Sushi Samba (Liverpool Street) is one of our favourites and we were super excited to see it had opened one in Covent Garden. Amen had booked it for a few weeks ago but we had to keep rescheduling because of my changing schedule.
Sushi Samba works perfectly for us, Amen loves the sushi and I love everything else. It’s the first place I ate squid and shrimp and absolutely loved it. Also, wagyu beef! You could say I like the finer things 😉
The Covent Garden branch is one of the toughest restaurants to find, ever! We walked around in circles for 40 minutes in a busy Covent Garden (during holiday period on a Saturday!) – we ended up being incredibly late! At this point I didn’t even want to go and would happily eat else where. But Amen really wanted to go, so when we finally found it we explained how tough it was to find the restaurant and it being incredibly busy. They were nice to give us a seat at the sushi counter.
TIP FOR THE RESTAURANT: please provide a clear map/instructions on how to find the restaurants when people book, either send an email or phone to explain when confirming reservations.
The Restaurant
The restaurant is very beautiful! It reminded me of a rainforest from all the green tree/leaves decorations. A lot of detail went into the design of the restaurant which is expected because it is sushi Samba. But also the other restaurant has a view of London where this one does not, so a beautiful design is necessary.
The sushi counter was actually really beautiful and turned out to be better for us. Not only could we see the sushi chefs preparing the sushi the décor around the counter was incredible!
The Menu
The menu is exactly the same as the other restaurant which I though was a bit underwhelming. I expected something slightly different, perhaps a couple dishes exclusive to Covent Garden? Personally, if I want to book sushi samba and pay that much I would choose the Liverpool Street one with the view – which is why the Covent Garden menu should offer something unique to them.
Sushi samba has a sharing concept and the food comes out as it’s ready.
The Food
First up was the vegetable taquitos which is always amazing! There’s so much flavour that you almost forget it’s veggies. But it does get a little messy when you eat.
The squid was next and it was different. First, it looked beautiful and we were surprised as we haven’t had it like this before. But then after a few bites it was just too sweet! I like sweet but even I couldn’t eat anymore of it.
The shrimp tempura was delicious as always and with the spicy mayo it was perfect and not too overpowering that you couldn’t taste the shrimp. We always fight who will eat more – I always win, or it could be that Amen is a perfect gentleman ❤️
The chicken teriyaki was delicious. It tasted a lot better than it ever has. The chicken was soft and succulent with the teriyaki glazed over.
The wagyu gyoza was incredible! The wagyu beef at sushi samba is always amazing but these gyozas were the best I’ve ever had.
The lamb chop (well done) was full of flavour and it was delicious. It had a sweet glaze but not too sweet. The meat was soft and we both really enjoyed it.
The pork belly skewers was all Amen’s and as always it was amazing. He loves this.
The churrasco Rio grande includes, rib-eye steak, chorizo and picanha (rump steak). We had to fight over who will order this, this time I let Amen win. When it came it was fairly huge and I was happy to let him win lol. He ordered the steaks to be cooked medium and it came on a hot stone with three condiments. Although, by this time he was full but still ate most of it and loved it. He thought the rump steak tasted a lot better than the rib eye.
FINALLY, THE SUSHI!
Amen’s favourite is the Tiger Maki. It always looks beautiful, I have tried it once before but I could eat it all lol. He was actually dying from all the food but he thinks sushi is a snack for him lol. He thought it was delicious but the beetroot yogurt was abit too sweet.
Dessert
We actually had room for dessert? Yes, yes we did! We had the the chocolate banana cake! It was incredible, we love this dessert it’s perfect. It reminds me of a sticky toffee pudding.
Verdict
Sushi Samba Covent Garden is very beautiful and has a different décor to the Liverpool street one but the food is the same. There’s a slight difference in the way it’s cooked and the flavour to some dishes but all is the same. The service is always great. We had an amazing time and loved sitting by the sushi counter which was surprising. There were a lot of group dinners which the restaurant can accommodate to. We recommend for special occasions, dates, groups and just for drinks at their bar.
Cuisine: Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian
Dress Code: Smart casual
Shiima’s Star Dish: The Shrimp Tempura
Amen’s Star Dish: The Lamb Chop
Price: £40-50pp
Rating: 5 out 5
Sushi Samba
35 The Market Building
London WC2E 8RF
www.sushisamba.com
