Sundays’re calling sushi during summer time, so last Sunday, after a small walk in town and a drink at Go Ten, with a couple of friends we decided to book a table at Ginko Sushi in Strassen. We called the restaurant and, as the weather was really nice, we requested for a table on the terrace. The lady on the phone was very nice as she told us that the terrace at Ginko is directly on the street but they have a better terrace in the restaurant just next door – Le Zai – and she would have booked for us there.
Indeed Le Zai and Ginko are in the same parking lot and shared the same owner. As atmosphere, I have to say Le Zai looks definitely better but you can order Ginko menu as well there.
The terrace was lovely – with all these red lamps around – but the interior design was also impressive. We received all the menus – the one from Le Zai, the one for Ginko as well as the seasonal menu – and ordered a first round of drinks – Asahi beers and Diet Coke.
The decision concerning food takes quite long time, but we managed to get to a conclusion. All of us ordered three type of rolls (I had rolls with foie gras, rolls with lobster and dragon fruit and rolls with sea bass and avocado) and I ordered as well a miso soup (yes, soups are addictive for me, more or less like chips).
Our order was anticipated by a small starter of the house – two nems veggie rolls.
To conclude the dinner, M. ordered a sake while K. and I went for Chinese tea.
Pictures – Impressions are next.
What I liked about Ginko Sushi / Le Zai:
- The atmosphere is lovely – the terrace is very nice as well as the interior design, perfect for a girls night out, family dinner, romantic date, even a business meeting. Details and decorations are just perfectly in place without being cheesy.
- Service is great – but not formal: even if we took some time to order, the lady waited patiently for us. She was really available to reply to our questions and to explain dishes.
- The figs / foie gras rolls were to die for and the lobster rolls were pretty good, would ordered both again. I also like the fact we had several “freebies”, like the tasty rolls at the beginning and the fried vegetables to accompany the sushi – bit melted but still good.
- Price is fair: we did not drink much (only M. had beers, while me and K during the dinner had water and coke and tea) but still, having sushi, we spent “only” 34 eur each, not much in terms of Luxembourg standards.
What I liked a bit less about Ginko / Le Zai:
- There is too much choice on the sushi menu for me. While this might be a nice thing for some, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed in terms of decision, above all as the mixed platter were very simple while out of the composed menus you have much more choice. Again, points of view.
- I also did not like much my sea bass / avocado roll: the lady came saying they did not have more sea bass, so she proposed to change it with tuna (actually mine was half tuna and half salmon) and I did not think it was a good choice. Also M. pointed out he did not enjoy at all his California sushi as the tempura was icy cold – so feedbacks on the food were quite mixed.
In conclusion: the location and the service at Ginko / Le Zai are really nice and the final bill came out fair. The sushi menu is very extensive – too much for my taste – but still pretty good. Looking forward to come back and try as well the Chinese alternative.