Hokkaido Sushi — Restaurant in Ottawa

UPDATE (SAT, AUG 19, 2017): Oh dear, where to begin... Buckle in people because i'm going in!

This used to be my favorite sushi place in ottawa but the quality has unfortunately gone down in the last 2 years. I decided to hop in for a quick lunch around 1:45 and it was a little busy so I was told to wait 5 minutes or so (even though there were open seats). 14 mins later, I was guided to one of the open seats I was standing by and it took another 15 minutes for them to pick up my order slip (already knew what I wanted since I come here a lot). Whatever, it was sort of busy, no big deal I thought. The food took a while to come in as well but it can, again, be overlooked due to the crazy lunch hours.

Another thing to mention was that besides soy sauce, there were none of the usual condiments brought out. No wasabi/ginger/that bowl of fish sauce I'm assuming/ect. They did not even bring a water glass. The soy sauce cup was dirty so I opted to pour it directly on the food. Again, all little things bit they certainly do add up.

The food. Well, most of the food still tasted like they usually did. The fried rice is still very good and same goes for the various tempura. The regular maki rolls though.. uh.. well to put it lightly, it felt like it came from a freezer. I'm not sure why (as in the past they tastes fresh and the rice was even fluffy and a bit warm). Not like this freezing, sort of congealed mass I would expect from gas station sushi thats been in the fridge for a while. Dissapointing.

So basically, not sure if I'll be back any time soon. It might be time for me to start looking for other places once again. Sort of sad since I really did like this place. My rating has been changed from 4.5 stars to 2/5 as a result.

ORIGINAL: Wow. First time here (apparently reopened after renovations last month) and my sister and I can say that this place was pretty amazing today. We dropped by for the AYCE lunch (was $15) and for the price, the food and service was excellent.

It was a bit busy but we were seated as soon as we came in and given the condiments, menu, and icewater. It took us about 5 minutes to decide on the first round of food and a waitor came around to whisk it away almost immediately. The food was made in record time and was very fresh. The rolls were made perfectly and the deep fried foods were cooked using fresh oil.

A few times our water glasses started delpeting to about halfway full and before we even realized, someone would silently be there filling them up. (I swear some of them move like ninjas lol).

The only downside is that the booths are a bit cramped as they try to accommodate seating for an many people as possible but lets be honest, we're not going to an AYCE sushi place for their seats. I would definitely reccomend this place and be returning. It is SO much better than the Sushi Kan 3 near bank st. That place is nearly empty all the time and take around 30 mins to just take your order and then they stand around talking loudly amongst themselves before giving it to the chef.

I give this place a 5, my little sister gives it a 4 even though she tends to not like AYCE's, so the overall rating...

Came here with some friends with the intention to eat our hearts out, and that is precisely what we did! I was blown away by the number of options offered here, especially at the price point of $35.99/person (Monday to Thursday)

-[CHICKEN/BEEF TERIYAKI] 6/10 We started off with these two things and thought it would determine the quality of the food... Luckily, these two dishes were actually the worst of the items ordered. Both items were on the dry side, and lacked flavor.

-[SALMON TERIYAKI] 10/10 I always love salmon teriyaki, and this dish was loved just the same! Cooked to perfection, and the sauce on it was perfect

-[MUSSEL TERIYAKI] 10/10 Mussels are something I always order when I see it on the menu so naturally I had to try it. It was so good that I immediately ordered two more, and managed to convince a friend of mine to try it for the first time! No fishy flavor found here due to it being cooked well, and the mussels being of great quality

-[ASSORTED SASHIMI] 10/10 Ordered white tuna, mackerel, surf clam, and salmon. Every single piece was very fresh, and cut in a portion that enabled you to order many many more. They gave us the exact number we ordered every time so be aware of that!

-[HOUSE SPECIAL SALMON/WHITE TUNA SASHIMI] 10/10 Goodness me, the ponzu sauce they had the sashimi in was A+. I wish I could buy their house special ponzu sauce to dip all of my sashimi in forever and ever haha

-[POTATO CAKE] 10/10 Fried perfectly, and each piece was so fluffy on the inside, and crispy on the outside. Delicious!

-[TAKOYAKI] 10/10 Very hot when first served - learned this the hard way even though I should have expected it so that's on me haha. Pretty standard takoyaki, but always so good

-[TUNA TEMPURA] 8/10 Ordered this because I had never ever saw this on a menu before. It wasn't bad at all or anything but it was a bit on the dry side, just a bit. I would still recommend you give it a try if you like tuna the way I do

-[SPICY SALMON/TUNA ROLL] 10/10 Always rolls I order, and they were both great! I had regrets later that night about having given a piece away during the meal earlier. Would for sure order these again

-[SPECIAL ROLL] 10/10 A deep fried roll with spicy salmon, and avocado in it. All toppedd off with a spicy mayonnaise! Highly recommend this to everyone

My only regret is that I left without getting dessert because we were going somewhere after this restaurant to get some. Oh well, it means I 100% have to come back again 👀

📝 Note that they bring the exact number you order so be careful of...

Piece of hair on our food plates (they all seemed to resemble eyebrow hair) on three occasions during our last visit.

This place can be offensive if you’re from Vancouver and know better caliber. If you’ve had all you can eat in Korea before as well, definitely manage your expectations in Ottawa.

For Vancouver-calibre, especially if you’re taking someone out for dinner on a special occasion, revert to j:unique kitchen on cooper st., or Festival (c'est japon) downtown. They both seem to take a lot of pride in their work. Sushi 88 is another one - still run of the mill, but good quality.

This is an All You Can Eat spot, so a margin still needs to be factored in, and so you can't expect the universe, but I think some things should always be a minimum: hygienic lavatories, clean clothes, washed hair (even if only periodically), good general personal hygiene, and if your face is not meant for or ready for full growth facial hair, a damned shave, especially if hair is getting into people's food. An d if the sushi bar chefs are going to be that chatty, to wear mouth guards so they're not getting their spittle all over the place.

I can understand some may be able to be satisfied with the food here, which is fine (why not bask in mediocrity?), but anyone who praises it into the sky has probably never been a mile away from Ottawa or Ontario.

Final note: I posted a photo with an unraveled crispy spicy salmon (or tuna) roll: it was 99% left over spare tempura batter. You could barely see or locate the micro-shreds of sashimi inside. It's not worth ordering - if you want to eat grease-soaked tempura crumbs with rice. It was COMPLETELY...