Grace Sushi

Grace was my first experience with Victoria sushi, and it was a bit of a bummer. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled with amazing sushi? But I don’t think I am anywhere near to being a sushi snob.
The first thing that jumps out to me about the experience at Grace is that the service is pretty so-​so. We were seated promptly, but never asked for drinks (either then, or later) – we eventually asked our waitress over to ask for waters. The timing of the food also left a little bit to be desired; my first role (spicy salmon) came out at the same time as my partner’s food (she ordered the vege combo), but it was probably another 20 – 25 min before my second roll (the Grace roll) came out. Admittedly, it was a (much) more complicated speciality roll, but still, I’m not a fan of piecemeal food service. Our waitress, however, was totally friendly.
As for the food: We started off with an appetizer of agadashi (deep-​fried) tofu – a dish my local sushi place makes that we LOVE. Grace’s take on it is a bit different, but the pieces are there for it to be good. The only problem was, however, that they serve it sitting in a pool of sauce; though the sauce is delicious, sitting a fried piece of food in it renders the fried food soggy, which isn’t fantastic. They’d be much better off drizzling some of the sauce on top, or serving it on the side so that they could keep the texture of the fried tofu in tact. My partner’s vege stuff was «meh» (her verbatim response). The ingredients seemed fresh, but there just wasn’t much to be excited about. My spicy salmon roll was disappointing. For one, I’m not a huge fan of when the spicy sauce is on the outside of the roll (I prefer it mixed in with the salmon), and Grace goes a bit overkill with theirs. But the other thing I found a bit weird was the temperature of the sushi – it was cold. This might sound like a weird remark, but given how simple sushi is most times, I find temperature to be a big part of how enjoyable the dish is – the cold made it seem almost like the rolls had been sitting in a refrigerator. Im sure they were made fresh, but I’m just saying that’s how they felt to eat. My speciality roll was a different story – it was decidedly okay. Again the temperature complaint was still there, but it was a fun and flavourful roll.
I won’t be giving up on Victoria sushi yet, but I will say that Grace is a far-​cry from a place that makes me want to come back regularly. Still, the Grace Roll is good enough that until I find a place that I can’t do without, it’ll probably be good enough to scratch a «specialty roll» itch on occasion.

The service is good every time and the food is tasty, the salmon sashimi isn’t the best but their tuna is great.
Very reasonable prices, would definitely recommend coming here.

Ordered take out in person. Priced reasonably, not particularly fresh, and took forever to make. Nice staff though. I’d give it another shot.

In love with this sushi! Great prices, amazing food! A great option in town. Some of the best sushi in a cute location.

Lovely little space, friendly and genuine service. Careful plating that showed attention to detail. Large menu. The gari (pickled ginger) was fresh — always a good sign. Very reasonable prices, especially considering the downtown location. Rolls were great! Will be back for sure.

This sushi was really fresh and delicious. The sashimi was huge. And the prices are extremely fair. It’s now a go to!

We decided to take a chance. Grace Sushi is pretty much a hole in the wall. But the sushi was awesome. The Ikemite roll was delicious and the Grace roll deliriously good. Even the edamame was fresh and perfectly salted. Our server was warm and attentive and the complimentary spicy sashimi plate put the experience over the top. Pricing very reasonable. Perhaps the mostly young, Japanese patrons are also a good sign for this new restaurant on Store St.