Reviews Zaibatsu

I have been here just one time last week with a friend and I can definitely recommend this place to others. Though the place is not so great but food is awesome at very affordable prices. I love the tempura and noodles. Salt and pepper squid was amazing and so was the sushi. I loved this place and I am definitely returning.

I have been here a few times with my wife and I love this small place for its great quality of Asian fusion food. Service is really good and professional. I love their salads, especially the sashimi salad, it’s just amazing. Must try this place and you won’t be disappointed.

Zaibatsu is located in Greenwich, but away from the main tourist attractions, so it doesn't get overcrowded by the many tourists that visit Greenwich. It gets very busy with locals and has received some great press and reviews. As I only live a five minute walk away and having eaten here a few times, I thought it was time to post my thoughts on this local sushi eatery.

The menu is vast and there are many options to choose from; appetisers, such as gyozas to chicken satay, to salads, tempura, noodles, soups, rice dishes, sashimi and sushi.

We started off as usual with some edamame beans, which are always good, chicken satay and barbecue spare ribs. The ribs are very good here and are coated in plenty of the sticky sauce that we all know and love. The chicken on the satay isn't too dry and the sauce, which is sweet and spicy, has a good amount of peanut flavour too.

The yaki udon noodles are a huge portion and are combined with prawn, squid, crab stick, carrot and more. I've had better noodles before, but I've also had worse. The Chicken gyozas were lovely and crispy outside with a good amount of filling and very flavoursome. Black cod tempura was a dish I was looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, I think there was too much tempura making it very dry, but once you got to the delicate piece of fish, it was delicious. The special fried rice which has the same ingredients as the noodles in it was very tasty and the rice was cooked perfectly.

Where this place stands out is with its sushi rolls, in particular the chef’s recommendations of their inside out rolls. We opted for some standard salmon rolls which were lovely, and two options from the chef’s recommendations; volcano roll and gilded lily roll. The volcano roll with crab meat, avocado, cucumber and topped with a creamy sauce, tobiko and dried shredded chilli, has been named appropriately and looks just like a miniature volcano erupting it’s flowing lava. The gilded lily roll with prawn tempura topped with wasabi tobiko and gold leaf was the star of the show, looking like royalty and was the best sushi roll I've ever eaten!

The team are very friendly and the service is great, with dishes coming out the kitchen very quickly. Some may think the place may not be too much to look at, but they certainly make up for it with the food. The very small room may need a little refurbishment, as it currently looks a bit like a café, but I kind of like it and it doesn't deter people from eating here. It is also BYO alcohol, so that is an added bonus as you can spend more money on scoffing good sushi and less on nipping to the shop next door to purchase cheap drinks! If you happen to be in the local of area of Greenwich this is a place that shouldn't be missed.

As something of a local favourite of mine, I can see how easy it would be to fall into the biased category and sing only the praises of this really offbeat and low key sushi restaurant on a street you wouldn't assume to have any foodie gems in Greenwich. But I'll try and be as honest and constructive with my feedback as possible because I've had mixed experiences in here in the at least half a dozen times I've been.

I'll start by saying that I think it became a victim of its own success. For a long while now, it was known amongst us locals as a bit of a hidden gem for great sushi and Japanese food at really affordable prices. And that generated some great reviews, it developed a Trip Advisor presence and before you know it, the hidden gem became frequented by tourists from all over the world visiting Greenwich who had read about it on Trip Advisor. Of course, there is nothing wrong with it but as expectations became increasingly raised based on reviews, it became difficult for this very small establishment run by a very small team and one main chef to uphold standards that were suddenly being judged by an enormous international community of foodies and travellers not just the locals in need of some great food.

For me, the key thing here is that in and amongst all the mixed opinions, in my mind and based on my personal tastes, the flavours have hardly ever disappointed. In particular, I find the range of sushi rolls are delicious whether you are opting for the Norwegian salmon roll, the volcano rolls, the crabmeat or prawn tempura rolls and even a type of sushi roll with gold leaf, I find them all fresh and refreshing.

Many of the hot appetisers are also delicious - on our many visits, we have tried chicken gyoza, Katafai prawns, black cod tempura, vegetable tempura, an absolutely divine bowl of lightly battered tofu dipped in a wholly flavoursome satay sauce. Our particular favourite dishes include the buttermilk prawns and we recently tried their new salt and pepper battered prawns, which did not disappoint either.

I can never get past the starters and small plates here as there are plenty to choose from so I never waste precious stomach space on a large plate of main course. But I have taken both friends and family in the past, who have tried various noodle dishes including Shojin noodles and I was pleasantly surprised by these as well - the portions are huge but they are a little greasy and although they have a lot of flavour, my tip would be make the most of the range of hot and cold appetisers and sushi as this is where they really excel.

Dessert choices are rather limited - a few Asian inspired choices of icecream including green tea and black sesame and a conventional chocolate pudding but you always get served a few slices of fresh orange at the end of the meal and on our first visit, they were kind enough to give us a complimentary green tea tiramisu.

So what is there to complain about I hear you say? Truth be told, like it or not, the interior is a problem - it is very cramped, in the winters, if you are seated near the door, you feel a constant draught and I have on several occasions, dined still wearing my coat for that reason. There is one table seated out in a corridor at the back, next to a stash of toilet roll packets and canned drinks and the bathrooms - I can see they are trying to squeeze in as many tables as possible but having been seated there for the first time earlier this week, I must say that this is far from ideal.

It's cash only and bring your own booze so keep this in mind if visiting. But mainly the problem is the slightly disorgansied chaos that can occur with booking. If you are going at lunch time or on a weekday evening, then you are unlikely to have any big problems booking ahead and we never had done. But on a Friday or Saturday night, even with a booking, we were left waiting for half an hour whilst other people with later reservations came in after us and got seated before us. The argument the restaurant gave was that they had earmarked a particular table for us and those diners weren't leaving but regardless of, this is clearly poor management and was very inefficient. It was particularly frustrating as we are such loyal customers but they tried to make amends by offering us a small discount off the total bill.

We love the food and it will remain one of our favourites because of the quality of the food but we have been put off by the organisational issues and have started to wonder whether to just order take away in future. If you come with realistic the realistic expectations that as far as a small local, out of town underground Japanese restaurant, this is excellent and beyond what most would expect. But if you read some of the early trip advisor reviews suggesting that it is the best sushi in London or make a trip from miles away to try it because of the reviews, then you may end up leaving disappointed - it is fantastic for the area it is in but the expectations of many diners have been raised by the early rave reviews.

If you don't live in or around Greenwich, it's unlikely that you'll have heard about Zaibatsu - but it's fast rising up the charts. Currently ranked pretty high up of all the restaurants in London on Trip Advisor, we've heard rave reviews and as we find ourselves in the area one day, we pop in to see what the fuss is all about.

Zaibatsu is about a 10-15 minute walk from the attractions in Greenwich, so a bit tucked away from the crowds. The inside is basic and functional - cash only, cafe style tables and chairs inside a teeny tiny restaurant. Reservations are recommended in the evenings and even on a cold Sunday afternoon, there are reserved signs on a few tables.

The volcano roll has been recommended to us and when it arrives, it's easy to see why there are so many positive comments about the presentation of the food. I don't know what the orange shavings are on top, they are pretty, but not adding much to the overall taste.

We order the prawn special - prawns marinated in buttermilk and oats and while the very thought of milky prawns are a bit odd, they are absolutely divine. I could have eaten about three of these portions.

Husband was after something hot and ordered the schezuan squid and this is where things fell down slightly. The batter covering the squid was soggy and the sauce didn't resemble anything schezuan-like in the slightest.

A pleasant surprise came out to finish the meal - green tea tiramisu! I'm not a big fan of the green tea flavour in general, but the tiramisu is a nice touch to end our first visit.

This is a great option for a cheap n cheerful meal. We'll just be avoiding the hot food and sticking to the sushi rolls.

Really enjoyed it here. Been planning to go for a while but didn't get round to it. Now that I've finally been it really didn't disappoint. I loved the food here. Cant really say anything negative tbh the reviews reflect reality. It's quite intimate so make sure to book a table during busy times.

We were able to get seated without a booking, but had limited time to eat, thankfully our food was served very quickly, and it was fantastic.. would highly recommend this place...great prices great food.. no pompous attitude. They let the food do the talking.

as always the food was great and nicely presented. it's a small establishment off from the main restaurant area in Greenwich. prices very reasonable.

Very good value for money, great and quick service, delicious food.

We just had a great dinner. The sushi at this establishment is an absolute triumph, truly an ode to the art of Japanese cuisine. Each roll is a beautifully crafted symphony of flavors, delivering a punch of freshness in every bite. The fish is impeccably fresh, rice perfectly seasoned, and the balance of textures is superb. However, one element that slightly distracts from the overall experience is the use of plastic decorations. I would suggest a switch to vegetable decorations instead. This simple yet effective change would not only elevate the visual appeal of the dishes, but also align more harmoniously with the ethos of sushi as a cuisine defined by its connection to nature. In conclusion, an outstanding sushi experience with a small room for improvement in the presentation department.