Nagi Sushi — Restaurant in Ottawa

Worth the hype? Perhaps. Let's start with the positives. The chicken kara-age had the correct seasoning and flavour profile, and was reasonably juicy. The grilled saba (mackerel) was the best grilled fish I've had lately, although it was definitely on the saltier end of things. And the yuzu-flavored tobiko (flying fish roe) on the chirashi was a creative addition. I'm afraid that's all.

Now onto the unfortunate negatives. The kara-age was desperately lacking in crunch factor, as the overly-thin batter quickly turned soggy from the juices inside.

The chirashi was perhaps the most unsatisfactory of all. The yuzu tobiko was not enough to mask the inferior quality of the sashimi slices used. Most worrying, was the hamachi or buri (yellowtail). The slices were disintegrating, and were horrendously greasy. The sheer fattiness was very unpleasant, and would leave one's lips covered in a putrid odour of rotting fish and a lingering rancid aftertaste in one's mouth that refused to wash off for the next few hours. Both the raw and aburi (flash-grilled) salmon were of a pale complexion, and were decidedly fishy. The ikura (salmon roe) were deflated and did not pop. The tako (octopus), while not overcooked, was completely tasteless and appeared to have been soaking in water for long. The hotate (scallop) was fishy as well. The tuna, ika (squid), and the hokigai (surf clams) were of acceptable taste, texture, and freshness. I expected the saba (mackerel) slices to have been lightly vinegared - as prepared the traditional way - but they weren't. In addition, the chirashi had long-grain rice instead of short-grain Japonica rice, and the soggy, overcooked texture of the rice appeared to have been carried over from their previous guise as C'est Japon a Suisha.

Final verdict: not worth the hype; perhaps one should stick to the hot, cooked dishes and avoid any raw fish and/or seafood. Excellent service and welcoming...

This is the successor place to the famous Suisha Gardens downtown, which closed a while back after 50 years. The owner and sushi chef, Moriyuke Hiroha, known to veterans as Shu, was the head sushi chef at Suisha for 30 years. As a veteran diner of Suisha, I can say that the quality is there. The pieces may even be a bit bigger than I remember at Suisha. The service is impeccable and the atmosphere perfect. As far as I'm concerned, this is the only place to go for sushi in Ottawa. Fully authentic. Japanese owned and operated. If you ever saw the movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi", Shu is Ottawa's Jiro. The place only opened about 6 months ago, but, especially as it's a fairly small place, I foresee it being packed regularly over time and eventually requiring reservations to get a seat for dinner. They have interesting lunch options as well, which I plan to try soon, and they will be getting their liquor license soon. In the meantime, the non-alcoholic drinks are really good. I didn't even know there was a 0% Sapporo beer. The appetizers are very tasty as well. So, overall, this place is a gem, and I'm so glad the Suisha tradition has continued in some...

I finally got a table at Nagi Sushi in Orleans.

It was worth the wait. We had chicken karage and their maki, sushi and sashimi combo. Then they took the head and bones from our fish and deep fried it for another surprise course.

The staff were very friendly and attentive. The restaurant is spotless and there's polish of professionalism on everything.

I really enjoyed my meal. Everything was so fresh, so simple and so very satisfying. I would recommend, in fact I will go back.

Round 2 at Nagi Sushi

I got the large sashimi platter and the wakame salad. You guys know me, when it comes to food I don't really care what it costs, as long as it's worth it. I'm happy to report that it was very much worth it.

Thick cut pieces of sashimi, just a very satisfying mouth feel and chew. Packed with umami flavors, I would order this again without hesitation... Although I kind of want to try everything on the menu first.

My friend ordered some a la carte maki and nigiri. She was really happy with what she had ordered. She's also going to be a...