Tsunami Japanese Sushi Bar
700 Gervais St, Columbia, SC, 29201
Tsunami Japanese Sushi Bar Menu
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Address :
700 Gervais St
Columbia, SC, 29201 - Phone (803) 312-9911
- Website https://www.tsunamicompany.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :4:30 pm - 12:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : No
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Trendy
Noise Level : Loud
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
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Rebecca A.
It's just decent. I don't think I have anything overwhelmingly positive to say about this place. It has really classy decor and is kept chilly during the warmer months. There is always a wait in the evening and they have a happy hour food special where you can get a couple of certain rolls for cheap. The sushi is mediocre and the wasabi is weak. The regular priced rolls were way too expensive. I don't know, this place is kinda like the hot girl who is really shallow. I wasn't particularly impressed. It certainly looks upscale, but the food doesn't reflect that. Parking is a pain, too.
(3)Taylor S.
The food here basically tastes like hibachi food, just without the hibachi grill. I had the filet and it was very good. I would recommend this restaurant if you're in the mood for hibachi but don't have the time for it. I wouldn't say it tastes as good as food from a hibachi grill, but it's still really good. Overall, the service was fast and the staff was friendly, it was a little pricey, but still really good.
(4)Brian S.
My first impression of Tsunamis was "meh." Firstly it was difficult to find because it sits back in a cut and has no street signage directing the way. I ordered their "potstickers," which turned out to be deep fried wontons and not true pan seared dumplings. Also, I witnessed a waiter sitting on a table while taking an order. Pretty disgusting since someone will be eating in that exact spot shortly thereafter. The service was OK, although I did have to ask for a refill. My plate had a huge wasabi thumb print, but the sushi was good. Tsunamis is only middle-of-the-road in overall ambiance, with a loud, echoey, almost warehouse type feel.
(3)Natasha C.
If you haven't been to Tsunami Japanese Sushi Bar, do yourself a favor and get over right now! I'm a native South Carolinian and I was introduced to this spot in college. I went to college in Orangeburg, South Carolina, but it's only 45 minutes or less from Columbia. So, my friends and I visited the City of Columbia often. This is one of our favorite spots to this day. I'm writing this review because Tsunami is always consistent. I've been a fan since my college days (2003-2006). They still have great food and really good service. The outside appearance has changed slightly, but the food and service are still great. I usually order the My...my..Mai Roll (that's the name). It's one of my favorites. I believe it's very popular. During my last visit, I ordered three rolls because it was "Happy Hour" and they offered three rolls for $9.99, which was a steal. Additionally, you can't visit without trying hot sake. Tsunami offers apple, peach and other flavored sake. However, my favorite drink to order is the Pineapple Upside Down Martini...... amazing. Because I was there celebrating my birthday, I got a FREE Fried Cheesecake! I enjoyed it and appreciated the generosity on my birthday. I'd like to try the Lava Cake next time. It was recently added to the menu. The only grievance I have about this restaurant is the bathrooms. They were clean, but the stalls didn't lock. Other than that, the parking is good, the service is good and the food is great. They have a bar and televisions, so if you enjoy sports of any kind, it's always playing. This is my go-to celebration spot in Columbia, SC. Forever in my Favs!
(4)Mark B.
We were their Monday night and got the best sushi I have ever had. The place was clean and the bathrooms were clean. I'm coming back for sure.
(5)Stephen R.
So far so good, greeted immediately, a/c works great too! Within a minute of sitting at the bar I had a cold beer and my order in. Ordered the salmon roll. It was good. I have eaten sushi in Hawaii, Seattle, Australia, and Japan. Nice setup. I will be back.
(4)Erica G.
Had a great dinner and drinks. Best part was the waiter, he was very friendly and personable. . .and delivered the food hot and fast. The only negative was the little wait time when there was no one in the restuarant. We had to ask someone to seat us. Overall, good experience and will go back.
(4)Alyssa K.
Sushi was very disappointing. I ordered specialty rolls which turned out to be terrible. Instead of raw, my fish was served cooked inside the roll. Wouldn't recommend and definitely will not be returning.
(1)Amanda G.
I would give 0 stars if possible. A friend and I went in for a drink and bite to eat. Our significant others and friends were setting up for an event at the venue next door so we told the server that there could be about 5 more joining us. We asked to start with a salad, which he brought out right away. However we didn't see him for another 15min and that's when the rest of our party started to join us. He got their drinks and then he obviously gave up the table to a coworker because he never came back. We ended up having one extra than the booth could fit so we pulled a table up. The hostess said we couldn't do that because it blocked the servers from running food. There was NO ONE else in the back of the restaurant. It took 45 minutes before we got our 4 orders of sushi. They didn't come with ginger and the server said they don't bring it unless asked. In the mean time our old server showed up again but only to take a picture of us when he thought we weren't looking. He made the mistake of not turning the flash off. When he was confronted he said he was taking a picture of the table he was cleaning. The quickest part of our experience was when we asked for our checks. We didn't get any pins with 4 credit card slips. At our table we had over 30 years of service industry experience. From bartenders,servers,GMs, and djs, so I tipped 50% because I knew they were expecting nothing. We will NEVER go back here again!
(1)Aimee S.
I was utterly underwhelmed. I got the chirashi plate (assorted pieces of fish over rice) and was very disappointed. I had an abundance of warm rice under the most thinly sliced pieces of fish (that were also on the warm side) I have ever seen on a chirashi plate. The cost of the plate was around $18. I would have gotten more fish, and possibly a better assortment had I just ordered a roll and picked it out! I would have paid less too. The service was adequate. I did mention my disappointment with the meal and our waiter comped us a few dollars back on the bill.
(2)Courtney S.
I love the crab wontons! There isn't a time that I come that I don't order them. The only reasons I didn't give 5 stars are: 1. Parking is not fun, 2. The hostesses aren't very friendly and are on their phones all the time, & 3. The chicken with the hibachi isn't very good quality. I go for the wontons and sushi. I have been a patron since they opened their doors & will continue to be!
(4)Molly C.
My friend and I enjoyed our dinner here. We shared an udon noodle dish (it was on the smaller side, better for just one person) and 3 sushi rolls. The food was delicious and came out quickly even though the place was packed. Monday night was 1/2 off some stuff if you're in the service industry and they have other similar specials for the other nights of the week. Our waiter was nice and helpful and brought us this delicious complimentary dessert of fried cream cheese filled pastries, mmmmmm! Only taking off a star because the hostesses are kind of snotty. Parking was very tough. But definitely a good experience here overall.
(4)Hillary L.
Not sure still how I feel about this place. I am going to give them another chance because the server was amazing and the food was delicious but I went to the bar and ordered a lemon drop shot and he gave me vodka with a lemon wedge in it....? seriously. and he was rude. The food took a long time but the place was slammed so im not so bothered by that. But then I ordered sprite with vodka and the bartender told the server to charge me 9 dollars! it was bottom shelf vodka so I hope he is no longer there when I go back and then this restaurant would have gotten a five.
(3)Jason N.
After another recent visit, I will again highlight that the front bar can NOT make a drink to save its life. My Girlfriend and I ordered Dirty Martini's with Grey Goose vodka as the choice... let me say, "dirty" was not the correct word, as I would have preferred drinking Water directly from the ocean... perhaps "muddy" might be the better choice of words here. This has been an on-going issue at this establishement with seemingly no hope to change it. I think it may be because of the fact that who they hire, and who is frequenting this establishment use it as a spring board to get hammered before they even leave the place and while that may seem like a sellable item on the " Pro's Vs. Cons" list of places to go for some.. its definitely one that is a NO GO for me as well as my girlfriend, so again I say, stick to wine and beer, or maybe a Seven and Seven, although we were asked if the Seagrams we wanted was Gin.......................... for a Seven and Seven.......................... get the picture? This restaurant maintains good food practice, but the drink section is lacking severely.
(3)Jia K.
Food wise this place is the worst tasting food... worse than yoshi sushi downtown... well they are both down there but gave this place 1 star for the horrible waitstaff. They have no idea what they are serving. The location is good because it's in central vista. Good location to bar hop, get some desserts and plenty of parking. But the food is horrible, portion sizes are sad, it's over priced, horrible waitstaff, and it's all just marinated in soy no matter what you get. The only nice thing is the location and the decor. I never go there to eat, I ate their 3 times due to events, and all 3 times I was mortified by the food and more. NO THANK YOU!!! Bad is just bad there is no way around it.
(1)Marvell M.
Yummy and great service by Nina!!! Happy hour from 5-7pm. 3 choices for $9.99!!!!!!! Busy with good atmosphere.
(4)Mandy S.
Great sushi! My favorite place in Columbia! The specialty rolls are phenomenal! Service can be a bit slow and parking can be tough at times but it is located in a great area!
(5)Jessica D.
I've tried this place a couple of times in hopes it was just situational I got terrible food and service. I've been proven wrong. Ive ordered food and was brought the wrong item, I've waited extremely long time for food, even for a remake. Drinks are okay, I just get a vodka water so I have not had any of their cocktails. Almost all their sushi is fried in some way, I would rather have raw. However, even their raw tastes like it's been frozen for a while.
(2)Tyler S.
Tsunami has a very solid track record with me, regardless of what location. I've had excellent experiences at the Greenville, Charleston, and now the Columbia location. I was in Cola for business for the week, and when my friend suggested Tsunami, I knew that good sushi was on the horizon. We elected to take the outdoor seating and enjoyed delicious sushi and sake on a beautiful evening. I had the green dragon and a mai mai mai roll. Both were delicious. My friend was also very pleased with her food as well. She suggested the apple saki, and after half a carafe, I think I was beginning to fall in love with this delicious flavor. The service was good for the most part, however when we were ready for our check, our server disappeared for about ten minutes. On this particular night, this lapse was negligible, because we were having such a good time that neither of us cared. Tsunami definitely gets five stars on consistency.
(4)Server C.
Bar service is getting better, Erin and Adam did a great job tonight It seems like there are never any hostess' to seat people. People are always waiting at the door. Hibachi at this store is great along with the spicey tuna sashimi. Mondays are the best day to go for service industry night.
(3)Swetha G.
Tsunami has a nice urban above-than-average contemporary feel to it. The space is energetic and fun to be in. We had dinner last night as part of some "field research" we were doing for a project, and have to say, was pretty happy with everything that came out. Amongst four of us, this is what we had: - Edamame - Veggie potstickers - G.M.C. - The Duffy - My..my..Mai! - Fried Wasabi Roll - Heartbreaker - Veggie Roll - Fried Vanilla Ice Cream Since I'm vegetarian, I only tried the edamame, potstickers, veggie roll, and fried vanilla ice cream. I've never had potstickers before and am glad to report my first time was very good. The vegetables were cooked well and seasoned well, and came out nice and hot. I really liked the ponzu sauce that they came with, had a nice zing to it. The veggie rolls were filling and tasty. I liked that they actually included a few vegetables inside (avocado, cucumber & tempura asparagus) and had more substance than most places, which usually serve just one. What I LOVED was Tsunami's "Japanese mayo" that they use on their Duffy dish. I asked for a side of it and was actually given quite a lot, and I totally took to it. It's creamy and punchy, I think they might have used some wasabi in it. Whatever the recipe, it gave my sushi a flavor I've never had anywhere else, and one that I totally liked. THE highlight though was dessert. I've never seen fried vanilla ice cream on a menu and was so intrigued by it. The texture and flavor were both great. Only wish they drizzled more chocolate sauce to give it a sweeter bite. It was still delicious though. Other things to point out: We sat at the bar and got a chance to watch the chefs prepare the rolls, and it was like watching theater. They're very graceful and coordinated with what they do, the movements are fluid. We got a chance to meet Take (sounds like Sake but with a T) and he was hilarious. He answered our questions and spent a good amount of time going over menu curiosities that we had. We learned that in Japan they typically insert the wasabi directly inside the sushi rolls, but the Americanized version is to place it on the side because for a lot of people the horseradish is too strong. He gave us pointers on the sauces and we learned how much a good sauce can enhance a dish. Parking can be tough as Katie pointed out. And I agree, it's worth the time to look around for a spot, Tsunami will make up for it. Also they've got different specials every day, you can check their website for what's going on the day that you're there. I had their champagne cocktails last night (only $3 b/c of their Ladies night special) and they were amazing. If you go, and you don't mind splurging (on the waist that is), def ask for the Japanese mayo, it's not the healthiest thing you can put in your system, but it IS a guilty pleasure! :)
(4)Adam S.
The positives: * The ingredients/presentation of food was pretty good. The Negatives: * Half of our order was forgotten (I think by kitchen rather than waiter). * Waiter forgot to bring us plates before food was served, and on two occasions. Both times plates had been freshly washed (water still on), but were still dirty. Not sure the reason for this as we were one of the first groups in. * Waiter had zero product knowledge of the food. * Here is the MOST FRUSTRATING THING: - We (about 9 of us) came on a Service Industry Night, so I showed my ID prior to being seated (as I was paying for everyone) and thought no more of it until our waiter came back at the end of dinner saying we couldn't have the discount because we all didn't all show our pay stubs. (At this point half of our guests had gone, so a little late of him to do this). The remainder of us showed our IDs, as we didn't know we had to have pay stubs (seems silly to be showing that private information anyway?!) - The GM, Jen, came over and immediately started talking down to us and scolding us like small school children (we are all mid 30's and behaving professionally). She sternly told us that we needed pay stubs each, but she gave in after an uncomfortable and EMBARASSING scene infront of my co-workers. - One reason she gave for pay stubs needed was that management "were on at her about finances"... THEN DON"T DO SIN NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Her customer service was appauling and UNACCEPTABLE considering she is supposed to be their general manager...
(1)Philip B.
Awful service and average food. Hostess and her helper paid no attention to us, and then after a few minutes of checking their phones decided to help us. Waiter took 5-10 minutes to come by our table. Was slow to come back, took us forever to order bc of that. food was average. Sushi was not very nicely presented - sloppy. Will not be back.
(1)DJuan L.
I have only been to this place once. The sushi was ok. Nothing out of the norm. I cant remember which rolls I tried, but the ones I got were mediocre. I did, however, enjoy my appetizer. I got the Seafood Dynamite which was very tasty. The crowd was young college students. Overall, it was an "ok" experience, but I'd try it again.
(3)Chris S.
Fantastic sushi for the price. Great happy hour, cheap drinks and get 3 rolls for under ten dollars. 4-7 everyday, will be returning frequently!
(5)Christy L.
The first time we ate here it was good and after that it has gone downhill, Svc is poor! Last time we went my husband's food wasn't good so he wanted sushi instead of the dinner plate, our waitress told us we had to pay anyway for dinner plate :( eventually we got the manager and after trying to tell us the same she said ok we will take it off bill. Today we go to eat there, bc I cannot deny they have the BEST dessert, and the sign says open at 4pm so we unload our sleeping baby and go in and the hostess says the doors open at 4 but no SEATING until 4:30!!!! WTH?? Never going again!
(1)Ted C.
My friends like this place as the best sushi in the Columbia area and I say, sure anything's possible. Saturday night it seemed like a lot of the college crowd was still around, the place doesn't seem very college-y but it is one of those trendy sushi places where they serve sake-tinis, dimly lit and everyone who works there is dressed in black. Along those lines, I thought the service was a bit slow-we didn't really know what we wanted and it took our waitress a while to get back to us. I was on a food binge so I ordered four rolls: the Montana-simple but delicious cream cheese, spicy tuna, shrimp tempura by far my favorite roll out of the bunch Phoenix- was okay. I like deep fried rolls but having avocado in there just made it seem a little weird texture wise Ultimate-was just average, they made it seem like a big deal but really it's a tempura shrimp roll dressed up with eel and avocado Spicy tuna-always a good stand by and it was just okay-the fish didn't seem extremely fresh but the taste was all right. I also found it weird that I didn't get any miso alongside my meal. I'm pretty accustomed to having it whenever I order any kind of roll and found it a little off putting that it didn't come with.
(3)Kelly A.
The food was fair. The hibachi was overcooked, in particular the scallops and chicken. The happy hour cocktails were poor, they tasted bad.
(2)Marcio G.
My comments are solely based on the atmosphere and service i experienced...not the food (I actually don't even remember the food because everything else was ruined for me): 1) The wait staff are clueless about the products they sell and the work they do! It like they were never trained. 2) This restaurant does not include "ginger" on any of the sushi plates; instead you have to request it after getting your order! Really?¿...It's Japanese cuisine, and I shouldn't have to request it. 3) There's no unfiltered sake on the menu. 4) And when I did order sake, I had to drink it with a mini plastic solo cup...Wtf!!! 5) they don't take reservations. I will not be going back!! Like ever!!!
(1)Camille B.
The food was over priced and not impressive. The customer service was nonexistent. I've tried Tsunami twice and will not return. P.S. When they authorize your credit card, it's for 20% more than your bill to allow for gratuity. This is after they tack on an 18% group charge.
(1)Tanya M.
Sad. sad. sad. This place has gone downhill fast. Used to be amazing food with a great atmosphere. Now they are more of a bar and have transferred over to frozen, sloppy, fast food. The sushi is poorly made and the stuff that comes out of the kitchen is awful. It's sad because it had potential.
(1)Lee S.
Tsunami has good sushi and creative rolls. The portion sizes are reasonable. They don't have good fried rice or miso soup, strange weaknesses for a sushi restaurant. It is a loud college night spot. I generally go on Wednesday or Thursday nights. Its quiet and the parking is free. The trade-off is that the service is slower those nights. They will also do carry out orders. The service here is good. We've gone to this restaurant enough to see the averages. Yes, there have been some slow nights. I would say 90% of the time the service is good, though. I think that the pricing is very reasonable. The sushi and prices are better than any other sushi restaurant downtown. If you are looking for a trendy college hot spot, this is your place. If you are looking for good sushi downtown, this is also your place. If you want the sushi and not the college kids go mid-week or order take out.
(4)Kim Z.
I love this place. The sushi is very well crafted. I don't really have anything bad to say about this place! Best sushi in Columbia, in my opinion. The menu is interesting, creative, and CHANGES! There is a lot to be said for a restaurant that continually puts NEW items on their menu or has specials! There is some craft there. The red dragon roll. Amazing. I die. Note: I don't understand how people can even complain about parking here. Almost everyone lives within 5 minutes of five points and the Vista. I don't understand why people don't take cabs when they go out at night. There is a HUGE parking lot in front of this place! If you're not willing to spend a measley $10 when you go to this place, then give up your parking space for someone who actually has money to be going out to eat in the first place.
(5)Drew G.
The sushi was decent, not bad not great....although reasonably priced so I can't really complain. Service was good. The restaurant is showing its age though and you can tell it is well used by the college crowd. Carpet is trashed, menus all beat up and nasty, paint coming off trim etc. The real reason for only three stars though is the horrible music. I don't mind louder music in a restaurant if it is good music. While we were there they had a mix of Backstreet Boys, some old Britney Spears crap, some early 90's junk.....it was awful.
(3)Katie R.
I'm a fan of Tsunami. It's sometimes hard to park, but it's worth navigating the Vista! They have good sushi but I'm a fan of the real food items! They teriyaki chicken with white rice is my go-to meal and the teriyaki sauce is slightly sweet but has heat that builds as you eat it. With most dishes, you'll have enough to take home with you, so it makes the price more worth it. I do believe, however, that it is still on the pricier side of places to eat in Columbia.
(4)Jina R.
Not worth it. Portions are small. I'm from California and I've eaten at dozens upon dozens of sushi restaurants. I had the shumai app and it was good, but tiny. I also had the pink dragon roll?... whatever it was, it was also tiny. I felt like I hadn't eaten anything after I was done and so did the other people I went with. However, the fried ice cream (normally tempura ice cream) was decent, but they only had vanilla. I heard a lot of college students go here, which I'm not surprised about because it seems like it's the trendy spot, but it doesn't make it good. I haven't tried any of the other sushi restaurants in the area, so maybe this is the best of columbia. I really hope not though! Also, $5 for parking in the lot, but you get reimbursed if you spend over $10 at the restaurant? I don't know... sounds pretty stupid.
(3)Marlo K.
Everytime I have been to this restaurant, the food has been good, but the service was not. In the past, I thought it may be because they were busy, but the restaurant wasn't even half filled. We ran out of our diet cokes and after about 10 minutes of waiting, we had to flag down the server, who still took her time bringing us more drink. Then, within about 5 minutes, our small coke glasses were empty again and the server was no where to be found. It's like she brought the food and disappeared! We had to flag her down again for our to go box and the check, which was not totaled correctly, so we had to flag her down again and wait for the check to be corrected. These servers need to know more about how to serve!
(3)Ka T.
Was back in town and was recommended this place. So i decided to give it a go again. Same result nothing special, but seemed to be price better then im used too.
(3)Rebecca Y.
Can I say AMAZING! This place is great. We have tried a lot of sushi places in Columbia and none compare to Tsunami. The Tsunami roll is to die for as well as the GMC and Duffy. I definitely recommend.
(5)Sonja W.
was pleasantly surprised by this place. they do sushi, but they also do hibachi grill cuisine. when we walked in, there were several open tables that had yet to be cleaned, and we were told it was a 20 minute wait. i think it was a test of our desire to eat because they paged us after about 3 minutes (you too can pass this test). but, they really did have server issues tonite. they were slow with getting to us for drink orders and slow generally throughout the meal. polite, but slow. i ordered the tropical punch martini. i dont care for martinis, but this one looked good. pineapple and cranberry juice, coconut rum, berry rum. yum! i saved some for dessert it was so sweet. my friend and i split the sushi/sashimi chef's special. i also had a seaweed salad and the spicy tuna roll. the spicy tuna roll is a staple of all sushi spots so i like to get it just for comparisons sake. the sashimi was fresh and a little chilled, but not teeth-hurtingly cold. there was a white fish that was so delicious and buttery, and it was just plain raw white fish. the waitress asked the chef after we had eaten this fish so she could only just describe it as a white fish. the chef "figured" it was white tuna. i dont know, i'll have to confirm this next time by ordering just the white tuna and tasting it. the other pieces were fresh and the sushi was good as well. the spicy tuna roll was a good filler as sashimi never fills me up, but this plate came very close! again, i was pleasantly surprised as most of the clients tonite seemed to be college-aged and the prices were reasonable, so i was expecting sketchy sushi (yes, i'm brave enough that i'd STILL eat sketchy raw fish. brave... or stoopid! ha!). but, the youngsters of today have found a good spot with tsunami. the seaweed salad was good, but a little on the too-sweet side. although it sounds simple, i think most places put too much sugar in the salad. i'm still looking for the perfect seaweed salad. for dessert i finished off the martini and had the chocolate mousse cake. it was okay. not the best, not the worst. and not very moussey either. skip dessert and go to a sweets shop on the block. dont remember the price for the salad. chef's sushimi/sushi = $25, martini = $7, cake = $5. i look forward to dining here again. so there.
(4)kido m.
yes....i'm so glad i made it there tonite! service was lil slow....maybe cuz they were busy?!! the food / drink was good...
(4)Chip O.
Good sushi and a great Tuna Tartare!
(4)Sam V.
This is the best Tsunami of the five.
(5)Euphrosini S.
This is actually one of the trendier places for Columbia.. hence the ridiculous wait any time I attempt to go there on the weekends when visiting. The GMC roll is usually worth the wait and the flavored Saki is always yum. The Charleston location is more fun as a night spot though. Both have nice decor and atmosphere once you finally get a seat.
(4)Mike E.
Cool atmosphere.....dimly lit and open floor plan. If I have never been to a sushi place before, I almost always ask for their most popular specialty rolls and that is my gauge....I had a couple of great rolls here (unfortunately I forgot the names because it was 2 weeks ago).
(4)