Sushi on 5

[russg140]

So there are several Celebrity threads on Facebook about Bistro on 5 being converted to Sushi on 5, and the subsequent elimination of the complimentary sushi each evening in the Oceanview on Reflection. The menu at So5 is ala carte and a bit pricey. According to folks who have been the servers are saying that it is being tested, but then someone posted from another ship (EQ?) that they were going to be converted next month.

 

So5 is not included in the Specialty Dining Packages.

 

Stay tuned....

[Wine-O]

Yeah, I'll be walking by, just like the Bistro, and see the place completely empty. :rolleyes:

[az_tchr]

Eliminate my sushi at Oceanview and you will have a very unhappy cruiser. Do not intend to visit the new upscale restaurant. Wine-o, we can walk by together.

[justcrusn]

I'm a fan of the buffet sushi for an afternoon snack.

Still I realize that it cannot co-exist with sushi on 5 from a business point of view.

Celebrity would be competing with themselves.

Free sushi would win over for-fee sushi for enough cruisers that it would undermine the concept.

[Desertbelle]

I'm rather looking forward to trying the Sushi on 5 when we get to the Reflection in 3.5 weeks. I think the drink menu sounds yummy and we will probably head there a few times for a Smashy Japanese! :)

 

They may find themselves having stumbled onto a lounge serving sushi rather than a sushi restaurant serving alcohol.

[justcrusn]

They may find themselves having stumbled onto a lounge serving sushi rather than a sushi restaurant serving alcohol.

 

You may be on to something, I like the way you think!

[Desertbelle]

[emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

Edited March 15, 2016 by Desertbelle

[ChucktownSteve]

I'm a fan of the buffet sushi for an afternoon snack.

Still I realize that it cannot co-exist with sushi on 5 from a business point of view.

Celebrity would be competing with themselves.

Free sushi would win over for-fee sushi for enough cruisers that it would undermine the concept.

 

I have had the buffet sushi. I've also eaten in sushi restaurants...just not on X yet. IMHO there is a huge difference in the quality of sushi in the buffet vs. sushi on 5. Not even the same type of offerings from what I've seen on the menu.

 

Therefore I believe they can co-exist. People who feel the free buffet sushi is good enough probably may not see the value in the higher quality sushi on 5 offerings if given a choice. If no sushi is on the buffet, I suspect they probably won't visit sushi on 5 anyway. However I see nothing wrong with either type of sushi eater. :D

 

I agree with the opinion the lounge with sushi probably describes it well.

Edited March 15, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[cluso]

Just back from 2 weeks on Infinity. Buffet sushi was way under par--quality and selection--from our previous experiences on Celebrity (which is quite a few). We used to make a meal of it, not now!

[jsf]

If the sushi think fails how about a New York style Deli, if you can get the different chef's on the same page.

J.

[benny salami]

Losing the Oceanview buffet sushi is no loss. Like the idea of another waterhole with sushi and we will try on our upcoming Reflection cruise. Thanks for the heads up russg140!

 

 

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[monicajay]

Yeah, I'll be walking by, just like the Bistro, and see the place completely empty. :rolleyes:

 

You might be surprised. It was very busy every night (and the lunch I ate there) on our recent Reflection cruise.

 

Much busier than the Bistro was.

 

You can walk on by but I do believe that it will be much more successful than the Bistro ever was. Plus, they pull in way more money per person with this a la carte pricing.

[CruisingTheWaves]

i expect it would be busy the first few cruises/months, etc. it's new, anyone who really loves sushi would want to try it. bistro was a concept people already know. i'm sure IT was busier when it was new as well. once word gets out about sushi on 5 and most people have tried it, it will either be successful or not. but i suspect it's mainly busy now because people are curious.

[ghstudio]

i expect it would be busy the first few cruises/months, etc. it's new, anyone who really loves sushi would want to try it. bistro was a concept people already know. i'm sure IT was busier when it was new as well. once word gets out about sushi on 5 and most people have tried it, it will either be successful or not. but i suspect it's mainly busy now because people are curious.

 

I think you're assuming that everyone is a repeat celebrity cruiser which isn't true. There are many new to celebrity on every cruise...so the sushi will be new to them. If it's busy now, it probably will stay busy.

[jagoffee]

I do not think the Bistro 5 was busy in the beginning, so you might be right.

[monicajay]

i expect it would be busy the first few cruises/months, etc. it's new, anyone who really loves sushi would want to try it. bistro was a concept people already know. i'm sure IT was busier when it was new as well. once word gets out about sushi on 5 and most people have tried it, it will either be successful or not. but i suspect it's mainly busy now because people are curious.

 

I think that with 3000 passengers on each Reflection sailing there will always be a group who will be new and want to eat sushi as long as the quality stays high. If there is any decline in quality then word will get out and people will stop going.

 

Increasingly, people have large OBC and they are looking for ways to spend it.

[PatC]

Personally no sushi for us! Hate the stuff. Making Bistro this sushi bar doesn't hold for me. We did like Bistro. They are playing around and it's getting really annoying. Next cruise they might change to a deli. Now a deli is for everyone as far as I am concerned BUT, having said that, would NOT pay $15. They have raised the prices at the specialty restaurants way out of sight. Our Equinox cruise in January might be our last for a while. We are sailing Eclipse on April 3rd. Hoping things haven't changed that much since our last one on her 2 years ago.

 

Pat C

[TFLG]

We were excited to try it on the Eclipse as we eat sushi every week (kinda love the stuff). But boy were we disappointed. Quite possibly some of the worst sushi I've every had. The apps were fine, the rolls were pressed way too tightly and it was like eating a roll of thick paste. Also the selection is pretty lame. The sashimi was disgusting and it seemed as though the fish had been frozen and thawed several times as it was just a watery mushy mess. The salmon seemed ok, but all the other fish was gross. Certainly not going back there. Also told the waiter and he didn't seem to care one way or another.

[levramosis]

We were excited to try it on the Eclipse as we eat sushi every week (kinda love the stuff). But boy were we disappointed. Quite possibly some of the worst sushi I've every had.

 

I'm surprised you had such a bad experience. We tried So5 on Reflection and the fish quality and cutting was excellent. We had a nigiri assortment and a sashimi assortment and I'd easily order the sashimi again as the better value and better quality. I wouldn't order the ramen again, and they need to raise their game on all tempura items which were clearly fried and then refrigerated. Tempura had better be hot, fresh and crispy or it's really not worth doing or eating. Also we were disappointed that they were out of nigori sake when we were there, but the So5 cocktails (which are covered on your premium beverage package) were pretty good. We were happy to try the real wasabi root ground at your table, since I doubt I'd ever had the real thing before.

 

Overall So5 was not the best sushi restaurant we've been to nor the worst. Overall we thought it was a worthwhile addition to our dining experiences aboard ship.

[Grandma7]

We tried it twice on Reflection on our TA in November. My husband really lives Sushi, me not as much. We loved the dumplings and the sushi. Also we had asked for a discount when we were outside the buffet one day and got a $30 all you can eat price. On the last night they gave us $25 price. No one was there either night. Felt bad for them but it was very nice for us. Those special drinks on their menu are drinks from the World Class Bar that are given different names and they are made over there for them.

[4774Papa]

I am not a big sushi fan, but I love Japanese food in general. It was interesting, on our trip to Japan last year, we never saw a restaurant that offered sushi. We were told this by the locals:

 

"Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves. In Japan, sushi is usually enjoyed on special occasions, such as a celebration."

 

We might give Sushi on 5 a run of it, if they have choices other than sushi. I understand that is the case.

[russg140]

OP here...

 

So a couple of things. So5 on our SIL TA was fantastic. We ate there three times!

 

Regarding the cost: in speaking with the shoreside concierge she said there was a lot of confusion when it was originally rolled out, but with certain dining packages it was included. As someone else mentioned they are ALWAYS walking around the Oceanview looking to sell open times for a discount, so if you don't mind planning last minute that's a great option.

 

I have to say vis-a-vis Bistro on 5, So5 was MUCH busier. The staff was excellent and remembered what we had from one dinner to the next.

[TeaBag]

Thank you for taking the time to get back to us and let us know what your impression was. We have not tried it yet, but we do love Sushi. Glad you liked it.

[Maligator]

I can be counted among those who were highly disappointed that Bo5 was replaced with a sushi joint. I've given sushi a shot a few times and it always tastes like low tide to me. However, being a big fan of cooked Asian food, I was interested to see there was plenty more than sushi and sashimi available. We had the shrimp dumplings, which were fantastic. My wife had the lobster ramen (which I confiscated and finished) and I tried the scallop & shrimp dynamite, which I thought was OK, but not great. I could easily see myself going back in the future.

[stephenjp]

We were lucky enough to be invited to a trial evening on the Constellation, just as Bistro on Five was being converted. As committed Bistro fans, we were gutted to learn that it was to be replaced by a sushi restaurant, but having experience what Sushi on Five has to offer, are almost converted. It will be interesting to see how the restaurant on reflection and eclipse is performing now that it is no longer a novelty.