Linhai Sushi Family Restaurant - NOT ALL YOU CAN EAT — Restaurant in Kitchener

I would give this 0 stars if I could. This was the worst sushi and potentially worst restaurant I have ever been to. I wish I had returned the food and not paid. However, societal pressure as it was, we all felt pressure to finish our food, pay, and leave a tip. The tempura was either shake n bake or corn flakes. The ingredients were not all sushi ingredients. Sour mango was featured in almost all the rolls. There was next to no raw fish in our order of the chefs special, which our server recommended: only breaded chicken in a roll, and multiple rolls with imitation crab/shrimp and heavily battered tempura. So much regret.

Response from Owner: Wow, You and your friends had a plan, it seems. I had a bad feeling about you and your friend before looking at the menu you were asking a lot of unusual questions, you order a platter of maki rolls, that is what you were served your friend Jason Apple wanted to know what was in all the rolls and I told him, you and your two friend ate every single thing off your plates and you were ask by me and the chef about your meals, with a very happy face you said everything good. You all paid separately and all three of you left a tip. Are you being paid by someone to write bad review? if so its against the LAW it could cost you money you don't have.......Have a nice day just the same evil guests

Re: Owner's response -

I can assure you that my party had no other plan other than to try to enjoy a sushi lunch on a dreary Sunday afternoon. I find the tone of your response quite shocking - it will certainly not encourage confidence in the food quality or level of professionalism in future sushi-goers. Am I being paid to write a review? No, in fact, I paid to eat at your restaurant and I am now sharing my experience, as is my right. I am also shocked that asking questions about the menu and the contents of a mixed plate of rolls is considered suspect in a restauranteurs eyes. Paying customers and patrons have a right to know all contents of the menu, including a list of ingredients. It is unfortunate and regretful that we finished our food and tipped the restaurant. As stated in my initial review, societal pressures are such that we felt we had to finish, pay, tip, and leave with a smile on our face. It is unfortunate that our respect and decency to your establishment is perceived as "evil," but it is also quite telling. As the only table of clients at the establishment, we were intimidated at the prospect of being stuck diffusing a disagreement with no barrier between us and the restaurant. In reflection, we thought it important to share our experience so that our review could be considered fairly along with other reviews. My hope for any reviewing system is that a) future patrons will have a realistic picture of expectations, and b) restaurant owners have the opportunity to reflect and make appropriate changes. That is, after all, the roll of free and public...

I was passing KW on my way to Toronto and attended Linhai on a Sunday evening (around 7pm). The place was totally empty (which I did not mind at all). The restaurant was also very clean and the customer service was fantastic. The music choice was, well... an acquired taste but fun (see the video).

I ordered a Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk ($4.95). Very pleasing, but hard to mess that one up. This is where the good ends.

Everything on the menu looked far too overpriced for what it was and for the amount it came in. 2 slices of salmon sashimi for $5? Good Lord! But I made my food order anyway.

I ordered the Avatar Rolls and "Shrimp Fried" Rice + Miso Soup.

Avatar Rolls ($16 for 10 pieces): Advertised as having salmon (which I expected to be a proper piece on top of each roll). But it wasn't. In fact, I had to ask the waitress where the salmon even was. She pointed to a tiny piece of it within the extra crunchy shrimp tempura mess that tasted like OLD oil encapsulated in rice. A sushi roll should never taste like that and leave the aftertaste of old oil in your mouth for 2 hours after.

"Shrimp Fried" Rice ($13): This one was just false advertising and NOT Shrimp Fried rice. It was a plate of (beautifully presented) greasy rice (OLD OIL AGAIN!) with some cabbage and a little bit of carrots and sesame seeds... with 4 shrimp laying on top. For $13.

Miso soup ($4): Nothing spectacular. The mushrooms in it tasted sort of old (potentially rehydrated?).

Also, the place charges EXTRA for EXTRA ginger and soy sauce? That's a first one for me.

All in all, a terrible culinary experience for almost !!!$43!!! for one person! Maybe I did not order the items that the place is known for, maybe I got the chef on their off day... Or maybe I am spoiled by the abundance of high-quality sushi places for a good price in Toronto (Sushi Legend, Mi Ne Sushi, Sushi Rock, August 8 (Hamilton) etc.)?

Important to note, a friend of mine attended this place prior to me and had very good things to say about the restaurant. So there is that.

Regardless, as clean as the place was and as lovely as the staff were, the poor food quality is what is remembered most. Based on the previous reviews, I really wanted to like the place, and I'm all for supporting local businesses, but I will certainly not be coming back...

This is a family owned/style of a sushi restaurant. The owners are very nice and they offer great service. It was definitely a lot different to most sushi restaurants in the KW area. Lots of selection for any maki/roll lovers! The reason I gave 3 stars is because the price and the quality. The prices are around 20$+ for any combos, but the quality is ok it does not have much to offer. The quantity is less than any other place, so I left satisfied but not full. The menu does not offer a lot of combos or different cuts of sashimi. My partner got the beef teriyaki. Not the greatest cut of beef which is okay. The beef was well done on a hot skillet so make sure to eat it quick or else it’ll get over cooked. It was tasty and savoury, the veggies underneath were addicting to eat. I ordered the sushi,sashimi and the maki combo. The salmon was melt in your mouth, and the surf clam was great. The maki rolls were tasty, but the crunchy bits of the tempura reminds me of cereal. But there was too much rice in the sushi pieces (fish with rice). I paid for my partner and I, it came out to around 80$. Overall, the ambiance is great, service was good, but the price does not fit well. The food wasn’t super jaw dropping but it’s a local restaurant people in the area...