Kulu Kulu Sushi (Brewer St)

KULU KULU IS THE BEST I LOVE HAND ROLL
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ALVARO - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Following my last visit I have sighed, tightened my coat against the wind, and vowed not to return here. This, along with it's twin in Shelton St, used to be a hidden highlight of London eating-- nip in, grab a seat, pick some sushi-- a little if you just fancied a snack, more if you couldn't resist the temptation, with the only worry being your own gluttony. The quality was never amazing, but the cheap prices tended to soothe any ruffled culinary feathers.

Alas, over the last year I have watched it steadily decline in the following ways:

- -Sushi quality has fallen. Nigiri that looks as if it's been rolled by a child, falling apart if disturbed in any way. Cuts of fish that recall the Simpson's line " IT LOOKS AS IF IT'S BEEN HACKED TO DEATH BY A BLIND WOODSMAN"

- - Hot food, be it kara-age chicken, gyoza dumplings, rarely appears on the belt and if ordered specially, takes a short eternity to arrive-- some "reminding" is necessary if you want your grandchildren to see it. Gyoza, if available, is usually good, although kara-age chicken looks like a bubble-fried KFC reject

- - Prices have risen recently, sneaked in for January (same as the train companies do), but this wouldn't be quite as bad if Kulu hadn't changed up on their pricing scheme-- dishes that used to be cheap now fall in higher tariffs, even though they haven't changed!! Only squid is cheap now, and NO-ONE eats squid!!

-- Clearly trying to coerce customers into spending more, they now employ a tactic of only putting high-end dishes onto the belt, hoping that gradual hunger or social awkwardness will make you spend more than you wanted and eat what you didn't necessarily want (it used to be a more reasonable selection). It's a disappointingly cynical and obvious ploy.

--Service is usually friendly, for the three seconds it exists; prepare to be quietly annoyed by the lack of staff available to take orders for hot food, drinks etc. I have seen others comment on the non-Japaneseness of the staff, for me this is not a problem in the least; as long as they can roll a decent maki, I'd be happy to be served by a chimp.

-- There's no 'optimum' time for turning up: peak times will see the seating around the belt quickly filled up, with those 'downstream' never seeing a morsel arrive (bar the unidentifiable), while arriving at quieter times will see no food on offer-- I once turned up at 6pm exactly, only to be told that although there were five of us in there, there were not enough to justify making any food(!)

So all in all, a once cheeky and delightful little experience has morphed, over a year or two, into a dragged-out period of disappointment bordering on insult.

Kulu Kulu, where are you?
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Baron von Munch-Hausen
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Thursday, January 12, 2012

In life, you usually get what you pay for and at Kulu Kulu, you don't pay much. I have just been there for lunch and paid £11 per head!

The food's not comparable with a typical Japanese restaurant, but the cost is a small fraction (try going to Zuma!). This is not Japan and the staff at somewhere this cheap aren't going to be Japanese, so there's no point bleating about the food not being up to Tokyo standards.

I just took my daughters there as an introduction to Japanese food and it worked well. If you don't like raw fish, there's plenty of cooked food on offer.

The atmosphere may not be that exciting, but it feels very much like the equivalent in Tokyo.
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R - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 08, 2011

I just went to have dinner here tonight and I cannot believe anyone would bother rating this place at all. I've lived in 7 different countries already and have eaten sushi at countless places. Of course the sushi in Japan is number 1 in the world but the food at this place does not qualify as sushi. Don't be ridiculous. The people who rate this place higher than 2-3 stars don't know anything about sushi. If you had real sushi before and know what you are talking about then you would not rate this place higher than 3 stars.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, February 14, 2011

In my opinion some of the best sushi London has to offer. May not have the most attentive service, or the atmosphere of say Zuma (or even Itsu for that matter), but freshness and price are tough to match!
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Mike
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, February 02, 2011

I went to the one in Soho. They don't cover their sushi on the conveyor belt so its open for everyone to cough and breathe on which is not hygienic at all which is enough for me not to eat there again. Secondly the service is very poor. I was shown a seat but I wasn't given a menu or asked if I would like a drink. There was no soy sauce or wasabi where I was sitting and they didn't clean up after the previous customer in the area where I was sitting. The fish isn't fresh at all either, it had dried up and was hard round the edges. Their salmon is very fatty so it's clearly not very good quality. So, much room for improvement!
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Oliver
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Saturday, January 29, 2011

Absolutely brilliant!! Used to go to Kulu Kulu regularly when I worked up in town. Hadn't been for 6 years and was worried when I read the previous reviews but my wife pleaded with me to go. The food was delicious, the temaki hand rolls with the tempura prawn and avocado and salmon was divine as were the Californian rolls. The fried aubergine in soya bean paste were delicious too. I can only think the other reviewers are either regulars who don't want to share or competitors who are trying to besmirch Kulu Kulu's name. I have recently been to Nobu and would rather go to Kulu!!
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Damian
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, November 20, 2010

My partner and I decided to try this restaurant as we've tried many others in London and wanted a change. My partner got sushi and I got some chashu ramen. The sushi didn't seem very fresh, especially the tuna which had a brownish colour rather than red. The Ramen wasn't great and I believe I could make a better one at home. The soup was thin, the ramen clotted together in some parts, and most importantly the pork (chashu) was tough and inedible... Very disappointed - will definitely stick to the restaurants I know..)
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Eric
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Monday, August 23, 2010