Folks, it wasn't good. What's so disappointing is that I love Tsunami in Charleston. I have even eaten at the one in the Vista (Columbia) and it was 3x better. Most restaurants along Bower have a 60-120 minute wait. There is a reason you can walk into Tsunami on a Friday night and sit down immediately for a bite. The sushi was not fresh - in fact it was dry and fell apart. Spoon fulls of roe and other unessentials were 'dumped' on top of the rolls and nearly buried them making an awful presentation. The server must have come straight from a party of his own - definitely had challenges articulating his thoughts and communicating, frequently forgot requests and things we'd ordered. Perhaps my favorite was being a spectator of three hostesses on staff that night - none of which greeted guests or took a position at the podium up front but rather wandered around with a cloth in one hand glancing at tables around the restaurant. Bus girl or hostess? Who can tell these days?
(1)
hayley t.
When visiting my family in Columbia, we went to Tsunami in hopes to find some decent sushi and Asian food. The modern decor is probably the best thing about the place. Although the lighting made it seem more like a club. My salad "soup" was topped with lettuce and saturated with ginger dressing. (should have requested dressing on the side) The udon i I ordered was satisfactory, if that... The other diners (9 of them) all had similar reviews... Not sure how you can mess up fried rice, but they did. Other complaints included greasy vegetables... the Hibatchi was less than satisfactory... my husband said the sushi was "ok". On top of the food issues, the slow, dull service made the experience a sad one. The automatic 18% gratuity angered me after hours of waiting, no refills and a little bit of attitude.
(1)
Chris C.
To be honest I have no idea why this place has so few reviews except it could be a better location. I thought this place was refreshing, intelligent, hip, and affordable. I really don't even know why there is three $$$ signs... It's really $$$ on a $$ budget. Enjoy
(4)
Sade G.
Love the food it was great for me and my family to eat at will come again the service was excellent !!! We all had the lunch meals and they were pretty huge
(5)
Carla I.
We began our meal with a mixed seafood app. The flavor was good but the chopped pieces of octopus were especially tough to chew. We also felt like it needed rice, bread, or cracker to be served with it as it was a large pile of chopped seafood. Seems like it needed a starch to hold it. We ordered the chef's choice sushi. They allowed my mom to stipulate that she didn't want anything raw. The eel was was my favorite! We received two delicious plates of sushi and they also have an offer for $4 cosmos anyday/anytime! We had an excellent waiter...very attentive, but not to the point of annoying. I have eaten there myself three times and have been pleased with the experience each time.
(4)
James H.
Tasty sushi rolls, reasonable happy hour specials, but the place is as hot as a sauna. I asked the manager to adjust the A/C, but he said it was as cool as it was going to get.
(4)
Jennifer R.
Haven't been here long, but I'm already unhappy. A few weeks ago, Monday was half price sake. Ask the waitress? "We don't do that anymore, but when we did, it was Sunday, not Monday." Look in the menu. It's listed for both Sunday and Monday. In the current menu, that the waitress handed me herself. "No, we just haven't changed the menu yet." Ok. Did you want a sharpie? Because I'm fairly positive you didn't want me to be back.
(1)
T G.
We ordered carry-out service, thinking it would be fast as there were only 2 families in the dining area at the time (Sunday afternoon). Not only did we have to wait approx. 25 mins for take out sushi but then they charged us $.50 for a cup of eel sauce. Since we'd already paid by debit card, I certainly wasn't going to swipe again for 50 cents but the hostess insisted there were no exceptions. Found the change in the car for the sauce but considering the long wait and the fact that we'd spent $35 already...it seemed petty to me. Sushi was ok, nothing great. I bet we will not go back to this location, plenty of other sushi places around town.
(1)
Jennifer H.
Great service! Food was fresh. Had tofu hibachi which was crispy outside & soft inside. Crisp cooked veggies. Also had a super crunch roll. Yum!
(5)
Wyatt H.
Can't say the sushi was bad, because it wasn't. My server was GREAT and I tipped accordingly. But when I asked to PAY MORE to upgrade from tuna roll, the GOD SUSHI CHEF said no! 1st time EVER that I couldn't get what I wanted even by paying more. I'll never be back. Too many choices within 2 miles that want to please their customers. Don't bother...pick another place.
(1)
Taylor S.
I had the filet mignon and rice, and it tasted just like a hibachi grill without the hibachi. I've always had good service here and the waiters are very friendly!
(4)
Ca R.
The sushi was amazing and fresh! We had some special wishes and the service was really nice. The prices are also good. We really recommend it!!
(5)
Callie H.
Tsunami is my go-to place for sushi! I love the atmosphere, the service, and the food. It's a comfortable environment with big comfy booths, great music (on most occasions) and super yummy sushi. Many times I have ordered a roll that wasn't on the Tsunami menu and it was even better than I remembered.. I definitely LOVE going to Tsunami, having a Sapporo, with some of my favorite sushi in town.
(4)
Kwang P.
This is now my favorite Japanese restaurant whenever I visit this side of town. The sushi was top notch and service was exceptional. I love the atmosphere here and most of all food is out of this world...I would highly recommend this place.
(5)
Anna L.
I came here to celebrate my boyfriends birthday. We came here for dinner and we were seated at the bar instead of the tables with comfortable chairs because it was crowded and it was a Friday night. We were starving so we didn't really mind until we learned that there was only one lady taking orders for every customer at the bar. In order for us to order something we had to call her several times or she would forget. However, she was trying her really best and gave us free miso soups. So one extra star for that! My favorite meal was the Yakidon. It's enough to share with someone and it was very tasty. We also ordered two sushi plates and they were also good but I would say Doraku is 10 times good. Overall, the atmosphere of the restaurant was very cozy, family friendly and fancy at the same time. I would come back here for the Yakidon and a martini;)
(3)
Jason A.
Caught hosts and a bartender making rude remarks about a guest in my group. They walked onto the deck to smoke and several staff pointed at my friend and one remarked, "oh, you mean her big a--?" Im a combat veteran and about had a flashback on that bartender. Management was informed, it took a lot of effort to get him to resolve the issue. After being asked, the staff came over and apologized. This was not to get free food. We paid our bills and tipped our waiter properly. This poor behavior is unfortunately what our society has become. Even outside patrons that were inside made remarks about her. I'll never be back, hopefully this deters others from this establishment. What a shame.
(1)
Emily E.
I love their specialty sushi rolls...haven't had a bad one yet. Sometimes can take a while on weekends but worth the wait. Very trendy inside and usually a younger crowd. You must try the pineapple upside down cocktail...mind-blowing! Shumai are also great as a starter.
(4)
Miranda G.
Yummy sushi rolls for great prices. Tsunami may be our new go-to sushi restaurant. The waitress was attentive and we got our food quickly. They have great lunch hours (when most places close at 2, this place closed at 3, so we were able to get our late lunch in). Overall we were very pleased with our meal and experience at Tsunami, and I am sure we'll be back.
(4)
Anna S.
Excellent sushi! Service amazing. Visiting from Seattle was looking for a sushi place and I am very picky about my sushi. I was impressed by the quality considering its down south, the atmosphere is swanky, and the service is on point quick and very attentive! A must go!
(5)
Stefanie S.
Horrible food!! My 3 year old couldn't chew her hibachi chicken and was spitting it out, something she never does! Edemame was so hard we couldn't even get them out of the shell by squeezing. The fried rice and shrimp were also hard and the sushi was dried out. The manager offered to cut the bill in half and save our $30 groupon for another time but I opted to pay the bill because I don't plan on going back!
(1)
James G.
Sushi and service both very good! Thoroughly enjoyed our evening here at tsunami's! Server very attentive and food delivered to table in a timely manner. Good cool atmosphere with lighting and music. We will come back again! Good deal with a restaurant.com $25 certificate!
(5)
Elliot E.
Abysmal service and average food that wasn't worth the wait or the price. I'd share more detail, but other reviewers have said essentially the same things.
(2)
Colleen R.
10 minute wait wasn't too bad, but we waited forever for our server. She took our drink order and was gone for 10 minutes. They were not overly busy at this point, so I'm not sure what the problem was. Our food order took over 30 minutes. The sushi was great, but my son's chicken appetizer was overfried in dirty oil. He picked the breading of and ate the dry chicken cutlet. My shrimp noodles were flavorless, the sauce looked watered down and the veggies were not grilled like they usually are. It was awful and I could not eat it. The server did offer to order another dish, but I told her I didn't want to wait that long twice. She later returned and told me the manager was discounting my meal. Never did see the manager. Received the check.... discounted $6 off of an $11.99 dish that was inedible. Not too happy. Real Management addresses issues and takes care of their staff's problems. (We also waited 20 min for our check) We will not be returning to this location. A shame because the sushi still rocks!!!
(2)
Taylor S.
For a moderately slow wednesday night service has come to a halt while everyone waits on backed up kitchen perhaps? 50 minutes and waiting on two small plates of food. Food finally came just over an hour. Horrible. Sent food back. Asked for a manager. Manager was obviously too scared to show their face. So they comped a portion of the meal. Sashimi was a ugly block that looked like it was butchered with a butter knife. Wifes lo mein noodles were gross and overcooked. Shrimp smelt old and tastes horrible. Neighboor tables haibachi-esque food seemed appetizing. Do not go here for sushi!!!!!!!!!!!! Did not feel safe eating here
(1)
Elizabeth B.
The only reason I am giving it two stars is because the food was good, its not as good as Miyos or Inakaya, but the food is good. But the service was horrible. They need to train their servers and hostess/host better.
(2)
Grant H.
Very disappointed in this place. The Tsunami is Charleston was good but this place is poorly ran. My last visit, I was disappointed again. It took 10 minutes to get our initial drink order in and another 10 to get them. They forgot our plates with our appetizer and messed up my wife's drink. Unsweetened vs sweetened tea. They told my wife they were sweetening her tea and it took awhile. ? I'm 90% sure they just added sweetener packets. What a joke. My wife got her meal. The waitress made excuses every step of the way, and didn't seem to care a whole lot. You then had them forget to put in my basic 2 roll sushi orders and a manager came over and blamed his computer system for not doing it. So, my wife was watching her food get cold for 15 minutes while I waited for what tasted like grocery store sushi and I could have walked to Publix grocery in the time it took them to get me my food. Pretty irritated. The building is nice and the feel is nice. That seems to be it however. This is the second time in a row this place made me feel like I just wasted money. This used to be a better place. Likely not going back and will search for an alternative for my sushi fix. Two thumbs way down.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Trendy Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
John H.
Folks, it wasn't good. What's so disappointing is that I love Tsunami in Charleston. I have even eaten at the one in the Vista (Columbia) and it was 3x better. Most restaurants along Bower have a 60-120 minute wait. There is a reason you can walk into Tsunami on a Friday night and sit down immediately for a bite. The sushi was not fresh - in fact it was dry and fell apart. Spoon fulls of roe and other unessentials were 'dumped' on top of the rolls and nearly buried them making an awful presentation. The server must have come straight from a party of his own - definitely had challenges articulating his thoughts and communicating, frequently forgot requests and things we'd ordered. Perhaps my favorite was being a spectator of three hostesses on staff that night - none of which greeted guests or took a position at the podium up front but rather wandered around with a cloth in one hand glancing at tables around the restaurant. Bus girl or hostess? Who can tell these days?
(1)hayley t.
When visiting my family in Columbia, we went to Tsunami in hopes to find some decent sushi and Asian food. The modern decor is probably the best thing about the place. Although the lighting made it seem more like a club. My salad "soup" was topped with lettuce and saturated with ginger dressing. (should have requested dressing on the side) The udon i I ordered was satisfactory, if that... The other diners (9 of them) all had similar reviews... Not sure how you can mess up fried rice, but they did. Other complaints included greasy vegetables... the Hibatchi was less than satisfactory... my husband said the sushi was "ok". On top of the food issues, the slow, dull service made the experience a sad one. The automatic 18% gratuity angered me after hours of waiting, no refills and a little bit of attitude.
(1)Chris C.
To be honest I have no idea why this place has so few reviews except it could be a better location. I thought this place was refreshing, intelligent, hip, and affordable. I really don't even know why there is three $$$ signs... It's really $$$ on a $$ budget. Enjoy
(4)Sade G.
Love the food it was great for me and my family to eat at will come again the service was excellent !!! We all had the lunch meals and they were pretty huge
(5)Carla I.
We began our meal with a mixed seafood app. The flavor was good but the chopped pieces of octopus were especially tough to chew. We also felt like it needed rice, bread, or cracker to be served with it as it was a large pile of chopped seafood. Seems like it needed a starch to hold it. We ordered the chef's choice sushi. They allowed my mom to stipulate that she didn't want anything raw. The eel was was my favorite! We received two delicious plates of sushi and they also have an offer for $4 cosmos anyday/anytime! We had an excellent waiter...very attentive, but not to the point of annoying. I have eaten there myself three times and have been pleased with the experience each time.
(4)James H.
Tasty sushi rolls, reasonable happy hour specials, but the place is as hot as a sauna. I asked the manager to adjust the A/C, but he said it was as cool as it was going to get.
(4)Jennifer R.
Haven't been here long, but I'm already unhappy. A few weeks ago, Monday was half price sake. Ask the waitress? "We don't do that anymore, but when we did, it was Sunday, not Monday." Look in the menu. It's listed for both Sunday and Monday. In the current menu, that the waitress handed me herself. "No, we just haven't changed the menu yet." Ok. Did you want a sharpie? Because I'm fairly positive you didn't want me to be back.
(1)T G.
We ordered carry-out service, thinking it would be fast as there were only 2 families in the dining area at the time (Sunday afternoon). Not only did we have to wait approx. 25 mins for take out sushi but then they charged us $.50 for a cup of eel sauce. Since we'd already paid by debit card, I certainly wasn't going to swipe again for 50 cents but the hostess insisted there were no exceptions. Found the change in the car for the sauce but considering the long wait and the fact that we'd spent $35 already...it seemed petty to me. Sushi was ok, nothing great. I bet we will not go back to this location, plenty of other sushi places around town.
(1)Jennifer H.
Great service! Food was fresh. Had tofu hibachi which was crispy outside & soft inside. Crisp cooked veggies. Also had a super crunch roll. Yum!
(5)Wyatt H.
Can't say the sushi was bad, because it wasn't. My server was GREAT and I tipped accordingly. But when I asked to PAY MORE to upgrade from tuna roll, the GOD SUSHI CHEF said no! 1st time EVER that I couldn't get what I wanted even by paying more. I'll never be back. Too many choices within 2 miles that want to please their customers. Don't bother...pick another place.
(1)Taylor S.
I had the filet mignon and rice, and it tasted just like a hibachi grill without the hibachi. I've always had good service here and the waiters are very friendly!
(4)Ca R.
The sushi was amazing and fresh! We had some special wishes and the service was really nice. The prices are also good. We really recommend it!!
(5)Callie H.
Tsunami is my go-to place for sushi! I love the atmosphere, the service, and the food. It's a comfortable environment with big comfy booths, great music (on most occasions) and super yummy sushi. Many times I have ordered a roll that wasn't on the Tsunami menu and it was even better than I remembered.. I definitely LOVE going to Tsunami, having a Sapporo, with some of my favorite sushi in town.
(4)Kwang P.
This is now my favorite Japanese restaurant whenever I visit this side of town. The sushi was top notch and service was exceptional. I love the atmosphere here and most of all food is out of this world...I would highly recommend this place.
(5)Anna L.
I came here to celebrate my boyfriends birthday. We came here for dinner and we were seated at the bar instead of the tables with comfortable chairs because it was crowded and it was a Friday night. We were starving so we didn't really mind until we learned that there was only one lady taking orders for every customer at the bar. In order for us to order something we had to call her several times or she would forget. However, she was trying her really best and gave us free miso soups. So one extra star for that! My favorite meal was the Yakidon. It's enough to share with someone and it was very tasty. We also ordered two sushi plates and they were also good but I would say Doraku is 10 times good. Overall, the atmosphere of the restaurant was very cozy, family friendly and fancy at the same time. I would come back here for the Yakidon and a martini;)
(3)Jason A.
Caught hosts and a bartender making rude remarks about a guest in my group. They walked onto the deck to smoke and several staff pointed at my friend and one remarked, "oh, you mean her big a--?" Im a combat veteran and about had a flashback on that bartender. Management was informed, it took a lot of effort to get him to resolve the issue. After being asked, the staff came over and apologized. This was not to get free food. We paid our bills and tipped our waiter properly. This poor behavior is unfortunately what our society has become. Even outside patrons that were inside made remarks about her. I'll never be back, hopefully this deters others from this establishment. What a shame.
(1)Emily E.
I love their specialty sushi rolls...haven't had a bad one yet. Sometimes can take a while on weekends but worth the wait. Very trendy inside and usually a younger crowd. You must try the pineapple upside down cocktail...mind-blowing! Shumai are also great as a starter.
(4)Miranda G.
Yummy sushi rolls for great prices. Tsunami may be our new go-to sushi restaurant. The waitress was attentive and we got our food quickly. They have great lunch hours (when most places close at 2, this place closed at 3, so we were able to get our late lunch in). Overall we were very pleased with our meal and experience at Tsunami, and I am sure we'll be back.
(4)Anna S.
Excellent sushi! Service amazing. Visiting from Seattle was looking for a sushi place and I am very picky about my sushi. I was impressed by the quality considering its down south, the atmosphere is swanky, and the service is on point quick and very attentive! A must go!
(5)Stefanie S.
Horrible food!! My 3 year old couldn't chew her hibachi chicken and was spitting it out, something she never does! Edemame was so hard we couldn't even get them out of the shell by squeezing. The fried rice and shrimp were also hard and the sushi was dried out. The manager offered to cut the bill in half and save our $30 groupon for another time but I opted to pay the bill because I don't plan on going back!
(1)James G.
Sushi and service both very good! Thoroughly enjoyed our evening here at tsunami's! Server very attentive and food delivered to table in a timely manner. Good cool atmosphere with lighting and music. We will come back again! Good deal with a restaurant.com $25 certificate!
(5)Elliot E.
Abysmal service and average food that wasn't worth the wait or the price. I'd share more detail, but other reviewers have said essentially the same things.
(2)Colleen R.
10 minute wait wasn't too bad, but we waited forever for our server. She took our drink order and was gone for 10 minutes. They were not overly busy at this point, so I'm not sure what the problem was. Our food order took over 30 minutes. The sushi was great, but my son's chicken appetizer was overfried in dirty oil. He picked the breading of and ate the dry chicken cutlet. My shrimp noodles were flavorless, the sauce looked watered down and the veggies were not grilled like they usually are. It was awful and I could not eat it. The server did offer to order another dish, but I told her I didn't want to wait that long twice. She later returned and told me the manager was discounting my meal. Never did see the manager. Received the check.... discounted $6 off of an $11.99 dish that was inedible. Not too happy. Real Management addresses issues and takes care of their staff's problems. (We also waited 20 min for our check) We will not be returning to this location. A shame because the sushi still rocks!!!
(2)Taylor S.
For a moderately slow wednesday night service has come to a halt while everyone waits on backed up kitchen perhaps? 50 minutes and waiting on two small plates of food. Food finally came just over an hour. Horrible. Sent food back. Asked for a manager. Manager was obviously too scared to show their face. So they comped a portion of the meal. Sashimi was a ugly block that looked like it was butchered with a butter knife. Wifes lo mein noodles were gross and overcooked. Shrimp smelt old and tastes horrible. Neighboor tables haibachi-esque food seemed appetizing. Do not go here for sushi!!!!!!!!!!!! Did not feel safe eating here
(1)Elizabeth B.
The only reason I am giving it two stars is because the food was good, its not as good as Miyos or Inakaya, but the food is good. But the service was horrible. They need to train their servers and hostess/host better.
(2)Grant H.
Very disappointed in this place. The Tsunami is Charleston was good but this place is poorly ran. My last visit, I was disappointed again. It took 10 minutes to get our initial drink order in and another 10 to get them. They forgot our plates with our appetizer and messed up my wife's drink. Unsweetened vs sweetened tea. They told my wife they were sweetening her tea and it took awhile. ? I'm 90% sure they just added sweetener packets. What a joke. My wife got her meal. The waitress made excuses every step of the way, and didn't seem to care a whole lot. You then had them forget to put in my basic 2 roll sushi orders and a manager came over and blamed his computer system for not doing it. So, my wife was watching her food get cold for 15 minutes while I waited for what tasted like grocery store sushi and I could have walked to Publix grocery in the time it took them to get me my food. Pretty irritated. The building is nice and the feel is nice. That seems to be it however. This is the second time in a row this place made me feel like I just wasted money. This used to be a better place. Likely not going back and will search for an alternative for my sushi fix. Two thumbs way down.
(1)