01/12/08

Extremely Poor Service

by ekroche

We went to Shinsei Friday night for my girlfriend's birthday. We had an early reservation, and when I made the reservation a week prior, I had special circumstances for the birthday celebration that the hostess said they would be more than happy to accomodate. Not only did they forget the special arrangements, but we sat for 15 minutes before our drink order was taken, and another 15 before our appetizer order was taken. They forgot to bring the appetizer, and the server could not even keep our wine glasses filled. Bus boys repeatedly tried to take our plates as we were obviously still eating. Our table was consistently rocked and chairs bumped by servers and guests because there are two many tables for such a small space. The sushi was average and the food was okay, but unenjoyable due to the poor service. Upon leaving I mentioned to the hostess that they had forgotten the birthday and she checked the computer, confirming it was actually on the reservation, and then offered to perform the birthday ritual as we were walking out the door!!! Unbelieveable, we won't be back... The owners should keep the kitchen, fire the entire front of the house, and move to a bigger space.

• Pros: Well Prepared Entrees
• Cons: Worst Service in Dallas

03/13/09

Great ambient

by Nancy0000

Rolls were very good and fresh. I tried severals, but the one that I liked the most was the "Pressed Sushi" (spicy tuna, bid eye tuna, salmon and avocado).

Attention and design are great

• Pros: Example: best croissants in town
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

02/13/09

Good but not good enough

by AaronHorton

My husband and I are very loyal to a certain sushi restaurant in town. Over ten years and at least 100 dining experiences, and it has not failed us. However, on a recent Thursday night, we decided to branch out and try Shinsei. I've heard that the starpower (Owners are celeb chef wives of Kent Rathburn & Dean Fearing) doesn't overshadow the focus on food. On our visit, this much was true. The food was creative and very fresh, and the wine list offers good pairings. Unfortunately, that is where it stops. The service was neglectful and obligatory. Also, the chairs at the sushi bar aren't the right hight. They are too low, making you feel as if you're eating at the kids' table at Thanksgiving. Add to that the hide-n-seek service, and the analogy is complete. The "big people table" has all the condiments and tea refills while the kids' table settles for mismatched chairs and no butter knife. We decided against dessert since the sushi chefs and servers were so focused on getting their sidework done (C'mon HP and PH folks, not even you go to bed at 9p on a Thursday). Plus- in my opinion, cleaning rags and sushi rolls just don't mix. A good restaurant has fantastic food, but also the gift of hospitality. Shinsei, you should learn a lesson from Teppo and Tei Tei. Certainly "Chef Elvis" should have learned hospitality at his former stomping grounds. Won't be back- there are just too many good sushi restaurants who have earned my loyalty.

• Pros: creative sashimi, good wine list by the glass
• Cons: service, sushi bar chairs, ambience

02/05/09

Love this place!

by froco

When this place first opened the wait was long and I think they were still trying to work out the problems. I love this place and I am a "baby" sushi eater...my sushi consists of cooked pieces...but I have tried some of the rolls that my husband gets and I LOVE it. They have expanded their restaurant and wait isnt bad if you go early. I have never had a bad waiter always have great food. I did have a party there once and they do make you order from a pre set menu and I did not like that..i dont like not having your own meal. The food was still good you just had to share...

• Pros: Great Food and atmosphere. Must get the volcano roll
• Cons: I never leave here without spending a lot of money

06/18/08

horrible service

by scarletmars

I was a big Top Chef fan and my sister loved the chef at Shinsei, Casey. I decided to go there for my birthday and emailed the owner for reservations. She never replied. When I called, she said she thought the co-owner had called me. She recommended to have a set menu since it was a large party (12). She was supposed to email me the menu but it never came even with further request for it. As luck would have it, the reunion show for Top Chef was airing that nite. My husband asked if Casey was in and if she could come out to say hi since it was my birthday and were big fans. He said she was too busy. The waiter was also very snobby. When two friends had come late and asked what were the specials, he said "oh it's not like i haven't said this a million times tonite" Then when Casey won "fan favorite" on the show, she surprisingly wasn't too busy to come out and get congratulations from the staff. the kitchen was right next to us so she actually passed our table. the waiter then came up to me and said "oh there she is" didn't even offer to ask her to come over. I was very disappointed in the service especially from the owners whose husbands own excellent restaurants in dallas. one of the owners walked passed us early on and just glanced at us and never said a word. Food was ok, but bad service always ruins a meal. Last thing, on the menu they state they add 18% to parties 6 or more but on our bill it was 20%.

• Pros: nice decor
• Cons: bad bad service, snobby staff

06/12/08

Go early, it gets crowded quickly!

by pelliott99

What a treat! This place is filled with the beautiful people, with absolutely no snobbery from the

owners, managers, or staff! Cool bar upstairs, scrumptious sushi at the sushi bar, and a saketini

that will knock your socks off. We will be back!

• Pros: Great people watching, friendly service, and delicious sushi
• Cons: Sake is pricey compared to other sushi bars we've tried.

02/03/08

Great Atmosphere

by wannabechef69

This place ROCKS! We went this weekend and it was crazy. It was a long wait...but the place was hopping. the upstairs was packed and we had such a great time! By the time we sat down, we were ready to eat. The sushi was fresh and we had Elvis (the sushi chef, you gotta see this guy) make the decisions for us. Perfect evening. Try the sashimi and don't miss the Cod entree. The service was not rushed, but they didn't take their time either...understood when a place is this busy. Check out their chef on the cover of D magazine this month, too. We loved it, but it is a very, very busy place. The chocolate cake was a perfect finish. Ask for Tammy if you can, she worked at this place when it was Yamaguchi. Great Experience!

• Pros: Food, atmosphere and service
• Cons: a little loud, you almost have to valet

01/10/08

Loved, Loved, Loved It!

by burnit1966

This is a great place to have a fun dinner. It is a little loud, but it is also really busy. Loved the Kona Kamachi Special. Try the Miso Cod and the stuffed jalapenos, but they are hot! Very fun, very lively. The sake list is outstanding. We tried it for the first time and I never write reviews, but this was so great. Chef Casey (from Top Chef) was in and came by and visited with us. She was really pleasant and even better looking than on TV. Our ser vice was prompt and we never had to wait on anything. I will go back every week.

• Pros: great atmosphere
• Cons: wish it were closer to my house

11/25/07

HOW VERY DISAPPOINTING!!

by foodsampler

We are guessing that if your husband is a well known chef in Dallas, then you can serve terrible food at VERY UNREASONABLY HIGH PRICES, and get a good review (way ahead of schedule) from the now gone food critics of the Dallas Morning News. What a lousy meal we had. The only thing that was worse than our food, was the choice words that we could hear coming out of some females mouth in the kitchen!! Our friends who paid for our check, probably won't return either. They told us that the place was going steadily downhill, but we had not been in and wanted to try it. They were right. We wont be back there again.

• Pros: Valet car parking.
• Cons: The food, the service, and the prices.

10/29/07

Sadly dissapointed

by lmarker

My husband and I are avid foodies. Our favorite Dallas restaurant is Abacus. I was so excited to try Shinsei, especially after seeing some of the great things Casey had prepared on Top Chef. We had an early 6pm reservation and even though the place was empty the hostess wanted to give us the worst table in the place, a table right by the bar, so that we would be looking at hindquarters all evening. She actually sighed when I asked for another table. Our server was sloppily dressed and basically threw the food on the table. For the price, the food quality was poor. My carmelized salmon was so overcooked it was inedible, which was sad because the sauce that accompanied it was great. The potstickers were so greasy that we sent them back and they took them off the bill. The angel roll was good, but not as good as Blue Fish. We will not be going back, I would rather save up and spend the cash on a great night at Abacus.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Service, food quality