Azuma - Montréal

After a write up in La Presse newspaper in May rating Azuma as one of the three authentic Japanese restaurantsin Montreal, we ventured forth with four guests last Friday at 1 pm. The restaurant looks a little round down and on this hot day it was sweltering inside...no fans were connected we had to ask.We came for the famous eel...sold out as other two items on the menu...beer Sapporo no no today some local beer with ginger was the only one available.Very slow service, we expected it but not the shortened menu. we were all sorry our outing turned out so badly

Nous étions là un mardi midi. Nous avons attendu 45 minutes pour la soupe et salade, sans goût, puis après une heure, nous avons quitté, comme d'autres clients, sans avoir reçu le plat principal.We were there on a Tuesday, for lunch. We waited one hour and still no sign of the main dish. The soup and salad came after 45 minutes and were bland. Customers left because they couldn't wait longer....we did the same.

On a positive note, this restaurant serves delicious food: I loved my different kinds of sushi, and my friends enjoyed their fresh fish and soy beans. All seemed to me well prepared and with care in the preparation, and the salmon is amazing.BUT: it is unbelievable how slow the service can be. I don't know if we were just unlucky, but we had to wait more than a hour for our dishes (and 20 minutes for simple soy beans.) If we had not asked, we would not have received a new teapot, not to mention the absence of the waitress, to check if we wanted some water. This is extremely disappointing (I actually saw a couple abandoning the resto, in despair); I am giving this place a high vote, because the meal was very fine, if not a bit expensive (consider sth like 25 dollars per person, without drinks), but I would not go back, sincerely.

The chef is Japanese and naturally we serve authentic Japanese dishes, delicious with Japanese finesse. one of the few Japanese restaurants where I felt like a tokyo. a feeling that doesn't describe itself.

Azuma is wonderful and perhaps not-well-enough-known Japanese restaurant. The food is delicious, the service is great, and the restaurant is warm and welcoming. The food is fresh, delicate, and incredibly tasty. Azuma is everything I hope for in a Japanese restaurant, and in any restaurant in general: a place where you leave more than satisfied by your meal (which is incredibly reasonably priced) which is more that I can say for so many montreal restaurants today. Thank you Azuma!