Inamo

I was left greatly disappointed at my last visit. I booked a table over the week for 10 people and I received various forms to fill in in order to confirm the booking and also informing me of a £8 per person booking fee and a few other cancellation policies. What they failed to mention is that they do NOT actually have a table for 10 people hence our party was shown 3 different tables to sit on. When we asked why would they book 10 people when they can not be accommodated in the same table, their staff's response was that 'we should have been told' and that ' their biggest table could only sit 6'. Now, that's helpful! They had every opportunity of telling me this either by email or over the phone. We also found that half the cocktail's list was off menu and we were told that we had 30 minutes to order before the kitchen closed. I would have never chosen Inamo should I've known that I would have to sit away from my guests or advice them to order quickly upon arrival. I suspect the staff are putting their greedy 12.5% tip prospect before their customer's comfort.
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Maria
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, November 04, 2010

BEEF drowning in a pool of grease ....................................

Better was chicken wrapped in shiso leaves, a delightful interpretation of Vietnamese bo la lot (grilled beef in 'betel leaves'), served with plenty of mint, coriander and lettuce and a side of chilli sauce.

Mains, however, suffered from inflated prices and miniature portions. The hot stone rib eye was laughable - a munchkin-sized sponge of beef atop a soap-sized 'hot' plate that didn't actually manage to 'cook the beef to [our] liking' - fortunately, we do like our steak still mooing, and the kitchen has since admitted to the stone not working as well as they'd hoped.

Marinated quail (singular) was finger-licking good, though poorly matched with plum wine-poached nashi pear that managed to emulate the sickly taste of cotton candy.

An evening that had started on a high note with amusement and accomplished starters ended up leaving us unsated and unsatisfied, pining for some more substantial grub in a nearby Soho greasy spoon
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gary
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Saturday, June 26, 2010

I went here with a few friends for the novelty factor. It's interesting but it wears off pretty quickly and essentially it's just a distraction from actually speaking to whoever you went with and cuts down on interaction with the staff, which is a bad thing in my book.

I ordered Kakiage but got tempura. I didn't say anything as i was in company and didn't want to ruin the evening with a quibble but i emailed the restaurant afterwards and got no reply.

I see on their online menu it says: Kakiage - vegetarian mixed tempura. I was served vegetarian mixed tempura, Kakiage is different - where the vegetables are combined first, maybe the restaurant don't know this.

Good enough experience but I won't be returning.
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5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Saturday, May 08, 2010

What I remember most about eating at inamo were the flavours of the food, the warmth of the staff and the innovative table-tops (on which you can order your food through infra-red detection of your finger movements!). It was memerable for me and my guest, and it was my second time too, she enjoying it as much as I. The food especially was rich and interesting. I had the jungle curry, and the number of ingredients i could taste individually made it a culinary experience! And the table cycling through its various images, now a cold snowy wood, and then a woodland leaf full with water droplets, make dining relaxing and silences pleasurable. When you have nothing to say and are looking down you feel relaxed again and informal. Tasty and certainly atmospheric. I will come again!
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Thomas Galpin
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Inamo is a truly original restaurant. The interactive tables are fantastic fun, the food tasty and the staff friendly as well as knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend a visit for a totally new dining experience.
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Caroline
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 13, 2010

We took our two small boys for Sunday lunch here and had a lovely experience. The staff were warm, enthusiastic and attentive and really lovely with the boys: even when they started ordering not wanted cocktails for themselves via the interactive tables. The food was fantastic and speedy: the sashimi platter and oysters were top quality and the kids tucked into the duck pancakes and ribs with gusto.

Even though the concept of the interactive tables puts the ordering firmly in your hands, when I wanted to know which wine would be best suited with sashimi the waiter brought a sample of each recommended to try prior to ordering and was very well informed.

I tried to book for valentines for a more adult evening experience and found out they were booked out the whole weekend...Will definitely be prebooking to try those cocktails next time.
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CJ
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, February 12, 2010

Another highly enjoyable visit to Inamo. The food is always excellent and a game of battleships on the table never fails to amuse. The waiting staff were, as ever, very polite and friendly, and took time to explain each dish as they served it.

For London, this restaurant is very good value for top quality food.
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Christopher Hunwick
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Awful. I never believed in the phrase that 'some people really have no idea' - but seriously; I question anyone who would go back and pay that sort of money for that level of food and ambience.

Ambience = gloomy, cluttered.

Gimmick= interactive tables? Overrated, you push buttons to order and can change the color of their digital lighting. Brilliant..

Staff= Why would a waiter pose and be a snob? Ask them, because I couldn't tell you.

Food= ok - good. Quite tasty, but pathetic portions and extortionately priced.

This place screams 'out of towners with no clue'...if you would like to go and play with the 'interactive tables'...by all means...knock yourself out...but once the gimmick is over, you will be profoundly disapointed. Really...what is this place FOR? I was mortified that people really seem to bother. We were sat next to a family with young children - plenty of fun for them; but that really is the sparce and fleeting silver lining in this, soho's opaque black cloud.

Hint: Ping Pong is just around the corner. Equally tasty food, sensible prices, well spaced out and friendly staff.

Inamo really does not live up to the hype and is not even worthy of sitting in the shadows of the Nobus and Hakkasans.
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Ian
2 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, January 23, 2010

The first thing that springs to mind after visiting Inamo is: “Why try to re-invent the wheel?”

Why is it necessary for a restaurant to dream up a new way of taking food orders from customers when the old-fashioned method worked perfectly well? If the rationale behind the system is to cut costs, then something has gone badly awry. Prices are far from cheap at Inamo.

If I want to place an order using some new-fangled IT system, then I may just as well stay at home and fire up my PC. What’s more, if I want to play interactive electronic games while I wait for my food to arrive, then I have a perfectly good PS3 to amuse me at home, too. And why on Earth would I want to want to watch my food being prepared on a poor-resolution webcam?

If I have to say something positive about Inamo, it is that I am positive I will not be going back.
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Dragon - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, December 31, 2009

What a disappointment. We headed there on saturday night excited about trying out this modern restaurant. The concept is brilliant and the tables do keep you entertained, however we suffered a catalogue of errors. Firstly, we had to wait 50 minutes to be seated, ironic in a restaurant named Inamo, and were sent to the bar downstairs which was so small we couldn't all stand in it. Then when we were finally seated, a few of our orders were wrong, and the waitress huffed and tutted at us when we pointed this out. We certainly will not be going anywhere near this place again!
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Helena Heath
4 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, December 08, 2009