Nanakusa

I’ve been waiting to try Nanakusa for the longest time, it just never quite worked out. But tonight we were round the corner at The Mitchell and despite crazy parking, we made it!
We didn’t have to wait for a table and the staff were very attentive. The first thing that will strike you with Nanakusa is the décor/​atmosphere. It feels like you’re sitting in a wood panelled pod inside another, much older building with great cornices. It’s odd. It works. Kind of. If you don’t look to hard? The lighting panels were very funky though with their changing colours, great for mood setting, not so great for photos.
The food was very prompt, maybe a little too prompt.
We shared Yasi Gyoza which actually are some of the best I’ve had. Just the right amount of crispy edges.
But then things started going down hill.
Our main meals came out before the sushi was ready, which was fine. I ordered the Kyatsu chicken curry as per usual, and things looked okay. But as soon as I started eating I found hairs. Not just a single hair. Hairs. Plural. I called a waiter over immediately who beckoned the manager. She apologised profusely and took my dinner away and informed me a fresh one would be prepared. So I sat and watched my boyfriend eat his.
Half way through his meal our sushi came out. I’d ordered the Chicken Maki.
I wasn’t impressed. Presentation, sure that was great, and it tasted… fine, not bad as such just bland. The rice to filling ratio was far too high and didn’t taste of much else other than rice.
My food finally came back out and yes it looked freshly prepared, but actually it was again quite bland. I managed to eat about half and we just left it; very disappointed.
Although when we went to pay the manager advised us immediately that she had taken the meal off our bill which was really kind of her.
Overall I was really pleased with the staff and even the venue, it’s different, but the food was sub-​par.

#100^th Review. Boom.
If you ask my friend what my most commonly craved foods are, they would probably mention Queso Fundido, Poutine (or Bread Meats Bread), Pizza, Risotto and Sushi, donuts. Don’t ask them that.
After having had quite a few conversations about this place, and really not knowing what to expect (other than sushi, obviously) my ballet buddy decided that it is time for her to try to become a «sushi person», so we decided to come here.
Nanakusa is run by the same people as Nippon Kitchen, and so you know that you’re in for some delicious food. That’s exactly what it was too — delicious. And what’s more important than the taste when it comes to sushi — it’s fresh too.
My friend and I ordered Edamame because they are amazing, and they came to us warm just like they should be. We also ordered the following sushi: ebi tempura maki, avocado maki (because basics and yummy! Duh, avocado is the best), cucumber maki, sake maki and kani karaage. Yes, we went a little overboard but the sushi is delicious. It’s fresh and the rolls are massive (especially the deep fried California roll. Yum, by the way). The gyoza were also very tasty and I can recommend them.
Now, when we walked through the door I was pretty surprised, I was not expecting that interior based on the wooden front outside. It’s so quiet inside, and the wall lighting changes often, it has a very urban and hip vibe and as much as I like it, it’s a nightmare to take good pictures of your food (I am a Unilocaler afterall). I loved how all the plates match each other and it makes the table look fantastic.
The food is reasonably priced, the staff is friendly and you can see into the kitchen which is fantastic, but even with an open kitchen area, it is not smelly nor loud.
I now know that less is more for the next time I am back.

I love sushi
Top 3 meals
In fact at this point in my life it’s top 2
This place… Fresh and tasty
Nothing more to say… In the uk we get charged far too much for our sushi, doesn’t matter how amazing it is … The cost always looses it a star and this place is no different

I really enjoyed eating here on a Sunday night. The food was delicious, the prices were reasonable and the interior is beautiful. The service was also excellent, the waiting staff was fast, helpful and friendly. I don’t know much about Japanese food, so I can’t comment on authenticity, but it sure was delicious. I tried a starter, two different main courses and two different desserts, and they were all very good, especially the chilli noodles. Definitely recommend it!

Is it 2.5 stars or 3 hmm. I guess that 3’ll have to do as 2’s too few eh.
I guess Sunday wasn’t my day as sadly Nanakusa didn’t stop the rot. I’ve eaten at their sister restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I was hoping for more of the same, but sadly found this to be quite a bland experience.
I ordered 3 small plates, the agadashi dofu, sweet potato makimono & seaweed salad. While the dishes came quickly & were presented well, the execution wasn’t great and the flavours were well. meh.
I went for the makimono first & found the sushi rice so soft, it was like I was biting into a food cloud, but then the filling didn’t really taste of anything & was crispy. Now I quite like food that makes your palate jump, whether it’s contrasting flavours, heat or texture, but if this soft outer vs crispy inside was intentional, I fear I missed the point. Instead of «oooh interesting!» my brain was thinking «uhh what.»
Next up I went for the seaweed salad, which was alright at first as I was eating mostly seaweed & a little iceberg lettuce, but the more I dug, the more I realised it was 80% iceberg, which isn’t what I ordered sir! Add to that a general lack of flavour bar the umami of the seaweed and soy, there wasn’t any acid or sweetness to balance it out.
Lastly there was the agadashi dofu, which having recently called off hostilities with soy, I was really looking forward to. It was lightly fried, leaving the inside almost uncooked, and served in a soy based, tempura dressing. Sadly the lack of spring onions meant that there was nothing to counter the soy & because of the softness of the dofu & light tempura batter it all just fell apart after sitting in the sauce.
I’m really not sure about the décor, it seems to be part traditional & part modern Japanese set within a beautifully corniced old building. The changing lights were kinda fun in a modern way, but set amongst the wooden panelling they seemed somewhat out of place. Not to begin & end on a moan, the staff were really efficient & friendly despite it being a quiet Sunday night. I was given plenty of time to peruse the menu & afterwards the service was swift & friendly.
It’s a shame that this occasion didn’t live up to expectation. I’ve heard people say a lot of good things about Nanakusa, maybe I just made the wrong choices or it was an off night. I’d go back, but there are many more places higher up the list to try before I consider another sitting at Nanakusa, shame really.

Really cool urban vibe with fantastic colourful lighting, bench seating is comfortable if a little awkward to navigate. I really enjoyed the yasai spicy noodle soup– a really clean flavours and head clearing heat! gorgeous vegetables, noodles with bite and excellent portion size. brilliant for a quick city bite or cool enough to lounge around with a drink after you finish.

My husband and I were disappointed with the Japanese noodle soup that we ordered. The udon and the ramen were overcooked. The broth is ok nothing too special (not as authentic as I thought it would be) I think the softness of the noodle ruining the broth as well. My husband couldn’t finish his due to that. If it is a good ramen soup he can drink every single drop of the soup. But this 1 make him sick. Their sushi is not bad. I think we should just order sushi or sashimi. Maybe they are not good at cooking ramen. I give 2 star for the food we ordered.

DEEEELISH!
Him Indoors and I popped in here for some late night sushi after the theatre and I’ll definitely be back!
I’ve known this restaurant has been here for a while, but have never been in; it really doesn’t look like much from the outside, a bit of a nondescript door on Sauchiehall St but inside it’s REALLY cool (I couldn’t subtly take pics whilst others were dining-​Apols!!). There are beautifully corniced high domed ceilings with inset LED light up panels on the walls that change colour (was SURE I was going mad for bit as I had been sure the wall was purple a moment before, then looked again and it was green… I had to stare at it to realise it changed! Ugh! Lol)
Anyhoo, I had been feeling a bit rubbish that day (in fact, I ended up is hospital the next day!!!) and had no real appetite…(this was how my friends/​family knew something was wrong with me!!! Lol) I hadn’t really fancied anything on the menu… I opted for my standard sushi offering in my olé faithful Bento Box, with miso soup. I’m not a miso SUPER fan, but it was so light and delicate I could enjoy it without it being too much, great for a light bite! My bento box came soon after and it looked AMAZING! Everything was so nicely presented and the rice was sticky perfection! Actually, I REALLY need to go back to do this bento box some justice… as I couldn’t finish it that night! What I DID have was SO tasty and cooked beautifully! I was really impressed! Him Indoors had a teriyaki beef dish that was really good too (I tried a wee bit, obv!!!) …even with his infamous allium intolerances he was well catered for; when his rice came with spring onions on the top, the waiter couldn’t have helped faster. He also recommended a good Japanese beer for HI to try… great service!
As I’ve said, I’ll definitely be back and I’ll be actually able to savour the flavours next time, hopefully!!!

As far as most sushi goes that I have had in Britain, this place is pretty good. Not only is their fish fresh and tasty, their other dishes are also fantastic. The staff was very friendly and polite upon our entry, however they did seem a tad hasty when taking our orders and cleaning up after we’d finished our food. However the waiter was able to redeem himself by taking the time to have a proper conversation with us whilst we finished our green tea.

I really like Nanakusa, the service is always good, the vibe is good and the food is good. There’s so much on the menu so something for everyone. Today we had loads of sushi and we took the baby too (who is five weeks) and that was no problem at all. Nanakusa kind of does what it says on the tin: good Japanese food, consistently. Have never had a bad experience there. Check it out.

I’ve loved Nanakusa since it opened and reviewed it 5years ago before Unilocal HQ went wonky on my account n I had to shut it down.
I was in here a few weeks back with a friend after a fab night watching a new BBC Radio quiz being filmed.
Nothings changed: the warm welcome, the friendly service, the fresh quality of the food. Simply wonderful.
A bento box for my partner and a beefy delight (forgot the name) for me.
Perfect food, perfect company.

Nanakusa is just kind of a strange place isn’t it? A japanese restaurant with such strange interior architecture and weird colourful ever-​changing wall lights that make it seem like an 80s disco. I dunno … just … weird.
Anyway, went over for some Japanese food the other day! Was having such a strong craving for it and was hoping to fulfill it but … meh … ?
We ordered the 18 piece sushi set, the prawn tempura, takoyaki and edamame with green tea (which is bottomless).
Nanakusa’s food does not cut it out for a person who is majorly obsessed with anything Japanese. The sushi was alright, though the tuna nigiri didn’t seem fresh. The prawn tempura was kind of miserable, since they only gave us like 3 small pieces of fried up prawn (it tasted alright but I wasn’t expecting the small size). The takoyaki was the biggest disappointment though. Octopus balls are suppose to be fresh, flavourful and with a reasonable chunk of octopus in the centre, but this was just … well seemed like frozen food thrown into a frying pan and served up to us. The only pretty good things were the edamame (which no one can cook wrongly) and the bottomless green tea.
Service was good though! The waiters were very kind.
Anyway, the price for the food was not worth it to be honest. It’s too bad.

Simple clean flavours, unassuming surroundings, and good service. We had two sharing platters of sushi, one veg and one seafood, miso soup, and a variety of noodle dishes. The open kitchen gives reassurance of freshness and authenticity. Would definitely go back.

Nanakusa was the venue for a friends birthday recently. It was my first experience of the restaurant but one I was looking forward too.
As our group was quite large (10) we were seated in the centre of the restaurant at a long table. The orders for drinks and food were taken quickly and the waiter was happy to give recommendations. Despite a few minor order hiccups the service was great, and food arrived fast.
Being in a group we had the opportunity to try others food choices, and safe to say the dishes I tasted I would have been happy with any! Definitely recommended, Nanakusa I’ll see you again soon!

My favourite sushi joint in Glasgow! I love the California rolls. The sushi is always well presented and fresh. The gyoza and edamame beans are a must too. The décor is clean and modern too. Staff are attentive.

Nana Kusa used to be my pay day haunt of another lifetime. My friend and I would head there for a royal feast before rolling along the road to Stavka for cocktails. But I’m sad to say that it has lost a bit of its charm.
The building is still the same deceptively large, bright and minimalist interior, but the menu has changed, both in it’s options and appearance. The simple layout has been exchanged for, in my opinion, a quite tacky and garish, cheap take-​away look. The original style of listing, accompanied by small, almost edible looking pictures of food, has been replaced with giant photos, and a sideline of text. And, from what I could discern, some of my old favourites were either missing, or hidden in a smörgåsbord of nasty, night out munchy looking images. It’s a small thing to be bothered by, but bothered I am, none the less.
I opted for the chicken and prawn noodle dish, and when I had my first mouthful, a little of my faith was restored. Chargrilled chicken and juicy prawns in a bed of thick noodles, and a smokey sweet sauce. My only beef (no pun intended) was that I’d forgotten to ask for no bean sprouts. And as we know, most Asian dishes come littered with the wee buggers.
I’ll definitely return again, as I hope to increase my score to the 5 stars I know it’s capable of, and hope my love of what was my favourite restaurant for the best part of 2 years, returns too.

The best thing about Charing X is Nanakusa. It’s definitely my favourite Japanese restaurant in Glasgow. Although they might want to rectify the menu page that is back to front on their window display — just sayin’.
In a sea of greasy take-​aways and student pubs, it stands out as a bastion of quality Japanese grub. I love the architecture of the interior with its grandiose Adam-​esque ceiling, although I’m less convinced about the ever-​changing LED wall panels that do nothing to enhance the ornate cornicing or the diner’s faces and are simply distracting. I’d far rather see a lighting scheme that was more sympathetic to the décor.
I hadn’t visited Nanakus in a while, and was initially surprised to see that the menu appears to have been emasculated — or maybe that’s just a Sunday thing? Actually it was no bad thing, as I always had trouble choosing from the large menu as there was just so much to pick from.
As I didn’t have a lot of time before I had to get back to work, I settled for one of my staples, the salmon cha han. Tasty and filling and it arrived in good time and with a smile.
With a bottomless cup of green tea to go with it, I was satiated and not too out of pocket. Love Nanakusa!

We have just been to nanakusa after a recommendation and Unilocal review
I have to say we all loved it, and it was four of us. Since we did go a bit late, 21:00 there was not much people around and service was really fast and extremely friendly.
I have to say the price was really nice for such a restaurant. You can go to way worse restaurants and pay more than here, it came out to 65 pounds for 3 starters, 2 maki rolls (8 pieces), 4 mains dishes, 1 desert and one big beer that was enough for the 2 ladies.
We ordered the following
— takoyaki: really well done with a lovely sauce, totally recommend.
— Gyoza: some of the best I have tried, and I have been to japan. A bit dry but with soy sauce really nice. Not greasy at all and big.
— California roll: typical California roll, really nice and good size, not like other places where they make the rolls smaller for the same price.
— Ramen: three of us ordered ramen, 2 beef and one chicken. They were nice enough to make mine without veggies. The broth was really tasty and just spicy enough to feel it but to keep the required taste. It was really nice. Not the best I have ever had, which was in London, not even japan, but the 3 of us loved it .
— Yasai sake gohan: basically salmon with a gravy, veggies and rice. My girlfriend had it. Her opinion is that it could have some more salmon and less veggies but the taste of both, salmon and gravy was really nice.
The only downside would be the desert, we had a chocolate cheesecake and was nothing special, would not recommend it. Still, I give the restaurant 5 stars because I don’t go to Asian restaurant for their desert, so I will still recommend going for everything else.
Basically a really nice place, really nice atmosphere, friendly staff and really nice food and really good price for what u get, 15 pounds per head and we all finished well eaten.
Try it!

Nanakusa was the venue for a friend’s birthday recently, I’d always wanted to visit so squee’d when I saw the invite!
On arrival we were seated around the end of the long centre table of the wonderfully bright and airy restaurant. Other guests arrived in dribs and drabs, but the waiting staff were great in ensuring drinks orders were taken for each group of eaters.
I opted for a double-​starter: the Ebi Yakitori (grilled king prawns) and Tuna Nigiri sushi. Both arrived super-​quick. For my main it had to be a noodles… Chicken Chilli. It wasn’t as spicy as I’d expected, but some hot condiments soon sorted that.
Being in a large group, we shared and tasted each others’ dishes. I can’t remember everything I tried, but suffice to say there was nothing on the menu I’d not be happy to eat!
We left thoroughly fed, vowing to return after such an epic meal!

I love Nanakusa with all my heart. Partly for sentimental reasons, but also because it is so damn delicious.
Ok, the sentimental reasons. This was one of the first restaurants I dined at in Glasgow with my now husband after our fateful meeting in Japan, so it is very special to the both of us. I’d hopped on a plane to the other side of the world to visit a man I’d known for 14 days, fell in love and moved here. We’ve returned here loads of times since then, but I haven’t been to Nanakusa for nearly a year. In my endless quest of eating out as many places in Glasgow as possible, sometimes the real gems get left behind for the new and exciting places. I was so glad to return last night for a UYE and see that nothing has changed since I first fell in love with Nanakusa (I was already in love with my husband by the time we ate here!)
Now, Nanakusa. It does Japanese food, and it does it really well (see the aforementioned reference to meeting my husband in Japan!). I really love sashimi and there aren’t enough places in Glasgow that I can eat it, so I always get a portion when I eat here. I also love takoyaki (octopus balls) and can’t resist them here. I’ve tried them elsewhere but Nanakusa’s are the best.
The service is always friendly, smiling and helpful. It was a little slow last night but there were only two people working the whole restaurant, but none of us were in a particular hurry. I had a small glass of rosé with my meal and they also have a selection of saké and plum wines, as well as Japanese beers for that really authentic taste.
The food arrived quickly and as soon as it was ready. Two people had ordered bento boxes and these arrived about 5 minutes after everything else. The waiter seemed really conscious of this and kept coming over which was a nice touch. I loved all my dishes, the takoyaki and salmon sashimi and I also had the chicken teriyaki. Sides like rice and noodles are optional which is great if you’re all about the protein.
Downsides? As I said, service was a bit slow. I’m also not a big fan of the lighting (the wall panels change colour) as it makes it hard to take nice food photos! Haha! Bench seating can be difficult to navigate getting in and out of gracefully. None of these points are worthy of a star deduction in my mind though as the food is so damn good, I can excuse it all.
Thanks Nanakusa for being just as amazing as you were 4 years ago.