I had high hopes for this! After reading a review of the place and food photo staking their Facebook page, I just had to try this local sushi bar. Just as the review had said, we found Doring Sushi still operating out of what used to be Crazy Wendy's on Barlow Moor Road, physically of course, but in spirit as well! There was a temporary banner with their name secured over Crazy Wendy's sign, the decor inside was exactly the same except for the new menus and a makeshift sushi bar set up in front of the bar area - but because of the height of the banister, you could see the chef's handy work, so there really isn't any point setting up there. Especially because he was the only one preparing food and had to run back and forth to the kitchen at the back.
The service was slow. There were three waiters and none of them had clear roles or clear ideas on what they were meant to be doing regarding table service. The menus and glasses and the crockery were greasy and looked like a mucky kid had been playing with them before. Whilst we were there, many of the restaurant guests waited a long time to order or got their food orders wrong. I'm sure they're going to get this bit right soon, because they're only going to get busier as their sushi WAS very good and value for money.
We ordered Karaage Chicken - deep fried marinaded chicken pieces, and Agedashi Tofu - that delicious lightly deep fried silk tofu in sweet greasy soy were not good here (nowhere near Oishi Q standards - I went here recently and was very impressed by them). Here, the chicken looked like Quorn pieces and were not crispy enough. The tofu they used in the other starter was the wrong type - they used firm instead of silky so this was not great either. However, I did say their SUSHI was good and it's true. We ordered 4 rolls (each was 8 pieces for less than a fiver each so we weren't expecting giant rolls). They can beautifully presented, albeit on greasy plates. The rice was well seasoned and the fish tasted fresh. Each roll was rolled to order which meant you had to wait a bit with the one chef but it also meant you didn't get soggy seaweed.
Next time, we will order just sushi for take out, and collect at the beginning of the even service when they are less busy. I look forward to revisiting later on in the year once they've ironed out their table service, give the place a lack of paint, throw out dirty liking carpets.... read more