Misai Japa Cafe — Restaurant in Calgary

Summary: - Frozen sashimi that tastes like fridge - jasmin rice used for the sushi, I'm still dealing with food intoxicating TMI- but I'm still GASSY AS HELL and dealing with diarrhea - yeah don't go, SAVE YOUR MONEY and don't be deceived by the amount of customers at lunch hour; They probably have stomachs of steel or I don't know what.

My family and I have gone to this place for years, this place used to be a fantastic Japanese restaurant. It always stood out as one of the best in Calgary up until last Friday. I'm sad to say this but as the years passed and the restaurant changed owners, the quality has gone down drastically. Please don't let the amount of people that go deceive you. This place now serves Chinese/mandarin based food, which isn't bad in itself, but Misai, from my understanding is supposed to be a Japanese restaurant.

Here's my lunch :

Miso (soy broth you get first) : it was cold and way too salty, looks like the switched to a cheaper version of miso paste.

Lunch special- I ordered the beef lunch with rice and sashimi : terrible- the salmon pieces tasted like refrigerator just plain wrong. The beef had way too much sauce to the point where there was a puddle left once I was done.The rice I was served with the lunch special no longer has the usual rice, but now has some cheap rice which is even used in the sushi. And see I'm no expert at sushi making but the rice used for the sushi was not at all sushi rice ( you know how it's supposed to be somewhat sticky ? It wasn't), it was spreading open once I got my order and well it left me feeling like there wasn't much care put into the food. on my part I shouldn't have eaten the food or asked for a replacemen, but with the price I seriously didn't want to feel like I had wasted my money.

Gyozas: arrived 35 min after being order, and were just meh, nothing special to them.

I'm still dealing with food intoxication from the frozen salmon we were served and I honestly don't even want to think of eating there ever again. This place is meant to serve JAPANESE food, but last Friday we all realized that the food was all Chinese based. Some may disagree with me, but I seriously feel disappointed that the quality and care for the food has gone down so much (while the prices remain high).

I'm sorry Misai, but the quality needs to be restored if people are expected to pay 13-15 dollars for each meal. In the meanwhile, I won't be...

I am very skeptical when I go to sushi restaurants and I'm very critical of the food as I have really bad experiences at sushi places. When I say that Misai is within my top 3 sushi places, I'm am 100% honest about that. I absolutely loved the food here.

The fish was had an amazing colour to it and was very flavourful. We ordered a bunch of salmon sashimi and it was bright and none of the pieces were bland. (You could eat it without any sauce). The rolls were very beautiful and very delicious. We ordered 2 special rolls and I was blown away with the flavours. Definitely craving it again several days later. Even the miso soup was flavourful and wasn't overly salty or bland in any way.

Our server was incredibly sweet and very knowledgeable. I had questions about the ordering process and some of the rolls and she was very patient and explained it with ease. When the food was brought out she was very attentive to who ordered what and always told us which rolls or pieces were which when placing it on the table. Even though it's not my first time eating sushi, it was still a nice feeling to know that the server will be attentive to you.

The pricing was decent, it wasn't cheap however it wasn't overly expensive. You may end up spending a little more than other popular sushi places (like Oishii), however I would rather spend a bit more an know that I am getting a good product rather than an okay product.

The place is very quaint, the music isn't too loud (you can converse with your table at ease without the music overtaking the conversation). The environment is just very warm.

Overall; the service was excellent, the food was amazing and incredibly filling, the prices were reasonable, and the quality was fresh and flavourful.

We will definitely be...

I love the food here so much. Everything that I have tried tastes great. I was just disappointed with the service. I’ve placed an order for pick-up through SkiptheDishes. On the tracking, my order would be ready at 7:28pm. I came almost at the same time with the Delivery Driver of SkiptheDishes. Upon seeing the driver, the Server immediately handed him over one of the two bags without verifying the order no. and the items ordered. And when I was about to get mine, that same server asked me to show her my order no. even if I have given her my name already. As she insisted, I came out to get my phone from the car where my order history was saved on my phone. Upon verifying my order no., she handed me the other plastic bag but when I saw that the food listed on the receipt was not the one I ordered, I told her that, that was not mine.

They tried contacting the other customer who has my order to switch it. For me, I find it inappropriate since our food has been delivered and received by the other party already.

While waiting, I asked if I can talk to their Manager but the Server told me that they don’t have one around.

Out of great disappointment, I’ve decided to leave at around 7:44pm. They’ve just wasted 41 minutes of our time waiting and frustrated wth the way they handled...