Sushi Kai

Tried all you can eat. Not very impressed. Too much of rice on everything!!! It feels like they want us to fill up our stomach with lots of rice. Paying $ 30/​person is not worth it. They also charged extra for some left over. Well… Do not try Ayce here at least.

I have eaten here a couple of times for lunch recently and I have been impressed by the service, speed and quality of the food. The one problem I have is that their prices are higher than one of the best sushi places in Calgary that is a stones throw down the street in Globefish. The difference I think that Kai has a quieter more subdued atmosphere and because they don’t see as many customers, they can focus more on delivery rather than rushing the food out as quickly as possible. I have enjoyed their lunch bento box combinations and have been impressed by their spicy teriyaki chicken and their sushi offerings. I have not tried out their all you can eat offerings but think that if time were not a constraint, it would be something to try. In terms of portions, they are well thought out and in both visits, I have left full but not stuffed.

The place was really small. Tables really close to eachother. I ordered yam tempura which was uncooked. My husband had assorted sushi and was not satisfied with quality either.
I don’t think we’ll go there again.

As far as all-​you-​can-​eat goes, this place is pretty decent, and for the price you can’t complain. When they offer oysters as well, it’s about $ 28/​person. I’ve been there a few times, and they never look impressed if you tell them you don’t have reservations, so I definitely recommend making them.
The parking, and building itself can be hard to find if you’re driving and someone is behind you. If you’re heading North on 14^th, it’ll be on your left in a building called «Campana Place» with a dental clinic. There is a little entrance to the parking space, but I’ve honestly always just parked in the residential down 6 avenue.
The food is good quality, the sashimi is generous and they only limit the # of pieces per order, but you can keep on ordering which is nice. A MUST try is the grilled squid. So good, the sauce is amazing. I was not overly impressed with the rolls offered on the all you can eat platter, but like I said you can order copious amounts of sashimi and they do have some really good hot foods and kitchen foods.
I’m not sure if he’s the owner, but usually one of the chefs comes out and talks to the tables, asks what food they liked, which they didn’t, specifically on one occasion he asked me how I liked the oysters because he had been testing out different suppliers and wanted to know if he should keep on ordering the type served that day. I was fairly impressed that they were gauging customer satisfaction like that.
I’ve been there in big groups (8+) and small intimate dinners. Although it’s a relatively small venue, it was accommodating for both types of occasions. My tea and water were always full so I can’t complain about the service. It’s usually been the same people every time I’ve visited. I have yet to sample their non AYCE but I figure if the AYCE was satisfying and good quality, the menu ordered items, which will normally amount to being more expensive, will be better quality. I was definitely impressed!

first time there, small cozy place. ordered the all you can eat. Good portions, reasonable prices, food quality was good, friendly service is as well. Highly recommend this place and Hopefully I’ll be back soon.

Very easy to miss if you’re driving southbound at night on 14^th Street NW towards Kensington Road (it’s on the right). «Cozy» = make reservations, especially for dinner. Tried the sashimi, my wife had the assorted sushi, our son had beef udon, plus we shared a platter with mango and tempura shrimp («tropical roll») and I tried black sesame ice cream for the first time. All good. We’ll be back.

I didn’t even know Calgary had an all-​you-​can eat Sushi bar until I walked into Sushikai. What a pleasant surprise!
We went on a Saturday night and it was busy but not too busy that you needed to make a reservation.
I’m not sure how the prices compare to other cities, but for $ 24 (weekdays) or $ 28 on weekends I was more than satisfied with the amount of food we got. And booooooy did we eat. Some of our favourite pieces were the shrimp tempura, the BC roll, the Ebi Salad and the special hotate.
It was one of those place that we stopped eating at because we had to, not because we wanted to. But I already have my eyes set on the next time. The Deep fried sushi will be wine, oh yes, it will be mine.

I’ve noticed the little sign outside on 14^th Street advertising all you can eat sushi and have been wanting to try it out. Then I looked for reviews and read that it was closed so I gave them a call and found out indeed they were open no problemss! Well we finally got a chance tonight and it was even better then I hoped for.
The restaurant is small but very cool and nice inside. Being a tuesday night it also wasn’t very busy either, but that’s ok by me.
All four of us had All you can eat and the price for dinner is $ 24.99 for lots of variety of nigiri and rolls, and appetizer dishes. For $ 28.99 you can get all you can eat with either nigiri or sashimi, if you’re into that. I think you can also do AYCE at lunch too for $ 14.99 or something, but maybe I read it wrong.
The sushi was great and fresh. Not cheap or small, and all very delicious. The rice was a bit «loose» and fell apart while trying to pick it up, but that would be the only complaint. But I’d rather have it fall apart then feel too sticky myself.
Overall, the service was exceptional, the atmosphere was cool and modern and the food was very good for AYCE. We will go back again without hesitation.
Oh and parking is virtually non-​existant, but we used the private lot next door which is $ 1/​hr and the ceiling is only 6′ high, so use at your own risk!

I have had the privilege of being taken out for lunch here a couple of times at Sushi Kai; it is pretty busy during lunch hour because it has a great lunch menu. For lunch at 10.50 you can indulge in a:
Sushi Lunch: of tuna, salmon, red snapper, shrimp and masago, Sushi and Sashimi: 6 pieces of California Roll, and three pieces of Sushi, Sushi Roll Combo: 6 pieces of California Roll, Salmon Skin Roll, Salmon Roll, 2 pieces of House roll or Sashimi Lunch: 8 pieces of Sashimi and steamed rice.
What the heck, snuggle closer and try the Lunch time lovers for two at 21.00 which is 12 pieces of Sushi and 12 pieces of Sushi Rolls.
I like Sushi Kai, because it is very clean, delicious and has a really quaint traditional décor, the waitresses are always nice and although you may have to wait in line for lunch, you do get served right away as soon as you sit down.
Take advantage of Monday and Tuesday 20% off Sushi, Wednesday and Thursday 99 cent salmon, Fridays and Saturdays 2 for $ 3 uni and kabachi.

The woman and I were driving back from Mercury at 0130hrs on a Friday. We see the open sign, and we decide to go in. I almost contemplate an expensive ($ 13.50) bowl of ramen, but instead I elect for some rolls with the woman. A guy proficiently took our order, and to my delight, they had Asahi.
GET THIS: DOMESTIC BOTTLES $ 3.95, IMPORT BOTTLES $ 4.25. By FAR the cheapest I have ever seen in this city. I was losing it, so I decided to sing «Take on Me» on the Karaōke. Epic fail, but the guy in the kitchin was lovin’ it. The server (fit the profile of an owner) said the place opened in June 2009, he’s open until 0000hrs M-​THU and 0100 Sat and Sun, but that «if there’s a large party.(like the 20 Catonese speaking people drinking wine, singing karaōke, and playing cards) I may as well stay open». This is an awesome business ethic that’s rare to see in this city.
The rolls wern’t EPIC like Towa, but they were very good for their price. We got 4 rolls and 2 beers for $ 28 tax in, plus tip. Excellent post-​night-​out-​snack.
Instead of going for a wing night, I’ll come here with a friend to get some sushi, enjoy several drinks, and just talk. Awesome awesome place.

I went with some buddies from the Japanese arts and culture appreciation club I’m in for some sushi, sake and karaōke.
«Cosy atmosphere» comes to mind when you first walk in, from the plush, modern chairs to the reddish tables with funky squiggles, and from those paper lantern type light fixtures to the wall screen depicting samurai and from the floral motif window scrolls to the cheeky ninja stick girl waving shuriken on the bathroom door — Sushi Kai 609 has a fun and clean, Asian fusion look.
Now to the important stuff: food and drink!
My companions and I are now avid, no, rabid fans for the lychee slush with sake. Fresh lychee fruit is a real treat. The sake complements it very well. We also tried the mango-​coconut smoothie with sake and mango-​peach-​strawberry smoothies with sake. It was good, but the lychee-​sake combo is the best.
My companions and I ordered a wide variety of items: dynamite roll, kanpachi, miso soup, gyoza, veggie tempura, masago, tamago, california roll, fuji roll, yam fries and the tapioca with mango paradise.
Everything was delicious. However, I’m just going to highlight the more unique dishes for you here:
The fuji roll was a delightful combination of several types of seafood, some cooked in tempura format and others not. The head cook did a fabulous job on that roll. The sauce complemented without overpowering the palette. The yam fries are done tempura-​style. Our group had never had it served that way before. My friend said that it was superb and that the tempura-​style is a very neat twist. The gyoyza was tasty. While the tapioca with mango paradise? Well I was so stuffed that I had to bring it home. It aced the «Next Day Taste Test». The addition of pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) was a refreshing surprise. It’s not as tart as a normal grapefruit, so it works well with the mango smoothie paradise mix.
Staff is extremely friendly and attentive without being overbearing. Genuinely friendly, not the «fake-​friendly» we sometimes get and/​or use in business situations. Since it’s a fairly new restaurant, they are eager to hear suggestions and get feedback on all aspects of your experience there.
They even gave us gigantic honey and garlic rings to try (new recipe). One member of our group said it was good but needed just a teensy bit more honey, while another said that it just needs a teensy bit more garlic. I was in the middle — it was just right for me. The fourth person in our group was too full to try her piece. I’m not kidding about the size — they were humongous!
Prices are pretty reasonable. We all blew our respective budgets for the week but we couldn’t resist trying out everything. You could get thoroughly stuffed for $ 30 or less but if you go all out, you can easily spend $ 50 – 60 per person.
As for the karaōke, well they are new so we’re sure their collection will grow. They have a decent selection of English and Chinese songs. There are some Vietnamese and Korean as well. Just one page of Japanese currently and no Filipino, so my group quickly put together a shopping list (er, wish list) of popular Japanese and Filipino artists.
They definitely will need to have more than one copy of the song lists as they build up and a little stage area for the karaōke singers.
Rating-​wise: 5 stars for food, drink and service. Karaōke would currently be a 3 but I’m sure they will be building on this area as their business grows, so that will soon move up to 4 and then 5.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, this restaurant is now CLOSED.

Sushi Kai Japanese Restaurant
Reservation: Yes
I haven’t been to Sushi Kai for a while, so I decided to give it a try again. My daddie took me to a dentist downtown so we decided to eat somewhere downtown and my daddie said they had a new ramen that’s pretty good. Sure, might as well =D
When I looked at the menu, holy moly!!! There were so many different rolls added onto the menu! My daddie and I chose the ramen and lunch time lovers (sushi combo for 2 that comes with lmiso and salad). The taste of the miso soup was really good, but the seaweed in the soup was stiff and chewy, doesn’t seem fresh. As for the salad, it tastes like one of the salads that I’ve made before with ginger and soy sauce and garlic.
The sushi came first, so we started munching it down. The rice was SWEET, for my daddiei and me, it took the taste of the fish away. And also, the rice wasn’t sticking together too well. The salmon was really soft and dissolving, but it had no taste to it. Everything else was ok, compared to Towa and El’s, it doesn’t stand out that much. The wasabi wasn’t strong at all, it barely had any taste to it. I’m a ginger person, so I forked out some ginger from the jar, the vinegar was so strong that it tookover the spicy taste in the ginger!!! The vinegar made me squint like crazy!!!
When the ramen came, my daddie and I split it into our bowls and ate it while it was hot. The soup base we choose was soy sauce so we can taste it. The soup base was amazingly good! I thought it was better than Muka (spelling?) on 14^st! The meat was soft and the noodles were just right. It wasn’t too chewy or it wasn’t hard. However, the egg was really gummy, I was trying to split it with my spoon but it wouldn’t split!
They also have ‘shun’, the smelly asian stuff, if it doesn’t say of the menu, make sure you ask about what’s in the menu. Also, if you don’t like it, make sure you tell them to not put it in.
Overall, it was good, I would go to Sushi Kai again to taste the other new rolls they have!
Price Wise (1 being cheap, 5 being expensive): ³⁄₅
Food Quality (1 being not worth it, 5 being totally worth it): ³⁄₅
Service Wise (1 being horrible, 5 being amazing): ⁴⁄₅