I visited Bristol's Niji Japanese restaurant as it reopened in new location and left with mixed feelings
Explore our review of Niji Sushi Bristol's new location, highlighting both delights and a few disappointments.
Niji Sushi Bristol reopened its doors at its new location on 63 Union Street on March 29.
The sushi restaurant was formerly located on the top floor of the Galleries Shopping Centre, which is due for redevelopment.
We visited the newly reopened Japanese restaurant for lunch to see what it offers and left with mixed feelings.
The beige-walled restaurant was divided in the middle by a wooden panel and a half-length pale tiled wall.
On the left of the venue, straight from the entrance, was the bar and wooden-panelled Bar top with matching light-wooden chairs, and the kitchen was visible from one of the corners.
Cute fish-shaped straw lanterns hung from the roof above the tables.
The restaurant was about half-full and it didn't take long to be seated on one of the many wooden tables, next to a window facing out towards the city centre.
The menu included a wide range of dishes including a variety of sushi, Barbeque and Skewers (from 5.30pm), curries and ramen.
I opted for an apple juice (£3.90), a Vegetable Tempura Set (two pieces each of aubergine, baby sweet corn, sweet potato and pumpkin; £11.90) and Japanese Fried Chicken (£9.20), both of which were marked as chef's recommendations.
I also ordered a Chocolate-filled Dorayaki (a Japanese pancake with a flavoured paste; £4.60) for dessert.
It quickly became apparent that Niji may not be the best choice to grab a meal if you're tight on time, as the Japanese Fried Chicken took about half an hour to arrive and the tempura set an extra 10 minutes.
The chicken, which came on a bed of shredded lettuce, was juicy, tender and bursting with flavour.
It paired well with the slightly spicy sauce it came with.
Little after finishing the dish, I spotted it was described as six pieces on the menu, but unfortunately only came with four.
As for the tempura, it was very hot and the batter was nice and smooth. The baby sweet corner was tender and slightly crispy whilst the other vegetables were mostly tender.
Overall, the vegetables didn't have too much flavour but this was improved by dipping them in the accompanying broth.
The flavours became a bit tiring as I was having them by myself, but I felt it could have been a good sharing dish.
As for the Dorayaki, the pancakes were soft and fluffy. It contrasted well with the thick, richer chocolate cream.
Overall, it was a filling meal and the fried chicken was the biggest highlight. The staff was very friendly, but the service was slow and the food was on the expensive end.