Sumo Sushi

1714 Newbury Road
Newbury Park, CA 91320

So my husband and I felt adventurous last night. With our 20% off coupon in hand, we were lured into Sumo. I have no better way to say this: It was awful.

The atmosphere of the place is lovely. Contemporary funk is all around with odd lanterns, colorful glasses, and squishy booths. The service was terrible. Although there were plenty of waiters wandering around, none ever stopped at a table. The sushi took an unreasonable amount of time to assemble and serve. A woman even came to the front desk to announce that Sumo provided the worst service she’d ever received.

My favorite part of the night: I ordered wine. There were about 12 on the list – probably 5 brands and few varieties of each. The waiter came back to say they were out of the cabernet I’d ordered, so I tried another. He never came back. When the waitress took our sushi order, I tried again. She came back to say that they have 2 wines in stock: a crappy chardonnay and a crappy chardonnay. No, thanks.

Snow Roll: Just don’t do it. Avocado and cream cheese, wrapped with halibut. I’m not sure why we thought this sounded good, but the end result was terrible. They bake the halibut on the outside, which makes the cream cheese inside an indigestible temperature.

Shrimp and tuna roll: Also not okay. They ground the tuna into a chopped paste inside the sushi. Quality tuna should be a firm slab of fish and melt in your mouth without the help of a grinder. It was doused in some sort of watery vinaigrette.

Tempura asparagus and shrimp: Now this one tasted okay. Sadly, though, they packed it with so many foods that it was the diameter of a baseball bat, and impossible to eat. The lettuce inside was brown.

So, four big thumbs down on Sumo. If you’re looking for some good sushi in the area, try Ocean Blue. I’m definitely skipping the adventure and going back there next time!