RAW - Japanese Hand Roll Bar — Restaurant in Calgary

One of our go to date night spots! It can be a little hard to find as it is tucked around a corner in East Village, but once inside, it is a modern and clean space. It is walk in service only and I think there are only 20 seats total; so we always try to go just before the dinner rush to get a seat right away. Last night we arrived right at 6pm and snagged the last 2 available seats! Our favourite roll is the truffle lobster; unfortunately when we went last night they were completely out of lobster and scallops, so we ordered the spicy crab roll x6 ($8.50 each) and the prawn tempura roll x2 ($9 each) instead.

The rolls are made one by one right in front of you, but we should've known as we do remember our previous visit; with only one chef making the rolls and all 20 seats being full, there can be a bit of a wait in between each roll. They are delicately made, and seasoned well so I don't require the soya sauce for dipping. Some might say the rolls are small and not filling, but we find the portions to be enough. We were in a bit of a time crunch and were prepared to let our server know we would have to leave before receiving our last spicy crab roll, but she actually came by to apologize for the wait and offered to provide us a complimentary cocktail or drink on the house.

Luckily, she let the chef know we had to leave at a certain time, so the chef made our rolls right away and we were able to receive all our rolls in a timely manner. Then when we received our bill, we noticed our server actually took off 2 spicy crab rolls maybe because of the wait or because we mentioned we always come for the truffle lobster but they were sold out, so we settled on more spicy crab rolls instead? Whichever it was; we noticed and appreciated the thought and effort!

When we stop in for our next date night, we will plan to give ourselves a full 2 hours here so we don't have to rush. As it seems 60 - 90 minutes may not be enough time, especially if it's a full house. Will they hire a second chef to make rolls? I hope, as the chef last night had no moment to stop, and she was still able to make each roll perfectly. Thank you again for a wonderful date night; will be back soon again for the truffle...

July visit #2: I’ve visited this place twice in the last 3 weeks and I’m not even from here.

This time, I got the Send Noods Cocktail ($15), Hokkaido Scallop Roll ($12), Cowboy Roll ($15), Truffle Lobster Roll ($13 and not pictured), Ahi Tuna Poke Roll ($8.5), and Spicy Crab Roll ($8.5).

Everything was awesome. The drinks are unique and rolls still rolling. The Lobster Truffle roll is still my utmost favourite, but the special rolls came in a close 2nd and 3rd place. Great flavours and phenomenal quality.

July visit #1: This one wasn’t originally on the itinerary, but I’m damn glad it was added.

Truly, a hidden gem. I got the Drunken Yuzu Cocktail ($13), set of 3 hand rolls: yuzu salmon, creamy scallop and negituna ($21), and a single roll of truffle lobster ($13) and a single roll of tempura shrimp ($9). I also tried my friend’s Teeny Weenie Saketini ($15).

The drinks we got were so cute and absolutely delicious. Some of the best cocktails I’ve had in this city. I love sweet, pretty looking cocktails.

Nothing can compare to these outstanding hand rolls. Each hand roll was a little different, but SO flavourful. You didn’t even need soy sauce. The miso was also divine.

We watched each of our rolls be hand prepared. The staff were also very attentive and easy going. We had some good conversations with them as we ate.

This place was stellar, outstanding and phenomenal. The quality of ingredients was so fresh and each hand roll was unique. For example, the creamy scallop one had mayo in it with the smallest amount of fish roe. While the negituna had more wasabi in it.

My absolutely favourite was the truffle lobster. It was THE best thing Ive ever tasted in Calgary. It was like the lobster was basted in truffle butter to perfection, then rolled into a fresh handroll and served warm.

I will be visiting again for sure in 3 weeks with my brother when I return to YYC. Run, don't walk to...

Went for soft opening. Love the interior, music, and overall vibe of the place. Thought the handrolls were a bit small for the price, definitely expected a bit more filling. We got the 5 roll combo, and felt like half of them tasted quite basic and could use a more interesting flavour profiles.

I was quite taken aback by how they ran out of rice during our visit, so we had to wait quite a while for some of the rolls...we also ordered tempura but they served us that after we got our last rolls. Given the rice situation it wouldve been more reasonable to feed us tempura while we waited tbh. I understand soft opening hiccups...but running out of one of the main ingredients and having customers wait for the rice cooker to finish was quite unprepared. And all we got was a slight apology for this inconvenience and hunger.

Would probably try this place again since it's so close, but I feel the level of food and service isn't up to par with the price and decor.

Loved the milk ice...