Dozo

Very Disappointing This style of large multi region buffet restaurants seem to be in vogue at the moment but there are huge pitfalls they can fall into and this one seems to have managed to hit everyone. The setup is very strange with a huge and completely empty and cold ground floor ‘bar’ making it feel like you are arriving at the least popular restaurant in town. You are quickly ushered up stairs and emerge into a wall of noise and bodies in the hangar sized dining room reminiscent of a large works canteen. The staff were generally attentive but their level of English was very very poor and as a direct result they repeatedly got drinks orders wrong, struggled to grasp the request for a high chair and just generally couldn’t respond to queries! We were left at the table with no explanation of how or where to get food or plates I know it’s not rocket science but still a brief description of what to do or where would have been nice! Which leads us to the key reason for visiting a restaurant, the food. The range is good at first glance if really badly laid out and very poorly and occasionally wrongly labelled. Unfortunately, the quality is very very disappointing and we were consistently left looking at empty platters of those dishes that appeared edible. Lots of what appeared to be reprocessed mystery meat was evident and dishes which should be safe like the duck for pancakes was shredded into tiny dry almost inedible pieces. There were the occasional gems in the sushi bar but again only if you hit lucky as the small platters were put out. Ordering wine was hilarious with what appeared to be a reasonable wine list which we selected from to then be informed that the only wines available were the house white, red or rose!!! All in all a very disappointing experience which I will not be repeating. My recommendation is simple there are many many better restaurants in and around Sunderland so why would you waste your time here?

Dozo has classy décor, friendly staff and a great range of food.
Food-​wise, Dozo considers itself to be pan-​asian as they have Chinese, Indian, Japanese and more on offer. I like visiting Dozo especially as it’s an opportunity for me to indulge my sushi habit, which while limited here, is still tasty, especially the salmon nigiri.
Dozo also boasts a salad bar, stations for Chinese and Indian mains, starters and sides such as rices, naans, etc. The authentic tandoor helps ensure the naans and tikka chicken taste excellent. Being a massive desert fan, I love the range of sweets here too and they’re laid out more attractively than most buffets, as cut squares etc rather than dive-​in trays.
The staff when the restaurant first opened were a bit of an issue, as I suspect they’d been willing to hire people entirely new to that line of work, but things have really picked up and they seem a lot more attentive and to know what they’re doing.
The prices are undeniably higher at Dozo than other local competitors, but if you can afford the difference, I’d say the improved food quality and range plus atmosphere is worth it.