at a table next to the sushi bar, so I know for a fact that she never mentioned anything to the chef, she took away the entire portion, and it was still on my bill. My lone experience there was being served bad sushi (I still have the memory of the taste) and a staff that didn't care. Nice view though.
Posted by timbo
Red Stick, La.
Member since Dec 2011
7322 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:35 am to
I haven't been there in ages. I always thought the food was OK, but the prices were too high.
My wife went there a few years ago for a friend's bachelorette party. The server spilled a drink she ordered down the back of her dress and said "Whoops." Didn't give her the drink for free, didn't offer to pay to get her dress cleaned.
Posted by Mo Jeaux
Member since Aug 2008
58797 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:38 am to
quote:

rancid and inedible


So this supposedly good (or at least decent) restaurant has served both rancid fish and some fish that was still partially frozen?

I'm not sure if it would be high on my list next time I'm in town.
Posted by LSUZombie
A Cemetery Near You
Member since Apr 2008
28905 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:55 am to
quote:

some fish that was still partially frozen


The response by the waitress and manager made up for it, so kudos to them
Posted by tigers1956
baton rouge
Member since Oct 2008
4783 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:49 am to
I agree...
Downtown needs to be more progressive in its thinking...a pat O brien type bar would do well but it will never happen
Posted by BugAC
St. George
Member since Oct 2007
52805 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:49 am to
Sushi yama is hands down the best sushi in BR. Tsunami you are paying for the view. I find their rolls to be very unimaginative and nearly all of them has fried something or other in them.
This post was edited on 12/7/16 at 11:51 am
Posted by Carson123987
Middle Court at the Rec
Member since Jul 2011
66436 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 12:02 pm to
quote:

Sushi Yama.


the owner, wei wang, used to buy a lot of guns from me at my last job he's a boss and a killer sushi chef
Posted by MorbidTheClown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2015
66003 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 12:31 pm to
went there once. got a steak that was excellent. just have not been back in the area to go again.
Posted by bdevill
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Mar 2008
11807 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 1:54 pm to
quote:

It is a shame downtown BR does not have more rooftop bars/restaurants with outdoor areas.


Tsunami was Leah Simon's brain child. She moved back to Louisiana, after working in the record industry in New York and Los Angeles and being exposed to the hippest places.. The interior was designed to reflect a modern Hollywood vibe.

Until the time she owned it, she was in the restaurant, working and training staff and entertaining customers.

I loved it when Leah was there, but it's not the same now that she's gone.
Posted by nicholastiger
Member since Jan 2004
42660 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 3:07 pm to
The whole vibe and views of city is the only thing helping that place.
The food has done nothing to make me want to go back and it is way overpriced.
Plenty of other options for that type of food with much better food and cheaper prices.
Posted by JScoop8
Member since Oct 2014
1035 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 3:59 pm to
I've never had an issue with the food, other than it seems a little expensive, but I had a horrible experience with their customer service side. We had reservations at sunset (on purpose) bc my wife had her mom and sister and town and wanted them to see the view. We get there about 10-15 mins before our reservation. We waited around for a while at the bar and when our reservation time came, they said our table wasn't ready yet and we ended up waiting an hour to get seated. When they did seat us, they put us at table that could barely fit 4 people (we had 5). The mother complained about waiting an hour past our reservation and then being crammed into a smaller table, but she did not get an apology or anything. Just a smug response that they have fit 5 people at the table before. That was a few years ago though. Surely whoever was in charge that night isn't still there.
Posted by Loungefly85
Lafayette
Member since Jul 2016
7930 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 4:50 pm to
quote:

Best part about Tsunami is the view. It is a shame downtown BR does not have more rooftop bars/restaurants with outdoor areas.


I believe someone is about to open one on top of the Commerce Building soon.
Posted by I am GLORIOUS
On Tanden's Pond
Member since Oct 2016
3128 posts
Posted on 12/7/16 at 5:15 pm to
Cool place for a date, but not really a place I go when I want the best fish. Umami and Sushi Yama are my go-tos for that.
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