Isshin Sushi Bar & Asian Dining — Restaurant in Penticton

I had high hopes for Isshin Sushi Bar & Asian Dining based on some hype, but this place was a total letdown from start to finish. Let's start with the service – it was painfully slow and inattentive. We arrived during a mildly busy evening, got seated at the sushi bar, and waited over 15 minutes just for someone to take our order. The staff seemed disorganized, with one server juggling too many tables and barely acknowledging us. When we finally got attention, the attitude was rude; questions about menu items were met with curt responses like they couldn't be bothered. No apologies for the delays, and our drinks took another 10 minutes to arrive. If you're looking for friendly or efficient service, look elsewhere. The food was even worse – far from fresh and definitely not worth the price. The sushi rolls were soggy and fell apart, with fish that tasted like it had been sitting out too long. The gyoza were greasy and overcooked, lacking any real flavor, and the Asian fusion dishes we tried (like the stir-fry) were bland and swimming in cheap sauce. Portions were small for what they charge, and everything felt like it came from a frozen package rather than made fresh. I've had better sushi from a grocery store counter. Serious quality issues here that make me question their kitchen standards. On top of that, they push this shady "cash discount" policy – offering a small discount if you pay in cash instead of card. It felt super sketchy, like they're trying to avoid taxes or something. Why not just have fair prices for everyone? It left a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended) and made the whole experience feel unprofessional. Avoid this spot; there are way better sushi options in Penticton that don't cut corners on service, food, or ethics....

UPDATE April 24, 2021 After eating for many years and many many times, watching the original owners grow their sushi business from a Deli front on Main to their location of Front St, our family was a little apprehensive about the new owners that took over. Today was test day.

First off, we noticed they are now open straight through from 11am to 8pm as opposed to before where they closed for an afternoon break between the lunch rush and dinnertime. Perfect, we often crave a quick fix for sushi at 3pm after picking up kidlet from school.

We ordered our usuals which is their well priced karaages (deep fried), their tempura, California roll, nigiri and tuna and salmon sashimi. We were pleasantly surprised the new owners were obviously trained by the old owners to carry on the traditions, As for the karaage, my daughter and I agree, it's the same but a little better than before. I think they refined the seasoning combo a little.

Conclusion, we were happy the new owners are careful to not alienate their customer base and we will definitely be back to support them!

(2020) This is a great little gem of a sushi restaurant in Penticton. The restaurant is owned and operated by a Japanese family. Their prices are reasonable and they have great bento lunch boxes. Fresh and we'll portioned....

7:30pm and we were craving sushi. I decided to call them first to see if we can still do dine in. The guy picked up the phone and address me by my name. He said yes come in we can make room for you. I said great see you in about five mins.

We arrive 5 mins later and as we walked in a guy said Danny? Yes I said. Come in we have table ready for you. It was a full house for a Wednesday night.

We order green tea...delicious... Shirley Temple...delicious... 2 Deep fried Cali rolls.... delicious Seaweed salad...delicious Cali roll with cream cheese...delicious Sushi bento box...all items...delicious Spicy tuna cone...delicious Miso soup...delicious ————— Total came to $55

I assumed it would be more as the portion was large.

The service was great from the phone call to in-house dinning. All staff very friendly and it showed. As guess were leave everyone said food was best/delicious and thanked the staff and chef!

I highly recommend this place for taste, service and great experience.

Would I come back? Absolutely. Hope you found this...