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Because it was a relatively hot night, we wanted to sit inside (though the patio looked pleasant). We were led down to the lounge area which actually reminded me of the room my parents used to stick me when they had nice dinners: a sort of hidden-away area where I wouldn’t embarrass anyone. In the lounge area, were several other groups who couldn’t get a normal table either: we basked in our collective shortcomings.

The décor in Sake is very modern and trendy: it made me want to buy fine wire-rim glasses and wear Chuck Taylor’s while listening to my iPod. The lighting is romantic, the bar stocked, and the waiters snazzily dressed.

Between the three of us in our party, we must’ve ordered ten things, the first of which were soy beans, salads, and sushi. The sushi was very fresh and the rice was perfectly seasoned (even a little bit warm which I like). The vegetarian salad was this sketchpad-sized plate with a number of peculiar, and honestly flavorless, things: kiwi, avocado, bean sprouts, lettuce, carrot, raw mushroom, seaweed…etc. The thing seriously looked like something I’d throw together the night before a big trip, essentially a compost heap of leftovers; very bizarre.

The waiter was clearly overworked and regularly took 10 minutes to deliver rounds of drinks. The old man sitting near us would call out for the guy from across the room: I suppose this is how you get your food here. We spent the time watching the plasma TV which was showing a special on the Playboy mansion.

To be fair, we ordered several of the little carafes of sake which were very good and hot. I always get a hoot out of drinking from those thimble-sized shot glasses: does anyone else (who's not a midget or a baby or a skeleton) have trouble holding those little things?

The remainder of the dishes came staggered which was nice. The fish was very fresh for everything, however in the California roll, they used that crummy mayonnaise crab compote which more looks like confetti: gross. I asked instead for a normal California roll sans mayo but he informed me he’d have to charge me for the one I couldn’t eat: Great, I thought to myself. Now I’ll have something to throw at you guys when I leave.

They seem to specialize in pop-sushi, as in the kind of sushi which the Japanese would never be caught dead serving. Dessert sushi, fried sushi, sushi that arrives to the table set on fire! These are all good, but they’re walking a fine line.

We also ordered a steak which literally never arrived. They just’ve forgotten about it or something. Eventually, we told them we just wanted to cancel the order and get outta there and, noticing our dismay, the waiter brought tempura and a free round of drinks to try to make amends. It worked because we like free drinks.

In reality, the food at Sake is quite good. The wait staff can be compromised when the place is full which seems like every popular week night: as our waiter was walking about as fast as you can be without running, leaping up stairs three and four at time. In the bathrooms they have small personalized towels and mouthwash which is a nice touch in my book. The maitre’de had a bit of an attitude but I wasn’t there to make friends. Dinner for three with drinks was $105 excluding tip: come on guys, if you want to be Miami cool and charge Miami prices, can't you throw together something better than that?

Sake: 2.5 Stars

Comments (3)

Your downstairs neighbor: Suggestion Enjoy all your review. Very entertaining & informative. That being said, I would suggest noting the address of each, in the event your review piques someone's interest and they'd like to find the place. Operating hours and days they are closed would also be a nice add, if not too taxing to solicit. 1 November 06, 2007 Agent Coconut: For ****'s Sake... Sake enjoys a top-notch location in the heart of Punta Paitilla, facing Multiplaza, and thus probably feeds innumerable bankers and traders from the surrounding offices. Their game must be how to spend the greatest amount of dollars for the least amount of food. Let's begin with first impressions: nice terrasse but no-one uses it apparently, probably because the ceiling of the restaurant are cathedral-like. Very roomy, the lighting very suave. The "pit" to your left as you enter looks just that and is probably a lot of fun in big groups. Dinner for two had to take place at a table. So down we sat on hardwood chairs, noticing a stark contradiction between the vast and pricey menu and well, the paper table mats sponsored by Coca-Cola. Hmmm, I'm not a hair-splitter by nature, but at one stage if you want to justify the cost of such of place, you dispense with tacky table mats. Plasma screens adorn one wall, and this time they showed documentary footage of underwater life...kind of odd, seeing as you're about to eat their cousins. In any case, screens of any kind should be banished from places such as these as they are the epitome of designer laziness. So the menu is immense like i said - we spent the better part of 20 minutes deciding what to order. We focused on the sushi (house speciality) and starters, and came away rather disappointed. The sushi was fresh and beautifully made, but honestly lacked any flavour, especially the "spicy tuna", the most tangy ingredient of which was probably the rice... The waiters were many and far between. I don't know if I'm an incult when it comes to eating sushi, but I had to ask for soy sauce and wasabi. One starter was fabulous though, I believe it was seared tuna (it's the last and most expensivee starter on the list, figures) with a sesame sauce. But all in all, paying $40 for two starters, a handful of sushi and two juices, on top of the lousy service, I think they really have to think this one out again. Unless undiscerning bankers keep their favourite cantine afloat. 2 February 08, 2008 sutton47: retired money broker Sushi is my favourite, and here in Luxembourg it's pricey but brilliant.However, nowhere, and I mean nowhere beats Las Vegas.I've stopped trying new sushi places 'cos I'm always disappointed after my visit to the desert and the extraordinary sushi:all you can eat for 30 bucks! 3 March 20, 2008

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