Zen Sushi Bar & Japanese Restaurant

Not recommended.
I went to Zen Sushi today, it is Wednesday 9.12.15 with my friend.
When I walked in the restaurant seemed to be really specious and well looking. I really liked the interior. Chairs were comfortable to sit on but what wasn’t nice was the temperature in the restaurant, it was too warm for me. We sat on the first floor so we had a good view onto the restaurant.
Everything was going well until we ordered and had to wait around 40 minutes to get our sushi! Even though the restaurant wasn’t packed, there were only few couples in there.
When we finally got the sushi I was happy not only because I finally received my food but also because it was good looking. I took some pictures of food as always and started degustation.
Nigiri were warm! It tasted awful. The taste of fish was muffled by too much wasabi between the fish and rice. Ingredients in futomaki didn’t fit together, it was Philadelphia cheese, tuna (meant to be spicy), cucumber and cabbage (?). The taste of it was absolutely not dedicated for me nor to my friend. In our opinion it was just as bad as that warm nigiri. Hosomaki was okay, although it only had cucumber in it so there was nothing special about it, because just rice, wasn’t any kind of superior.
Waitress haven’t come once to ask if we are enjoying the meal, so after tasting every kind of sushi on our plates (not finishing it) I decided to inform the waitress that it wasn’t good. The one that I informed called another, and that one another one, and finally when I got pissed I just decided to pay the bill and leave the restaurant. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to pay (like one presumed), because I know fish costs, but to be honest they could deal with me a bit faster.
In Japan it wouldn’t have ever happened, sushi master should try what he has made and state their opinion and if it wasn’t tasty he would have apologized. Same goes for any foreign restaurant abroad, especially when they are that pricey (without currency conversion).
Finally I have to say that the entire experience was just awful. And I have to point out that the waitress had the audacity to tell me I was wrong and that «sushi tastes differently in every restaurant», yeah I can agree but mostly it tastes good, and I have been to a lot of places, in Poland and abroad. In my opinion it is the worst Japanese restaurant in Kraków I’ve been to so far, with the worst value for money.
In the very end they offered us desserts as an apology, but we refused to take them and just walked out.

I came here with a couple friends on a Saturday evening. Place was nearly empty. We sat down at the bar and started eyeing the sushi boats. Only two had plates on them. Neither looked very appetizing. Indeed, shortly afterward the sushi chef took them away, explaining that they weren’t fresh anymore. We were told to order from the menu instead. Sad faces.

This is the best sushi place I have ever been to. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is outstanding! :) I also ordered food out several times and it was promptly delivered and same taste as in the restaurant.

Absolutely amazing!!! My family and I have been traveling the world for several years now, and never before had we tried such amazing sushi. The service was incredible (our server was Martyna and she was lovely), and the décor was beautiful! The New Style Sashimi was to die for! A wonderful place to go for special occasions or to simply enjoy a great Japanese restaurant!

I’ve been to Krakow several times and tried sushi in a number of places; similarly in Warsaw. Zen really sets a very high standard. The sushi chefs are exceptionally considerate in their preparations and I’ve yet to encounter fish here that wasn’t fresh which is not at all the case on several other places I’ve tried in the area.
At the end of the day I eat sushi more often than anything else and I travel extensively. Zen is easily on part or above most top end sushi place in terms of prep and clearly at the top of the list in Poland regarding ingredients… this isn’t the fish market on Tokyo (where I ate last week) but for Europe it’s great.
Also be sure to check out their little Japanese runs upstairs. I didn’t even realize they were there until yesterday. Wow… I just some people to do some private dining with… anyway enjoy this place. I will continue to.

Excellent food, excellent staff, excellent lemon-​basil sorbet! I suggest skipping tea and going straight for wine because they’re the same price (a bit expensive for tea, but their sushi is quite reasonable). Everything is incredibly fresh and the men behind the bar are artists. If you sit at the bar, just tell them what fish you like and they’ll make something delicious! Best of all– they can do GLUTEN FREE! You need to sit at the bar to make sure your sushi chef can talk to you and ask about ingredients you can’t have. Quick tip: bring your own tamari! They won’t have any. Beyond that, just avoid the japanese mayo, any of their sauces, and the marinated eggplant. Most everything else is totally gluten free naturally :) I can’t wait to be back!