Sushi Samurai — Restaurant in Quebec

I visited Sushi Samurai on August 11 for dinner. It’s an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, and I ordered the all-you-can-eat option, as I always do, even though I have dietary restrictions and don’t necessarily get my money’s worth. My usual order is always the same: an agedashi salad, one pair of salmon nigiri, one pair of shrimp nigiri, a sushi pizza, a Tokyo roll, and three tempura shrimp.

I specifically choose the Tokyo roll with cream cheese because I have an intolerance to cucurbits (such as cucumber), which makes me sick. That’s why I always order this roll. I’ve been coming here for years and my order has never changed.

When I arrived, the service was extremely slow, even though my order is quite small and reasonable. Eventually, I received my roll, but it wasn’t the Tokyo roll I ordered — it had cucumber in it and no cream cheese. When I told the server, he brushed me off and told me that cream cheese is “too expensive” now and that the owner had stopped ordering it because she’s “cheap.” He didn’t let me explain and walked away.

About ten minutes later, he came back and asked why I hadn’t eaten. I explained again that I couldn’t eat it because of the cucumber, and that I wanted the Tokyo roll with cream cheese as I had ordered. He told me it wouldn’t be possible and left again. The third time he returned, he repeated that they couldn’t make it, that there was no cream cheese, and that the owners were removing it because of the cost.

At that point, I decided to end my experience immediately. As I walked to the register to pay, I passed the sushi bar — and saw cream cheese right there, available. I pointed it out to the server, who awkwardly apologized and mumbled something again. I paid and left.

This was incredibly disappointing, especially since I feel many of the problems are not necessarily from the owners but from this server telling customers all sorts of nonsense. It reflects very poorly on the restaurant.

Him trying to force me tobeat something I did not order and Will make sick has drawn the line. I was a loyal customer And always make no big deal of his cringe behavior, but ... After all those years, I can't stand what this...

We visited Sushi Samari in Quebec's Old Port without a reservation and were told a table was available. After a table was hastily cleared of junk, we were seated and then waited for 15 minutes without any acknowledgment from the two front-of-house staff members. We grabbed our own menus, and at this point, we almost left due to the clearly overwhelmed staff and appalling service.

The long wait times continued throughout the evening. It took easily 30 minutes for our drinks to arrive, orange crush and a bottle of sake—even after several follow-ups. The food service was just as bad, with our first order taking 48 minutes and the second taking a staggering 57 minutes to complete. Even a simple ice cream dessert took 20 minutes to be served.

Unfortunately, the food was mediocre at best. The chicken was dry and overcooked, the beef was chewy and fatty, and the prawn dish was served freezing cold. The sushi didn't taste fresh. We regretted not having walked out earlier, as the entire experience was a letdown. I think we got fed up rather than full from the food, almost 3 hours of appalling service was enough.

It's unusual for me to have nothing positive at all, while the staff were apologetic, their apologies felt hollow as the service never improved. Based on our visit, I would not return to this restaurant and would not recommend...

2021: waiters fought in front of everyone for tip money. One of them removes his mask everytime he talks, did not check anyone's vaccine pass and did not ask people to wear their mask when moving around. There was a number of people who talked to the sushi chef, above food waiting to be served, without a mask. The other server was quite nice but left (I think during service) because the other attacked him to get some of his tip money. Food is still slow to arrive, and some of your order (like ours) might be lost somewhere along the way. Still tons of rice for little fish.

2017: Pretty low quality in the food and service. Food is slow to arrive, most of the time with very little to eat in the plate. Sushi are small and with a lot of rice and a very little portion of fish. You have to ask for soy sauce, wasabi and ginger when in most Japanese restaurant it is simply offered with your plate. Service throw the plates on the table and does not care for your water. They are not friendly either and have a frown on the face most of the time. Only thing the restaurant really have for it is that it is the only all you can eat in downtown Quebec, but for 27$ in the evening, the quantity is just enough to make it for the quality...