You never really get a true picture of a restaurant when you go in it's first few weeks of opening. Half the staff that greet you on those first few nights won't last the pace, half of the slick little touches all around the gaff will be long forgotten a few weeks in. Whereas once you marvelled at the real linen napkins and the Molten Brown soap in the toilets, often give it a couple of weeks and you'll have a crimbo serviette shoved in a half pint glass and a plunge bottle of Sainsburys "value" clementine & strawberry soap (if you're lucky in some cases). At first you have servers tripping over you, a raised eyebrow brings them running from all directions. Later of course, you can't find a bugger to get a beer off for love nor money.
Such is life (well such is my life anyway) so it was with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation that we went back to Sticks'n'Sushi at the weekend. The trepidation was because there's nothing worse than when a restaurant convinces you it's great, only to bitterly disappoint the second time around. I really hoped that wouldn't happen here, as much as anything else because I've praised it up so lavishly and sent so many people over there over the last couple of months.
I needn't have worried, all the favourable impressions that were made on our previous couple of visits were confirmed very quickly. The food remains lovely (and I've read one or two sniffy reviews which claim you can get better sushi elsewhere) and to that I can only answer not in Wimbledon you can't. Nor can you get a nicer and better run or slavishly clean place to take the family, and you certainly can't get a restaurant which has standards of service which are so impeccably high. These guys are really on it, and the only problem I can see for them going forward is how they are ever going to replace the utterly brilliant Danish people they have amongst their number. A few of the local staff are almost getting to the standards which they set, but this is a steep mountain to climb and I don't envy them the task.
Foodwise we had the usual kind of stuff, Ebby bites (don't ask, God knows), some Edamame beans of which I ate about 3lbs of (get the ones with the dressing on, can't remember what it's called) and all that kind of stuff. I got a chickeny board thingie with all these sticks and wings and stuff (so did my little lad Charlie) and my only criticism would be the pickled cabbagy gear on top of the rice (Kimshee or something like that) was a bit lively for him and it might be better putting it on the side. It didn't matter as I ate his anyway, but it's just a thought. All the stuff on the board was lovely, absolutely faultless. Sarah got this sushi thing which she assured me was gorgeous, while my little seven year old princess got a kiddies box thing which as it turned out was too big for her (get the small one if it's for a nipper would be my advice).
I should also mention we got this "green juice" stuff or was it yellow I don't know, anyway that was zingy and beautiful. Probably got some quite healthy ingredients in it too I shouldn't wonder. For afters, the kids had these ice cream scoops with a chocolate fish inside, I had this fruit cakey thingie with a blob of ice cream (top vanilla ice cream too). Sarah had a mini creme brulee and an esspresso which was just about the nicest cup of coffee I've ever tasted (I finished it off while she wasn't looking). I've heard people say it's a "bit pricey" but I've never felt that when I've been. Here, we had a beer each and had more food than we could finish, and it was around £100 or so with service included. I don't like service charge, but here the service is so good it's hard to complain really.
I really like this restaurant, it's currently the favourite place to talk your parents into taking you if you're a kid at Bishop Gilpin school, and you can see why. The kids aren't daft, Sticks'n'Sushi is flipping good.
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