Satsuma Asian Kitchen & Bar

Shine a Light on Satsuma



The best part of our dinner at Satsuma's downstairs outer dining area was when I found out my iPhone has a flashlight function on it, thanks to a buddy who joined me as this dark place - dark when it comes to both photons and service.



The outdoor area where we were seated, after making a reservation in advance for another section of the place, was so dark you needed a flashlight not only to read the menu, but also to see the food and the black-clad waiter.



And speaking about the waiter, both he and the service overall were pretty dismal. We ended up dubbing the place "the restaurant of a million excuses."



We were seated in the downstairs outdoor area, under the train trestle, because the manager refused to seat us on the upstairs deck, which is what I had asked for when I called the restaurant to make a reservation. It turns out you can't make reservations for the deck, according to the surly manager who greeted us when we got to the place.  In a major service faux pas, he didn't say "sorry for the mix up." Instead, he said: "I heard her tell you we could not take reservations on the deck."



My astute friend declared, "He just called you a liar. Did he just happen to be there when you called?"



OK, if it was just my hubby and me I would have walked out at that point. But we were with a group of 6, and at 7 pm on a Friday night we were pretty much stuck staying put since most places were packed.



The manager had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, and I guess he has lots of customers right now and has the luxury to be a jerk...but the overall lack of training we encountered, not just from the manager, but from our waiter as well may doom the place. To add to the no-lighting issue, we had a horribly shaky table. When we asked the waiter about it, he snapped: "It's the ground. I can't do anything about it."



After further inspection from the engineer at our table, with my iPhone flashlight in hand, we realized the table wasn't attached securely to the base. The waiter finally relented and shoved a folded up napkin under one of the legs, and while still wobbly, at least drinks wouldn't tip over.



As for the meal, it was disappointing on many levels. The fish dishes were ok, but lacked freshness and taste. The spicy tuna tartare wasn't spicy, and the "angry" shrimp, which the waiter warned us was very spicy, wasn't hot enough even be considered "annoyed."  The calamari was good, but the club was difficult to eat. The fried dumplings were adequate, but one our of group thought they were a little overcooked.  And while it seemed as though the presentation of the food was trying for charming -- many dishes were served in Chinese takeout containers -- it was so dark, you couldn't really tell.



The truffle fries, which are famous at Moro, under the same ownership as Satsuma, were delicious as usual. But sitting there in the dark I realized why we had stopped going to Moro -- the service was always a bit lacking.



Adequate food and crummy service just don't inspire me to keep coming back.



Clearly, Satsuma's management can take a page from the building's former owner, the Del Rose. The only service we found stellar at the place was the bartender, who told us that he was a former Del Rose employee.

I was eagerly anticipating the opening of this place, in the former site of Del Rose.  I have an insatiable desire for sushi & was looking forward to putting myself in the poor house by making myself its Norm Peterson.      

I love the remodel, it's very open & simple.  The expanded seating upstairs & upper deck are excellent & I even like the choice of steel for the outside stairs (although the steps tend to blend together if your descending making it hard to see individual steps, especially at night).  The front upstairs is more intimate which seems perfect for small dinner parties.

Now for the food:  I know this is supposed to be "fusion" ie non-traditional so they're going to take some chances to be edgy & different but... much of what I have had so far seems to be over engineered & trying to hard to be different instead of just appetizing.  I've already been here multiple times & tried probably a dozen things so far.  I was not amused or captivated by the popcorn on the salmon sashimi, it added nothing & really came off laughable.  I should note that I really want to like the food here & hate to sound too critical but so far am just not blown away or even intrigued by anything so I'm hoping this will be taken  constructively :)  The menu descriptions of each item are also a bit confusing, especially for the sushi-esq items.  Just doesn't paint a clear picture of what you're getting.  I will say I enjoyed the brussel sprouts, wasabi mashed potatoes & the sashimi I had tonight.  Previously the sashimi signature dishes were way too sauce heavy & had too much going on.  Even the edamame was over done.  Steamed with sea salt is just perfect really, it's not an entree & doesn't need to be over thought.  I ordered a few sushi items off menu, which I really appreciated being allowed to do.  The rice however was too firm, almost hard & the construction of the roll looked a bit amateurish.  In general, regardless of any signature dishes or rolls they want to try they need to have the basic sushi staples on the menu too; salmon roll, spicy tuna, eel roll, etc.  I've made some comments to the staff & not only was it very well received but there have already been some very positive menu changes (new sashimi/sushi selection)!  

Service is excellent & it's great to even see some old faces too :)  I'm planning a dinner party here for a very important client of mine in a couple weeks so that will be a real test!  

I'm really looking forward to the development of this place as a major sushi player in Wilmington.  Most of the other places in town have gotten lazy, which is evident in their lacklobster service & lack of menu rotation, so Satsuma has a real chance to grab some business here!  

Of course, if they need a taste tester I'm always available ;)

We started out having a spat with the manager about a seating misunderstanding. He was astonishingly unhelpful but we figured the food should be worth the poor service, or that he was having a bad day. We were not correct. The managers rudeness and hostility was apparently the benchmark of service for the rest of the staff, who made one excuse after another for shaky tables, slow service, when a simple apology would have cleared the deck and got things mount forward. We were seated on the downstairs outside terrace, which is almost toolkit unlit, meaning we were dining with the aid of iPhone flashlights for much of the evening, couldn't really read the menus or see the food, etc. the food was on the better side of OK, so wasn't enough to make up for the lingering bad feeling created by the service. I liked the plate sizes and the variety of dishes, and some of the fusions were interesting, but nothing was a show stopper or frankly, much different than similar dishes available elsewhere in town or in Philly. Notably, a couple of our party ordered dishes that were described as hot and spicy were really just not by any stretch, even to a really conservative palate. If you are going to describe dishes that way, and have your staff say they have a real kick, then you need to deliver. But most of all you need to deliver on service. I have not had worse for a long time.