good japanese restaurants in Calgary?

[bx339]

Just moved here from Van. Any japanese restaurants serving good quality sushi/sashimi here? Any similar to Granville sushi or Suishaya (sp?) in Van? Thanx!

[kiwi]

Towa Sushi :thumbsup: :drool:

[saiyajin]

Wa's

[GTS Jeff]

lol the entire asian food industry in calgary is nowhere as good as in vancity man.

[Weapon_R]

Shikiji on Center.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
lol the entire asian food industry in calgary is nowhere as good as in vancity man. And probably nowhere as authentic as East Asia man! :rofl:

[t-im]

jap food does not compare to places in van

we need a guu

[Skyline_Addict]

yeah...it's hard to find authentic japanese restaurants with actual japanese owners/chefs/servers in calgary. there are tonnes in banff though, in fact there are alot of japanese people in banff. that's to say, the food is rarely authentic here. the only authentic japanese food I get is at home/friends' houses.
however, the teppanyaki style restaurant, Japanese Village is quite good. that's all I'd really reccommend.
and a couple of the places mentioned above.

[Will@STRD]

for sushi & Sashami go to Wa's on centre St, Sushi Miki or sushi Hiro in downtown.

[saiyajin]

Misai on 32nd ave is ok...
and to Skyline_Addict ...Kyoto 17 is japanese owned but ur rite i dunno wat other ones are hahah

[topher91]

Takatomi Village on 36 st ne across from the Movie Dome mall. Go for lunch, has awesome lunchbox deal for $6.95, and the sushi taste amazing!!!

[Ariakas]

Towa

Shikiji

[pile_0_crap]

hands down the best place in town would have to be sakana grill. they had this really awesome chief there named Peter but I think he;s over at Sumo at Eau Claire. Both those places are great IMO

[Xtrema]

1st, no cities in Canada can beat Vancouver for Sushi, end of discussion.

Restaurants:

Wa's (Centre St./16th Ave N) pretty good and authentic Japanese.

Sumo (Eau Claire) is all show, food is ok but not for the price. Great fo dates.

Sakana Grill (Center St/ 2nd Ave N) is ok, 2pm-5pm speicals are very cheap.

Sushi Boat (Crawfoot) is a good sushi bar but always crowded.

Sushi Tokyo (Center/4th) and Sushi Ichiban (Macleod) are known for the all you can eat deals. Food is good too, sushi is fresh, same owner so stock turn over is fast which keep the fish fresh.

Japanese Village (2nd St/4th Ave), a pricey show for tourist, nothing special about the food.

Sushi BBQ Inn (16th Ave/13th St. NW). Stinks, but havn't been there since new management.

Yamato (Northland/Churchill school area), nothing special but Salmon piece are HUGE!

Fuji (5th Ave and Center, next to Telus), not bad for quick lunch.

Kyoto 17 (17th Ave/8th St) / Sukiyaki House (10th Ave and 4th St.) have the same owner. 17 is ok, Sukiyaki is so-so.

Sushi Hiro (5th/6th St), best and most pricey in town.

Misai (32th Ave/ 17th St. NE) ok but inconsistent. On a down hill skid even since opening.

Shikiji (Center St./16th Ave) good for noodle, sushi not that great. I guess depend on which day they restock.

Pick ups:

T&T suppermarket (Asia Pacific Mall, 36th St). Pretty cheap if you want to pick up and eat @ home.

New Asia market (16th & Centre), forgot the name. Owner used to run the Sushi section @ T&T. Order 1 day in advance. Really cheap party trays.

[rIceMan]

Sushi Towa on 4th Rocks! I believe it is Japanese owned.

[kiwi]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict
yeah...it's hard to find authentic japanese restaurants with actual japanese owners/chefs/servers in calgary. there are tonnes in banff though, in fact there are alot of japanese people in banff. that's to say, the food is rarely authentic here. the only authentic japanese food I get is at home/friends' houses.
however, the teppanyaki style restaurant, Japanese Village is quite good. that's all I'd really reccommend.
and a couple of the places mentioned above.

Hana Sushi on 4th is japanese owned!
But between Towa & Hana, go to Towa!!!

:tongue:

[rage2]

Originally posted by Xtrema
1st, no cities in Canada can beat Vancouver for Sushi, end of discussion.
:werd:

Some of the take out places in malls in Vancouver are better than the best restaurants here!

[izzoblitzo]

Originally posted by kiwi


Hana Sushi on 4th is japanese owned!
But between Towa & Hana, go to Towa!!!

:tongue:

Edo Japan :D

exttttra mushrooms keyster! :thumbsup:

[kiwi]

Originally posted by izzoblitzo

Edo Japan :D

exttttra mushrooms keyster! :thumbsup:

oooh... you're evil! ;)

[awd]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa's

[Maxt]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict
yeah...it's hard to find authentic japanese restaurants with actual japanese owners/chefs/servers in calgary. there are tonnes in banff though, in fact there are alot of japanese people in banff. that's to say, the food is rarely authentic here. the only authentic japanese food I get is at home/friends' houses.
however, the teppanyaki style restaurant, Japanese Village is quite good. that's all I'd really reccommend.
and a couple of the places mentioned above.

Yep......



Originally posted by saiyajin
Misai on 32nd ave is ok...
and to Skyline_Addict ...Kyoto 17 is japanese owned but ur rite i dunno wat other ones are hahah

The people doing the cooking though are Chinese..



Originally posted by pile_0_crap
hands down the best place in town would have to be sakana grill. they had this really awesome chief there named Peter but I think he;s over at Sumo at Eau Claire. Both those places are great IMO

Sakana is getting better, it was terrible food when it first opened, its run by Chinese people, nothing wrong with Chinese people,but they didn't quite have the "taste" down, Japanese food really relies on the "natural" taste of the food, non Japanese tend to want to sugar or spice it up, which detracts from the ingredients of the food and its aunthenticity.. I find this true with Japanese food prepared by none Japanese, it really shows through when Korean people try to make Japanese food, you need a Jug of water to eat something that is usually quite sedate in taste..

Wa's is probably the closest thing I have had to real Japanese restaurant cooking in Calgary, part of the problem is even with import food stores, you can't always get the real ingredients, or its ingredients that has been prepared for food of a different ethnicity so the taste is kind off from what it should be...
Our carrots taste different , the spinach here looks dead compared to real Japanese grown spinach, the egg's taste different here, they don't use mushrooms like ours, nor do they put mushrooms in at the same quantity.. The rice doesn't cook the same either, it could be the altitude since our water boils cooler, or the hardness of the water, but the rice is "grainy" here compared to in Japan, where its quite a good meal, all by itself..
There is a black thin "root" for lack of a better term that was in just about every dish, that you can't buy here as well, it added well to the taste of everything.. Another thing is the beef,, its generally cut thinner and from different styles of cuts...
Japanese bacon though, sucks....

But yeah Wa's is probably the most authentic, Kyoto 17 the worst , even Edo is better than Kyoto 17 and nothing edo serves is even close to authentic Japanese food..Maxt

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by pile_0_crap
hands down the best place in town would have to be sakana grill. they had this really awesome chief there named Peter but I think he;s over at Sumo at Eau Claire. Both those places are great IMO

you obviously never had true japanese cuisine....
let me guess...when you go to chinese restaurants, you get ginger beef right? ;)

that's not even a real chinese dish....
you're not eating chinese food if you order the ginger beef, remember that.

:D


Originally posted by Maxt


Our carrots taste different , the spinach here looks dead compared to real Japanese grown spinach, the egg's taste different here, they don't use mushrooms like ours, nor do they put mushrooms in at the same quantity.. The rice doesn't cook the same either, it could be the altitude since our water boils cooler, or the hardness of the water, but the rice is "grainy" here compared to in Japan, where its quite a good meal, all by itself..


and japanese grapes are much bigger and you gots ta peel the shell off to eat them :D. werd up about the rice, you definetely know your japanese food.

[Skyline_Addict]

props to Xtrema for the list of restaurants and reviews.
here are mine.

Restaurants:

Wa's (Centre St./16th Ave N) - definetely one of the better/more authentic restaurants and it shows.

Sumo (Eau Claire) - this place looks more like Joey Tomatoes' than a japanese restaurant. food is average, and very pricey.

Sushi Towa (4th Street) - good. another one of the better places.

Sakana Grill (Center St/ 2nd Ave N) - nothing here tastes like japanese food, but it's all really cheap.

Sushi Boat (Crawfoot) - the sushi/sashimi is OK. you'll be really dissapointed if you were looking for a hot/cooked dish. the order menu is VERY limited and none of the stuff is particularly filling nor pleasing.

Sushi Tokyo (Center/4th) and Sushi Ichiban (Macleod) - Yep, some of the better sushi/sashimi I've had here. They serve up some fresh stuff, but nothing special or anything to brag about. generally cheap stuff.

Japanese Village (2nd St/4th Ave) - an atmospheric teppanyaki style restaurant. food is quite good, very pricey. good for low-key birthday parties, etc. also where some of the Flames eat; ran into Jarome Iginla and his wife there (just had to say that).

Sushi BBQ Inn (16th Ave/13th St. NW) - never been there. I'll go with Xtrema and say it sucks as he seems to know what he's talking about.

Yamato (Northland/Churchill school area) - meh. the food is ok, but nothing you'd be craving to go back for anytime soon after.

Fuji (5th Ave and Center, next to Telus), - good for a quick lunch, I guess.

Kyoto 17 (17th Ave/8th St) / Sukiyaki House (10th Ave and 4th St.) Both ok restaurants. Again, nothing special.

Sushi Hiro (5th/6th St), - best place to go for sushi.

Misai (32th Ave/ 17th St. NE) - don't know about this place either, so I'll go with Xtrema's response again :).

Shikiji (Center St./16th Ave) - they seem to like to serve noodle soups there. I think I had their Soba (cold noodle soup dish), which was actually quite good. otherwise, ithe stuff there pretty much tastes like chinese food.

Sukiyaki House (somewhere downtown) - I don't know if this place is still around, but I remember it being very authentic and good food. definetely one of the better establishments, if it is still around. or maybe i'm just crazy, because there is a restaurant of the same name in banff.

Pick ups:

T&T suppermarket (Asia Pacific Mall, 36th St). - they serve japanese food there?

[sillyd]

Misato in signal hill is quite good

[Maxt]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict


you obviously never had true japanese cuisine....
let me guess...when you go to chinese restaurants, you get ginger beef right? ;)

that's not even a real chinese dish....
you're not eating chinese food if you order the ginger beef, remember that.

:D



and japanese grapes are much bigger and you gots ta peel the shell off to eat them :D. werd up about the rice, you definetely know your japanese food.

The little bird forget how to fly...:)....

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by Maxt


The little bird forget how to fly...:)....

はい、そです。 わかりますか？
あのう......
高橋 です! *bow*
どうぞ よろしく.
あのう......
じゃあ!

[kiwi]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict
Kyoto 17 (17th Ave/8th St) / Sukiyaki House (10th Ave and 4th St.) Both ok restaurants. Again, nothing special.

Sukiyaki House (somewhere downtown) - I don't know if this place is still around, but I remember it being very authentic and good food. definetely one of the better establishments, if it is still around. or maybe i'm just crazy, because there is a restaurant of the same name in banff.

umm... you sorta just contradicted yourself there? :confused:

Sukiyaki House is okay, Sushi Hiro might be better, but I think Sukiyaki House has more of a variety...?

If anyone likes eating soba, try Soba Ten on 11th Ave across from The Keg :thumbsup:
The service there is slow, but the food is good! :drool:

I don't trust the sushi they sell at T&T Supermarket... a friend of a friend of mine got hepatitis A or something after eating sushi from there... :thumbsdow :barf:

Oh, & what was that about new management at Sushi BBQ Inn on 16th? As for as I know, the owner is the same... they just changed the name cuz it used to be called Shabusen or whatever, & the original Shabusen in Vancouver sued them for using their name... :dunno:

[GQBalla]

sushi boat and sushi towa are owned by the same person. i work at sushi boat along with |/|/rx

[saiyajin]

Originally posted by kiwi



Oh, & what was that about new management at Sushi BBQ Inn on 16th? As for as I know, the owner is the same... they just changed the name cuz it used to be called Shabusen or whatever, & the original Shabusen in Vancouver sued them for using their name... :dunno:

i went to that one in Van...its pretty good all u can eat :drool:

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by kiwi


umm... you sorta just contradicted yourself there? :confused:



i think i'm just getting mixed up by the fact that I'm thinking about the restaurant in banff and also the fact that I'm thinking about a million different restaurants at once and writing reviews for them hehe.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by max_boost
And probably nowhere as authentic as East Asia man! :rofl: heh actually id say the high end cantonese food in van is pretty similar to what u find in hk, but hk has better cheapy chinese food.

[cloud7]

Originally posted by Maxt


The people doing the cooking though are Chinese..



haha, not only Japanese food... you'll be surprised at how many restaurants in Calgary have Chinese cooks... From italian restaurants, to Greek restaurants, to high class hotels... haha. The dominate language in these kitchens are usually Cantonese.

BTW, I love Towa and Hiro...

[nmack]

Originally posted by kiwi


Hana Sushi on 4th is japanese owned!
But between Towa & Hana, go to Towa!!!

:tongue:

^^ my favorite jap restaurant.... Hana that is

[awd]

I have sampled almost every sushi joint in town and the only three I return to are:

1. Wa's
2. Sushi Hanna
3. Sushi Towa

[ciscoboi]

What about Kawa? Its a nice restaurant too! Very fresh sushi!

[rIceMan]

if you peeps are into noodles and stuff the ramen at cafe tokyo is really good. i think the people that run it are chinese though. cafe tokyo is off edmonton trail by memorial in that little strip mall.

[Maxt]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict


はい、そです。 わかりますか？
あのう......
高橋 です! *bow*
どうぞ よろしく.
あのう......
じゃあ!

‚Í‚¶‚ß‚Ü‚µ‚Ä�A�‚‹´‚³‚ñ�B‚±‚¿‚炱‚»‚æ‚낵‚_�@�B*bow* Max

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by Maxt


‚Í‚¶‚ß‚Ü‚µ‚Ä�A�‚‹´‚³‚ñ�B‚±‚¿‚炱‚»‚æ‚낵‚_�@�B*bow* Max ]

なぜ！？
i can't see what you're writing, I guess I have the wrong encoder or something....

[bennyhanna]

Went to Wa's last night

Not bad

but the restaurant is WAY too small
and the Food is $$

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by kiwi

If anyone likes eating soba, try Soba Ten on 11th Ave across from The Keg :thumbsup:
The service there is slow, but the food is good! :drool:

I don't trust the sushi they sell at T&T Supermarket... a friend of a friend of mine got hepatitis A or something after eating sushi from there... :thumbsdow :barf:

Oh, & what was that about new management at Sushi BBQ Inn on 16th? As for as I know, the owner is the same... they just changed the name cuz it used to be called Shabusen or whatever, & the original Shabusen in Vancouver sued them for using their name... :dunno:

Soba Ten is good for noodles.

Didn't know Sushi BBQ Inn is still the same owner. Was there when they first opened and it was ok. Then 2nd time, they put a limit on sashimi pieces and I'm kinda pissed. By the 3rd time, because the place has inadaquite venting system, the whole place stunk so bad, I did bother to go again even after the name change. But I can see why Shabusen from Vancouver sue them because it ruined their name. Shabusen is awesome in Vancouver for all you can eat sashimi.

[rage2]

Originally posted by GQBalla
sushi boat and sushi towa are owned by the same person. i work at sushi boat along with |/|/rx
haha do I get any special deals when I go there? (I go there a lot)

[azn_gq]

I find that Towa has gone crazy downhill since they first opened. They've just become greedy and trying to profit as much for as little as they can. Their prices have skyrocketed and the fish qulity has gone down so much! Btw incase you guys didn't know, owners pocket all the employees tips, so if you eat there, be sure to only tip 5 or 10% max.

[kamakurakid]

Originally posted by azn_gq
I find that Towa has gone crazy downhill since they first opened. They've just become greedy and trying to profit as much for as little as they can. Their prices have skyrocketed and the fish qulity has gone down so much! Btw incase you guys didn't know, owners pocket all the employees tips, so if you eat there, be sure to only tip 5 or 10% max.

Hate to see wait/kitchen staff getting shafted due to your post. So for the record, how would you know anything about the tipping policy?

If the owner is scoring the tips, a quick call to Revenue Canada, will put him in his place. Tax matters are interesting when a worker is getting the shaft. And RC loves digging through the years.

So, we await your proof.

[azn_gq]

Originally posted by kamakurakid


Hate to see wait/kitchen staff getting shafted due to your post. So for the record, how would you know anything about the tipping policy?

If the owner is scoring the tips, a quick call to Revenue Canada, will put him in his place. Tax matters are interesting when a worker is getting the shaft. And RC loves digging through the years.

So, we await your proof.

I have heard rumors, then I asked a friend who once worked there, and he verified it. All the staff just have higher hourly wages. I was told a server makes about 10-14 an hour instead of minimum wage. I also have been in the Japanese restaurant industry for a while now, we usually know the insides and outs.