Koto Sushi & Izakaya — Restaurant in Calgary

If there was an option for no star I would probably choose that. This place had the rudest staff I have ever encountered and gave us the worst service I've ever gotten.

The only thing decent in this restaurant to be fair was the lady who showed us to our table. After that, our experience went downhill all the way until we hit rock bottom. It took close to ten minutes until a server came to ask us what we wanted to drink. In that time, I went to the bathroom and wondered if the cleaning staff went on vacation because it needed attention quite badly. Afterwards, I went back to the table and ordered five different rolls and one appetizer.

The appetizer I got was the soft shell crab tempura with spicy sauce. The crab was super saturated with the sauce and was soggy by the time it arrived at our table which was very disappointing. The lobster roll came next and was covered in the same sauce as the crab tempura which wasn't a problem but once again there was too much on it and they did not give us any wasabi to go with the roll. We called our server over (the only time throughout the whole dinner we could get a hold of her) and asked her for wasabi and to ask the kitchen if they could put the sauce on the side. However, she said no right away saying everything was already prepared which is understandable but the rest of the rolls did not come until a full 10 minutes later (so much for everything being prepared already).

The rest of the four rolls came at once on a big platter and the rolls themselves were not terrible but quality wise did not make up for the costly price of each roll. We got two seared rolls, the salmon and tuna. They were not seared evenly, the whole surface of one piece would be seared while another piece would have almost no searing on it. The whole time we were eating this platter, we had ran out of water and tried to hail down the staff to give us more. Our server did not come over even once to ask us how we were doing, let alone refill our glasses. We waved at her three times and made eye contact at least 2 out of the 3 times only for her to quickly turn away and ignore us.

After we finished eating, it took a full 15 minutes for us to get a hold of the hostess (since there was still no sign of our server) to ask if we can have the bill and a container. Our server, after another full 5 mintues, came with the bill and left before I could tell her I needed to use the machine. It took another full 5 minutes to track her down again to get her to bring me the machine. When she did, my grandma who did not speak English pointed to the empty cup to show her she wanted water. At this point the server blatantly said "Is there a problem?" in the most edging tone and before we could reply continued in a harsh and yelling tone "This isn't a Chinese restaurant, you should have asked me if you wanted water." Trust me this isn't a Chinese restaurant because I would have gotten better service at a Chinese restaurant than what this server gave us. Needless to say, I will not return to this restaurant and advise all my friends and family to set foot in this...

I gave this place a 2 star because it has it's Pros and Cons. PROS: 1) Groupon makes it a good deal to come and dine. 2) The decoration is fair as this is supposed to be one of those Asian Fusion restaurants. Nothing to grand but again it's okay. 3) Some of the food is good. E.g. The $7/6 pcs Negi Toro is a good bang for the buck. The $22 10oz steak is also a good bang for the buck which comes along with soup and salad. CONS: 1) Without Groupon I would not be coming as they are overpriced. It would cost about $30 per person without Groupon and for that price I can get better or more filling Japanese elsewhere. 2) The waitresses are definitely the weakest link. They are all "moody" and I have been here a few times within the past months (Bought a few Groupons) and you really have to catch them on their good days. The 2 biggest issues I have is that they are nowhere to be seen most of the times so if you are in a hurry, don't come. Secondly the waitresses all have an attitude problem and sometimes they are friendly when you order but sometimes they are pissed when you ask for drink refill or more wasabi/ginger. Some of them are quite snobby and they will give a smiley face to the big parties but turn a cold face towards the lone stragglers. It's ironic that I get 10x the service at Grey Eagle Casino, where it's buffet and service is supposed to be not as good. 3) The food is just so so. Their rolls are small and pricey and with less ingredients compared to other Japanese restaurants. Their Sushi or Sashimi combo is a joke. I think they watered down the food if you use a Groupon. Tempura is so so too much batter. As I mentioned above the only good food I liked in my few visits in the past few months are the Negi Toro Maki Rolls and the Steak. That's it. All in all I think 2 Stars is a fair rating. It's way too overpriced if you don't use a Groupon and if you use a Groupon, you get crappy service and crappy food. In conclusion, feel free to come once or twice to try out the place with a Groupon, but otherwise I wouldn't make this place a...

My boyfriend and I came here one evening after working out since he was curious about the happy hour menu, and also because I have never been to Koto before. Mind you, I thought it was great that this restaurant stood the test of time especially how a few restaurants in Calgary closed down for business due to economic reasons. So, in all honesty, I was pretty excited to check it out.

But as soon as we walked in, we were given a pretty odd treatment. I wasn't sure why, was it because we were dressed differently? or maybe because we look young (we're aged between 28-30 y/o, asian descent); anyway, we weren't really sure. The hostess (or probably the owner) was a bit rude as he directed us to our table. However, we ignored it and focused on ordering our food especially after a good workout.

The server approached us, and my boyfriend was a bit confused on how their menus work (since they have three different kinds), so he asked her a couple of questions. She answered promptly but instead of educating him, she was a bit annoyed and made him feel inferior for asking. It was so uncomfortable but we managed to be civil and even smiled when she left. My boyfriend and I looked at each other, pretty shocked I would say, so we left.

Customer service? Koto doesn't have that. Well, maybe just that hostess or that specific server but in the end, it doesn't matter who, since it was all disappointing. I'm sure the food is great, but if you can't treat your customers respectfully, it speaks volumes.

As we were walking out, I joked about how maybe we'll come back wearing our work attire since we work just a few blocks away, and maybe we'll be treated differently, but probably not.

Treatment over food, always. Thank you for the...