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They call themselves a Japanese Fusion restaurant and five years ago moved into the space that used to be Shogun.
Enter this establishment and you are immediately struck by the lovely ambiance. The lighting is dim and the decor subtle and tasteful. The place is divided into two areas, this row of booths and small tables upon entry,
and another dining area with a few larger tables, a few booths, and the sushi bar.
The menu features Korean dishes, sushi, and Asian Fusion, so there are choices galore. Sometimes this style of restaurant tries to be too many things to too many people but we think it works here overall. And we started with tempura and dumplings.
The shrimp tempura was a little bland but the dumplings (beef gyoza) were great. The sauce enhanced the flavor of these perfectly prepared and not overly fried dumplings. So on to the entrees.
Two of us are huge fans of Udon, those thick, chewy Japanese noodles, so two dishes soon arrived ~ Vegetable Udon and Spicy Seafood Udon.
The mildly flavored broth in the vegetable dish was excellent and the spiciness of the seafood dish broth slowly built up while eating. Both are classic dishes well prepared, and the noodles had the perfect, chewy texture we hoped for.
Chef's Choice Sushi was our third dish, and it was fine although not as fresh or well-cut as that found at Maru.
The soundtrack playing was really interesting and we couldn't quite figure it out. It was completely instrumental and each of us recognized different tunes ranging from "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka, a theme song from Lord of the Rings, a praise chorus worship tune, and a Metallica hit. It was a unique and strange soundtrack for our lunchtime dining :-) But our major complaint was that the overhead light at our booth was disconcertingly bright and not centered over the table so it only bothered the person it shone upon.
Find them on facebook but they haven't posted since November of 2014. And their website at sushikuni.net is halfway functional and doesn't reflect their current menu. In order to read the menu pages that are there, at least three clicks are required to get it to a readable size.
So check them out in person. The atmosphere is great and we'd like to go back to try some of our favorite Korean dishes. And be aware, you have to walk through the Suma wrestler's curtain legs to find the restrooms (and notice the aforementioned blinding booth lights in this photo!).
We first visited this restaurant, located in the City Flats Hotel, last December and were totally taken with the setting, the service, and the food. Today was almost as good.
In contrast to their restaurant CityVu in Holland, CitySen is on the first floor with a street view, obstructed by the window trim. What you see are headless bodies strolling by. In summer, with the windows open, it’s probably much better.
The setting is classy and modern. Two booths are available at the windows (with the aforementioned obstructed views), and high top tables and other tables for four and two lead up to the bar. Other small rounds wrap around beyond the bar. The menu is small, specific, and interesting.
In our earlier visit, we started with shrimp and sausage gumbo, which was good but the shrimp was nowhere to be found being over-powered by the sausage. Today we began with the Veggie Roll (sticky rice, avocado, and spicy kimchee).
Followed by the Spider Roll (tempura soft shall crab, cucumber, spicy mayo in sushi maki roll), we have to conclude that sushi is not their specialty. The rice consistency was mushy and tasted of cream cheese. The seaweed wrap was very, very fishy tasting and overpowered everything in its wake.
The lobster spring rolls were another matter and very worth ordering, as are the risotto cakes (mushroom risotto cakes with ratatouille and parmesan crisp). All was fresh and crisp, with balanced flavors.
Both meat lovers and vegetarians have choices here and for the former, we can recommend the Cubano: black forest ham, crisp pork belly, gruyere, pickles, dijon, mayo, on a hoagie bun. And the tenderloin sliders that consist of three mini beef tenderloin sandwiches with steak butter will melt in your mouth. Add blue cheese if you wish.
Sauteed shrimp with brussels sprout leaves, pork belly and horseradish cream sauce was beautifully created and presented.
All in all, this is a lovely dining experience. The service is consistently excellent with very knowledgeable and polite servers. In the summer, they offer an outdoor patio. It’s not a full dining experience, but if you stay away from the sushi you will enjoy the remaining small plates that are offered. If you’re a hotel guest, this is a wonderful on-site lounge/restaurant during your stay.
http://cityflatshotel.com/grandrapids/bistrobar/citysen/dinner/
Located in a half-alive strip mall at 44th and Breton, the restaurant opens up into a large room that greets you with a sushi bar. The room is lined with booths against two walls and the rest of the place is filled with roughly 20 tables for two or four. At the front and back of the room there are two private dining areas, each of which contains the low, Japanese table-style dining. These rooms require reservations and prohibit shoes.
The booths and the private rooms offer a semblance of privacy but otherwise you’re in an open room dining with everyone else. Because of this, and the tile floor, noise was an issue. (From our booth I could hear voices from the other side of the room.) But all in all, it’s an inviting atmosphere.
Service was prompt but a bit rushed throughout our lunch. However, other posted reviews have indicated the opposite experience. Since there were very few people in the restaurant, we did not expect to be pushed as much as we were.
We started with wasabi sumai. The wasabi flavored steamed pork dumplings came with a house dipping sauce. They were tenderly prepared and quite delicious. Before it arrived, we were served miso soup, which was not as good as what we’ve had elsewhere.
Our first main dish was beef hibachi. Broiled marinated beef came with homemade sauce, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli. It was a very tasty combination of flavors and well prepared.
Next up was the shrimp tempura lunch box. This was a most impressive presentation and a great way to sample more offerings. It arrived with California rolls, vegetable dumplings, chicken katsur, salad, rice, deep fried shrimp, and vegetables. Overall, the lunch box was great. Unfortunately, the shrimp, perhaps the weakest part of the dish, was overshadowed by the California rolls and dumplings.
Lunch and dinner menus are online. The restaurant was clean, the food was fresh, and the staff was friendly and helpful. It’s definitely worth a visit.
www.tokyogrillsushi.com
