Nagano Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Coquitlam

This was the second time we ate here. First time was in 2018 or 2019. My partner didn’t want to come back because he insisted the food wasn’t great the last time we were here. I convinced him that every place deserves a second chance, especially after so long! Upon arrival, we were told to seat anywhere we wanted outside as we wanted to be out on the patio. We chose a table far from the other couple that were already eating on the patio (this table wasn’t quite clean and was a bit slanted). A few minutes later the server came with the menus and moved us to another table that was “level”. But this table was not clean either and there were no chairs, so I had to grab my own chair to help the server out. She wiped down the table after we were seated, so 2 dirty tables even though the restaurant was not that busy. There was a sour smell in the patio the moment we sat down (my partner thought it could be dog pee?). No soap in the men’s washroom. Strong urine smell in the women’s bathroom. We ordered 4 items. The crispy shrimp appetizer with salad and sweet chilli sauce was delicious but would have been better if the sauce was served on the side in case someone doesn’t love the dressing. Gomae wasn’t crisp/fresh. Considering the higher prices on the menu compared to other Japanese restaurants in the city, we had higher expectations. For the mains, we got the sizzling scallop and the black cod. The dishes didn’t arrive together. The sizzling scallops were not really “sizzling”. There were 2 scallops with some mushrooms and vermicelli on a shell over a candle. It tasted good but the portion was small and it wasn’t that special for me to want to try it again. The black cod was charred in some areas and the portion was also small for the price, didn’t come with any sides either but at least it tasted good. The sever never came to check on our food or if we needed anything else, only came once to refill the water/tea, and once more, about 5 minutes after we had finished our food to clean the table and bring the bill. She was very nice though. If I only were to rate the food, considering that it was not exceptional and it was pricy, I would conclude that it’s a 4/5. But considering everything else, I have to deduct a point (I wish I could deduct half points, in which case I would have rated it 3.5/5, but because google maps only does full points, and I just can’t see this place as a 4, then it gets a 3/5). Overall, we are still not impressed , maybe even disappointed a little, and will not be returning. Thank you for...

Normally, I don't leave negative reviews unless my experience was really bad. But wow... was it bad...

The first issue is the price. A combo meal ranges from 27 - 35 without including tax, which is already expensive. Okay... if it tasted good, I wouldn't have mind that much. But my partner and I literally had to force ourselves to eat the sukiyaki and teriyaki combo as they were practically inedible. I honestly haven't eaten in a restaurant where I had to force myself to eat until now. Also, the presentation of the food was extremely lackluster. It didn't even look like a 27 dollar meal.

The second issue was the service. They got our order wrong. We had to explain to them that we were ordering 2 meals so they had to go and check the order again, and we had to wait another 10-15 mins. Our two meals were supposed to come with 2 rice. But they only served one. At that point, we were already finished and wanted to get out of there asap. We asked them if they could discount the combo and they said there was nothing they could do. We also felt quite neglected in terms of service. The servers didn't check up on us often to see if we were missing anything.

On the other hand, it is possible to argue that their sushi's are their main selling point. I cannot comment on that since I have not tried it myself. However, selling the combos at such a high price for their horrendous taste and quality should not be tolerated. In the end, because of my extreme dissatisfaction on my experience here, I am writing to inform everyone that there are better restaurants to spend your money on. Other places more affordable and with better quality. I definitely regret coming here but if you do decide to try it out, good luck and I hope you have a...

I don’t like giving bad reviews however I’m hoping the restaurant will make the necessary changes to make things better. Other sushi restaurants in the area had higher reviews but we chose this place due to the fact they had a patio. Here are the issues we had:

texture and flavour of the rice stodgy and bland. The texture and flavour of rice is really important when making rolls.**

avocado in the rolls was brown and tasted spoiled. I’m sure you guys understand what I’m talking about.. that disgusting taste of an avocado that has gone bad.

we ordered spicy tuna roll and it LITERALLY HAD ONE DOT OF spicy sauce on each piece aka the sauce wasn’t even mixed in with the tuna... it was presented sloppy and ruined the entire roll based on lack of sauce.

service was... ok. First server wasn’t that friendly. Second server was nice but she saw that we didn’t eat half of our rolls. She asked if everything was ok and I was hesitant about being honest... however I was and explained what the issues were. She looked at the roll and agreed it didn’t look fresh (avocado). Well she came back with the bill and took of $2 (she explained it was half of a roll). I laughed a bit and shrugged it off.

Due to covid, I understand it’s been tough for small businesses. However, sacrificing quality is not fair to customers. I sincerely wish this place the best however I would never recommend this place to friends and family. I hope the owners will read and learn from...