Ga-on Sushi Kelowna — Restaurant in Kelowna

Update: As regulars, we love this place. But tonight omg - the service was so horrible, it’s hard to believe. The server was in way over his head, but unfortunately he did nothing to get out of the weeds and (this is where it gets bad) prioritized DoorDash delivery orders over everyone in the restaurant. And I mean EVERYONE. Tables had no menu for over 10 mins. Other tables were lefty dirty for 30 mins. When a table finally got their food, they didn’t have chopsticks or soya sauce. Three tables hadn’t even ordered, after 20 mins, by the time we walked out. And yet the server would keep going to check on DoorDash orders instead of serving people in the restaurant. Dear owners: your food is amazing, but the people sitting IN the restaurant are actually more important than the people ordering from home. We also don’t cost you DoorDash fees, and we tip the server. Or we would. If we could get a server. And now, back to my original review…

So good! Such a great surprise to find this place.

At first, we were really, really unsure about even stopping in because - although we like stripmall sushi joints (where it's more about the food than the atmosphere) - there was something about the photos of Ga-on online that made us hesitate to even go there in the first place.

We were supposed to go to Bluetail. But it was a Tuesday. And evidently the Bluetail location near us is closed on Tuesdays. So we pulled up to Ga-on, were sure it used to be a Game Stop (because the branding is so similar) and reluctantly decided to head in.

I'm so glad we did.

Don't be thrown by the bright lights and the kinda modern furniture, with the bright lime green accents. It doesn't look like any izakaya or sushi place you've likely ever been to. (I lived in Japan and have been eating sushi for 25 years, at all sorts of sushi places all over the world -- and I've never seen one that looks like this place.)

But just because it doesn't match my expectations of how a sushi joint "should look" does not mean it doesn't match my expectations of how sushi should taste. Not a super-extensive menu, but they:

Have toro, and it's delicious Offer really nice, healthy sashimi sizes Make a mean tempura

We'll be back. And we're relieved to find a reliable sushi place so close to home. Oh and the service...

Went here for a casual birthday dinner. The waitress was wonderful. The atmosphere was fresh with well cared for plants and green roller blinds in the window. Small and comfortable space. The bento box had small portions. 4 california roll pieces, 3 tempura pieces, 2 gyosa pieces, a small chicken teriyaki serving, 2 orange slices. A miso and bowl of rice were served just before the bento, as part of the meal. The miso soup was good. The mango roll sauce was on the sweeter side. The chicken yakasoba was okay. The simmering hot plate was way hotter than I am used to. It sizzled for a long time and some of the noodles were then fused to the hot plate. I am not sure of this is why the dish was a bit dry and one dimensional in flavour. If we go back in the future, we would probably get the miso and a few rolls and maybe a...

Kids and I were late leaving town and they wanted sushi. Our food was ready in 12 mins! Definitely not the greatest sushi and more near the bottom of what I've ever had tbh. Not sure where to start with what went wrong with the food. Tempura was soggy and overly greasy. The red dragon roll was very off tasting and the sauces weren't on par to what I would call good. And the other rolls were fishy. ALL THIS BEING SAID I would go back if the kids are hungry and we need fast sushi - no hesitating! Bring wife on a fancy date here? Not unless I plan on getting my @ ss kicked out lol. Super friendly staff! Basic tables if you care...