A Michelin-star sushi restaurant in New York City is facing nationwide backlash after a patron claimed the only woman in their party was told she’d be getting “smaller portions” than the men she was dining with.
TikTok user Luis Carlos Zara is a foodie extraordinaire who shares his fine dining experiences on social media to the tune of tens of thousands of views.
However, one of his videos is taking TikTok by storm after he dined at Sushi Noz in New York City, saying his experience at the luxury establishment was far from ideal.
While Zara has been to this particular spot a handful of times before, the meal he had after the restaurant got its second Michelin star soured his mood quite a bit.
NYC sushi restaurant slammed for giving women smaller portions
Zara documented his experience at Sushi Noz in a video that’s garnered over seven million views since being posted on February 2 — a spot that costs $700 per person for a meal with wine pairings.
First, Zara claimed that his party’s wine pairings were off, saying they didn’t match each course and that the pours came out at “awkward times,” with no clear explanation as to why they were paired with each dish.
This complaint paled in comparison to the next issue Zara had with Sushi Noz, claiming that the only woman dining in his party was specifically told she would be getting “smaller portions” than her male counterparts.
While this is supposedly a “common practice” in some areas for ‘omakase’ — a phrase that literally means “I leave the details up to you,” denoting a chef-curated dinner — he says that their female guest “didn’t ask” for it.
On top of that, the price of the meal wasn’t adjusted for the smaller portions. Zara then claimed that one of the chefs even threw out one of their guest’s courses after they were getting full, despite “politely” communicating with them that it would be their “last piece.”
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“The mindfulness of how we consume food and what we waste is really important, and to see food being snatched up like this and thrown in the trash was pretty shocking,” Zara said.
Commenters were left stunned by his tale, slamming the restaurant and applauding the TikToker’s “brutal honesty.”
“Sushi isn’t worth $700,” one user wrote. “Women getting smaller portions is wild. Imagine paying full price for less food just because of that.”
“Smaller portions for women when there is basically no food anyway,” another remarked.
“The fact he threw it in the trash shows how worthless it is,” another said. “I’d never waste good money on overpriced Michelin-star food.”
Comments on the restaurant’s social media pages tell tales similar to Zara’s experience, with one user writing on Instagram: “Did not have a great experience. Wife’s portion was much smaller than mine. Will stick with Masa’s.”
Thus far, Sushi Noz has not offered a response to Zara’s viral video, leaving frustrated diners waiting for answers.