The food here is pretty good and relatively creative if you like sprinkles on your sushi, but seriously the worst service I've ever experienced in my life. I went with two friends and they brought out our individual rolls at about 20 minute intervals over an hour. The table next to us, who came in 30 minutes later, got their food before 2/3 of what we had ordered arrived. If you have all the time in the world and don't mind watching your friends finish eating before the staff even starts to think about your food, then I guess Shota Muni is decent. However, I would not recommend it.

I went to the new unlisted branch located at the Switzerland Apartments (east of Swissotel) with a friend for dinner last night.

I'll start with the bad news. The service was far from flawless. Upon arrival, the waitress could not locate my booking though we conversed in Chinese. During the process, she abandoned me to serve another customer. I had to locate my own phone number and booking from the reservations list myself, which revealed that the name was indeed recorded correctly, but how she failed to find it was beyond me. Then, during the meal, I gestured to the staff pouring drink that there is dirty napkin on the table. She didn't get the hint, so a verbal reminder was necessary. While talking intensely with my dining partner, the waiting staff kept distractingly reached over the table to clear plates and pour drinks unnecessarily and without invitation or permission.

We had discount vouchers with us entitling us to two free dishes. At the beginning, there was plenty of discussion (OK, my dining partner is quite talkative) when the staff incorrectly insisted that we could have one OR half of the other one (sic!) of the pictured dishes. At the end, after consultation with the manager, we got BOTH the promised dishes.

Now to the good news. The environment was sufficiently quiet even though the place was full and quite small, with avant garde romantic lighting. The bench seating system leaves a little to be desired though. I found the table too high, and the non-adjustable bench seats too far from the table, but it was soft and comfortable. The table was a tad too large as well, which is OK if you take your in-laws to dinner, but not so if you take your girlfriend there. Personal tastes, I know.

The washroom was clean and without strong odour. It was separated from the dining area with an electric sliding door that looked more like a painting than a door. It had to be activated rather interestingly. I won't spoil your fun here, go check it out yourself.

The food was great. Their signature CCTV salad and CBD sushi both lived up to their hype in terms of taste, presentation, freshness and texture. The roast eel simply melts in your mouth with nary a hint of fishiness. The salmon head we had was outstanding not just in taste, but also because for once, the picture in the menu looked smaller than the actual serving size. The beef and straw mushroom dish was similarly generous in serving size.

I failed to spot any native Japanese diners in the full restaurant last night. I wouldn't say that it is the most authentic Japanese food around, but certainly the taste is much better than many of the other Japanese places I've been to in Beijing.

Our dinner for two bill was only 130 RMB after discount. We didn't order any drinks or sashimi. If you do, expect double the price. And if you do go, advanced booking is definitely advised.

I usually have their RMB 60 sushi set lunch about once a week - comes with a dozen rolls (including six sashimi rolls), salad, soup, egg custard and pickles - nothing too fancy, but reliably consistent and all-in-all a pretty good deal. Service can vary, but is more or less efficient.

I might be biased as this is the only sushi restaurant I have tried in Beijing so far, but that is because I have had no desire to spend my money anywhere else.
Shota Muni is close to where I live, has great deals (great for students who don't have jobs that is), and the sushi and sashimi are fresh and well-prepared.
The service at Shota Muni is excellent. I have never been ignored by staff, had plates mixed up, or other problems associated with service. Sometimes the place gets crowded, but I've only ever had to wait for an hour maximum, and even then it was alright because the atmosphere of the place is pretty nice.
Another thing that keeps me going back to Shota Muni is that if it is a slow day you can even relax with tea after your meal.
I decided to write a review because I feel that Shota Muni (Dawanglu location) is quite underrated, and I'm a big fan of the place - fresh, creative sushi and other Japanese food, okay prices, great discounts, and above standard (for Beijing) service.
I didn't give it 5 stars because I have a major problem with how people are allowed to smoke in the restaurant even though there isn't sufficient ventilation.