UBU Lounge

Went here on a Wednesday night. Great music. Great service and the food was great. Executive chef here is one if the best!

I came to UBU for sushi. Here is my order
Spicy Tuna roll
Salmon roll
Hamachi roll
Takowasa
tea
I have never tried Takowasa before but for those of you who don’t know, its raw octopus in wasabi sauce. I did not enjoy it but I couldn’t tell you if it was prepared correctly or not because I just don’t like it. Way, way to slimy.
The rolls were not good. Worst sushi i have ever had. Not sure how this place survives but I should have known when I walked in at lunch and the place was empty. Hoping that I had found an undiscovered gem, I quickly realized that I just sat in a terrible restaurant.
Unfortunately, the service was terrible as well.
Skip this place. Go to a fast food sushi joint or pick it up at Safeway and you will be happier. That’s how bad this sushi is.

Located in a pretty unusual location, inside the Grand Theatre just in front of the doors to the Theatre itself, it’s a pretty happening place. Decent music that’s not too loud, hot décor, great staff and a vibe that rocks, UBU combined the feel of a nightclub with a great japanese themed bistro and does it well.
UBU has one thing though that really rocked the house for me… well, ok, 2 things. The first was that they have this awesome beer tap that looks like a samurai sword. That was pretty cool, especially to have Sapporo beer on tap. The next thing is ½ price sushi Thursdays!
Before 8pm, ALMOST all sushi is ½ price, which is a minor pet peeve for me. There are some exceptions, such as a beef sushi (one of their creations), but I didn’t mind that at all. What I did mind is that the items on the sushi menu didn’t list or mark what were the exceptions. Not knowing that, I found myself awkwardly scrambling for a new selection when I was ordering in order to not hold up the table of 11 I was with at the time. It’s nothing earth shattering, but just sayin’
As for the food itself, this was a bit of a mix. My partner and I started with the chef’s plate for appetizers, a selection of 6 appetizers that the chef decides on, which this night happaned to be steamed edamame, gyoza, yam fries, sake steamed mussels, lobster corn dog and chicken wings. The edamame and chicken wings was passable, but I did like the yam fries, crisp and sweet. The Sake mussels were well done with no liquor aftertaste, and the flesh was soft and tasty. The lobster corn dog is a bit of a mixed fish. Instead of say, a chunk of lobster meat that was then breaded, it seems to be more like diced lobster was mixed into a batter, turned into a chinese fishball, and then tossed into the fryer. You did get to taste the essence of lobster in the batter, but not really the lobster taste itself. It was a bit of a neutral note in the meal, as I was especially looking forward to trying it.
As for the sushi and sashimi, the fish was fresh and well cut. When having sashimi in this town, you tend to get used to the idea that an amateur is doing the cuts when you start getting massive slabs of sashimi instead of thin light cuts. While I appreciate the volume, it’s more a matter that it’s harder to really appreciate the delicate flesh of the fish in the spirit and way it’s supposed to be experienced. Having a master cut of sashimi was quite a pleasant surprise. I also added a dynamite roll, a mango roll and a few others, all of which were done well if not a knock out of the park. I found the rice a little underdone though, so I’d have to state that this was good sushi, but just not especially memorable.
Overall I’d actually give the whole thing more of a 3.5 out of 5 stars, but I’ll push it to 4 since they also actually have poetry jams and live artists in another strangely separated section of the Bistro just off 1^st St itself. It’s rare to find such venues with a community feel, and it’s awesome to see.
#32 of Unilocal’s 30-​Day Review Challenge

I’ve visited Ubu so many times this past year and half of the time I wasn’t even planning to. Ubu is an amazing venue, hands down. Not because of the chique layout of the lounge (did I use «chique» right? that’s so chique) but because of how they welcome various artistic communities to hold their events here. From music jams to poetry readings. As long as they drink wine or sake, Ubu will entertain them.
And again for some reason Ubu does make me want to sidle up to a bar stool with a glass of sapporo or vino (did i use vino right?)
Their sushi is tasty, but I’d only chance it on their half-​price thursday. Personally I like to get my sushi from more homely and hole-​in-​the-​wall places, not from where I have to tuck my shirt in and comb my hair.
Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012 — ¹²⁄₃₀

With apologies to Hurricane Sandy, UBU and Theatre Junction made for a great night at «The Tempest». Despite other Unilocalers not appreciating the juxtaposition of contemporary theatre-​goers and «stilt-​walking» clubbers, we kind of like the chance to see how the other half lives/​drinks. There was a DJ right in front of our booth playing some AMAZING music — really, I detest DJs, but this guy changed my attitude.
But UBU, UBU, we really want to love you but the service was so… weird. The server pounced Tigger-​like to ask what we wanted the instant we sat down. We had some awesome eel sushi, dynamite rolls, and pork ribs for appetizers. But two waitresses arrived with our main courses, tried to put them down on our full table, and seemed astonished that they couldn’t do it. I suggested that perhaps they might like to clear the mountain of appetizer dishes away first. When the waitress came by to see if our food was okay, I said, «Everything is great, but I must know who is singing that marvellous song.» Rather than offering to find out for me, she responded very seriously, «There is no singer here tonight ma’am — it is just the DJ.» Oh, I see. Thanks for clarifying that…
UBU’s food is good and the atmosphere is fun (except for maybe having the cigarette butts flicked at you by the clubbers on the way out of the theatre — theatre Grand, are you listening?) but, like many Calgary establishments, seems to be hurting from the lack of professional service staff. It’s not impossible to train them, you know.

I’ve been here a couple times now, and can recommend this as a nice spot to go out mid-​week with friends. The menu includes a variety of Japanese-​inspired dishes, which sound interesting, but I must admit I haven’t tried yet. What I CAN tell you is that the lobster corn dogs ($ 1 each on Wednesday) are great, the oysters (served with three «sauces») are fresh, and the Saporro draft is nice and crisp. The sushi on the other hand was just okay, not the best rice in town, and the flavour combos don’t pop as much as they should. At half-​price on Thursday, it’s fine, but I would have been disappointed paying full price… hence my recommendation to go here mid-​week. Another highlight is the drink menu. I give them lots of props for inventive cocktails, and an inspired list of tea-​based drinks (Steeped osmanthus flower with cabernet anyone?). This fresh take on Asian cuisine ensures that I’ll come back for more…

I think I’ve been here a LONG time ago for lunch, and remember they had a good lunch special on for like $ 25.
I went here more recently thanks to @Sabz organizing! The rolls looked amazing, I didn’t eat much because my parents came into town that night and cooked me a big awesome meal. But my friend and I did try the hamachi roll, which was really tasty! But what I LOVED and what I will go back for again & again was the butter fish! It was so fresh and so melt-​in-​your-​mouth, and if you look at the picture, it was presented beautifully! It was like a mix of tuna and salmon and better than both. My new favourite sashimi! And 4 pieces of it for $ 7, presented the way they presented it? Can’t go wrong!
I’m excited to go here for my birthday and try more of their food :)

Such a weird layout here! I had never been but heard many great things about it, and when Sabahat suggested a UYE here, I was stoked! Once we found the actual restaurant (slightly confusing, as it shares a space with a theatre and also has a lounge side), we were seated at our table and quickly got to ordering! Our group shared a number of delicious items, such as the seafood miso soup (SOOO good!), yam fries, edamame, yam roll, spicy salmon roll, ahi tuna, gyoza, and probably a few other things I cant remember! Everything tasted awesome. The portions were a tad small, which is why I think we felt the need to order so much, but I was really impressed. Our waitress was busy but we were having a lot of fun and didn’t notice (plus the food seemed to come out quickly), but she made a point to apologize for it later. Such a good time, I will definitely be back! Mmmm I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it… delish!

Terrible music on the night we went. Hire a better DJ for Saturday nights. Sheesh! Music make or breaks a nightclub… just sayin’.

Came on a Friday evening to check out UBU for the first time.
Pros: Good atmosphere, nice and modern/​trendy. Seems like a good place for drinks. Food was tasty and presentation was great.
Cons: Extremely small portions considering the price, bill came to $ 100 just for food for two small built females… and we still ended up going to a drive thru afterwards as we were not full/​satsifyed. Waitresses were not very friendly or cooperative, took 20 minutes after ordering just to get our drinks. Mixed up orders, not enough cutlery/​plates as they were all dirty according to the waitress. No Soy Sauce brought to the table for the sushi we ordered, had to ask three different waitresses before we finally got a bottle of soy sauce.
Final Thoughts: Although the food was tasty and atmosphere had a good vibe, I would not return at all to this place to eat. More of a place to drink/​chill.

I came here on a bit of a ladies night deal. More or less one of the gals that I was with had the ability to get us in to a dance bar, and we took advantage of it. It turned out that this was the night that the Flames played Philadelphia and the guys from the team ended up showing up around midnight.
My first thought was that the venue was pretty sweet. I like the fact that it is a theater and there are a couple of levels. I was not impressed with the fact that coat check was full at 11pm. Really? It was freezing that night and your coat check is full when the bar is not even full? Get some more space. You don’t exactly have any where to store your coats unless you are sitting at a table.
The service was O-​K. Nothing special. The waitresses on the main floor were girls and they would constantly go to the men before serving us girls. Although she didn’t balk when we asked for water.
Once the hockey team arrived it was like an entirely different club. The dresses/​skirts/​excuses for bottoms got shorter and the cleavage bearing became more obvious. In fact I am pretty sure that all the girls that were there were just trying to be a story. it was a little much to handle.
The DJ was fantastic. He did some great mash ups and really worked the crowd. I would probably only return to UBU with full knowledge that the DJ would be there again. He made it fun to dance that night.
On a final note, the creeper hold in the ceiling was a little strange

Came here at 7pm on a Friday and had a few drinks before a show at Theatre Junction. They had a reggae artist playing a few live tunes which I really appreciated! (canned music is terrible)
Service was slow but the place was packed so that’s forgivable. I asked for the house white and was served Villa Maria Sauv Blanc and can say it’s my new go-​to. It’s vibrant and citrusy, definitely reccomend it with any of the sushi dishes here.
After the theatre crowd leaves, this place turns into a total bro club with vapid girls on stilts passing out in the hallway and smokers littering the front walk with butts. Not exactly my idea of fun, but if that’s your thing then have at ‘er.
Overall it’s a great, well designed establishment but the crowd after dinner completely changes the dynamic.

I was here for an Awesome Calgary event, using the upstairs space. We didn’t have food or drinks this night but I just wanted to comment on how neat this place looked. I loved the feel of the place and can’t wait to be back for drinks, foods, and dancing!

I went to UBU last weekend with some friends; I had never heard of it, but apparently I was the last person in the city to get that memo, cause the place was packed. It had a super fancy Vegas VIP «if you’re female, you better wear a dress if you don’t want to feel self-​conscious» kind of a vibe. Which has appeal for a lot of people… but not this kid. I’m more of a jeans n T-​shirt kind of girl. (I guess some girls were wearing jeans… diamond encrusted jeans, paired with tops so flashy you could see your reflection in them).
The service wasn’t the greatest. Our server did the bare minimum for the most part. Maybe I’m a tad critical because I also work for a bar? Our drinks took a long time, which is expected when the place is busy but it would be nice if the staff were a little more apologetic about it. Refills on water were never offered. Those of us that had never been there had a difficult time deciding what to order, but no recommendations were made. I asked if I would be able to order a salad with a chicken breast on it (as the menu had both salad and chicken, just not the two combined), but my request was declined by the chef.
I ended up ordering just a salad (I’ll give a bonus point for it being organic). I was actually starving, but the menu seemed to be 90% seafood items, which I can’t eat so I settled on the rabbit food. When my salad arrived, I was quite disappointed at the portion size and left the place more starving than when I arrived. I did manage to sample a couple other items — the steak was exquisite and the gyoza was okay. I found the menu to be on the expensive side, given the small portions. To hold true to their upscale vibe, I did not see any mentions of drink specials or promotions of any kind.

A drum n DJ took over around 10 pm, and the place took on a nightclub persona, which was pretty neat n all, but all I could think of was getting home to eat! I don’t think I will go back but if I do, it will definitely be for drinks only.
Oh and PS, the washrooms are co-​ed… NOT cool!

I went to UBU last night for some charity event they were hosting… well, I was really there for the lingerie calendar show FOR the charity. My date and I got there at around 8:40pm. It was pretty dead at the time, so we decided to scope the place out and check out the upstairs before settling down at a table.
Their wine list by the glass was quite standard, nothing that a wine connoisseur would rave about. What I did appreciate was the selection and variety. There were about 6 different wines to choose from both the white and red category. You would be able to find a type that would satisfy any palate. And you could actually pronounce the names of them!
I heard rumours that UBU had very good sushi. I wanted to try it out to see if it was actually as good as people say it is. I noticed that the menu looked pretty boring. They had things you could find anywhere else — California Roll, Spicy Salmon/​Tuna Roll, Dynamite Roll, etc. These are all things you could find anywhere, right? But the way they make them at UBU was quite impressive. They revamped sushi, urbanized it and make it modern. Normally, I don’t care for fancy sushi, but this was actually quite good!
The dynamite roll is not your typical dynamite roll. It came in four large pieces with extra tempura shrimp on top. What impressed me the most was good the sticky rice was. It was well cooked, very sticky, and was able to hold everything together. The seaweed was tender enough so that you could actually bite through it without looking like a sloppy fool! We also ordered the spicy salmon roll and vegetable tempura. Both were pretty good.
Although the food was good, I’m only giving UBU 4 stars because as a lounge it’s not much different than anywhere else. I think that the venue itself gives it an edge. It’s a great place to host fashion shows and similar events. Also, I would DEFINITELY come back for their half price sushi on Thursday!

Oh my! Another gem found in Calgary! *high-​fives self*
A friend and I went to check out the Grand Theatre Junction’s «Alley Party», but seeing that it was totally dead when we went (around 6pm), we wandered over to UBU Lounge for a glass of wine. And we stayed. We sat at the bar, and the bartender (Braeden) chatted us up. We had questions about the wine and he kept giving us little tastes and then we chose the Riesling. He then informed us that the sushi rolls were half price that night (Thursday), so we thought, «Why not?» and ordered a plate of Cali and one plate of Yam tempura and salmon rolls.
What happened afterwards was a mixture of surprise and gastronomical delight. The Yam tempura and salmon rolls were SO GOOD they were heavenly. The salmon was amazingly fresh and the combination of yam tempura and salmon and avocado was a WINNER. Total win right there. The California rolls were good too. And the plate was a generous size too, we were pretty satisfied after we finished. Braeden kept talking to us and telling us about their Friday and Saturday night scene the entire way through and was amazingly friendly. He kept checking up on us too and kept us entertained and engaged. He even pointed out the chef to us and we said hi to him.
At the end, our bill? $ 15 each. I KNOW, RIGHT??! A glass of wine and a plate of AMAZING sushi at a totally sexy little resto-​lounge for just 15 bucks? UNHEARD of!
Do yourself a favour and check out this amazing little place. Amazing atmosphere, great music, delicious food and awesome service — this place has everything going for it! In fact, I might bump into you there — ’cause I for sure am going to be BACK!

Super friendly people here at UBU. Got to meet the Bouncer, the DJ and the sax player (while trying to keep a straight face as he talked to me, because all I could think of was Epic Sax Guy
— And this was only made worse when a friend told me the sax player was epic).
Best part was that no one made me feel like the cretin that I felt like in my jeans, white t-​shirt and sneakers. I was surrounded by very tall ladies in short dresses and high heels, and waiters in ties that one wasn’t sure how to tie. Two guys got him sorted out. They have bottle service on Sunday nights, which I’m sure will be awesome when I can drink again. Even though there’s an air of fanciness, there seems to be a lack of pretention, as evidenced when no one seemed to mind that no one in our large group knew (or cared to know) how to dance and were just winging it.
Can’t comment on the food, although, looking at the menu… Tofu Steak in bonito stock sauce? Who is that being served to? A vegan/​vegetarian can’t eat it, and the pescatarian will probably just order the fish. –1 point.

Yay I’m the first one to review this place.
UBU lounge was formerly the Velvet theatre/​lounge. The décor didn’t change much since I was there 5 years ago. This place is more like a lounge, not so much somewhere you want to have dinner; especially with a large group. I was in charge of the ordering so I chose a bunch of items that stood out for me. The portion is fairly small and if you’re looking for a sushi restaurant then you’re at the wrong place. They only have a few rolls, entrees and appetizers. I did enjoy the sable fish a lot because the texture and seasoning was perfect; for $ 22, you can’t go wrong. The presentation of the rolls looked a little amateur but the flavoring was not bad. Overall, I don’t think I would come back for the food but apparently the lounge is pretty happening.