Shiso Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Red Deer

So I've went to Shiso quite a bit when I lived in the area and they've been consistently good! Now that I live in Edmonton, i still go there for some great Japanese food whenever I visit my hometown. I actually went there for my birthday (New Years eve) this passing year;2013. We had a group 6 and the service and good was great (ordered 200 dollars worth of food)

However, when my bro and I came in for the all you can eat sushi buffet today (jan 26) we had a completely different experience! When ordered our first wave of food (just appetizers and miso soup) we waited for like 30 mins and what we got was cold Korean BBQ ribs (it was cold to the point where the fat had solidified) and Luke warm japanese dumplings. The soup was at least hot but they probably had that pre made in a pot on simmer.

So not impressed with the appetizers. We then ordered maki, sushi and squid kara-age as our second wave of food. We then had to waited like another 30-45 mins for meal! (While we waited, people who were seated AFTER us got their food before us; and they also placed their order after us)

Finally our food came out! HOWEVER just our Maki! Our sushi and squid Kara-age was no where to be found. So after we downed our maki within like 5 mins. While we waited for our waitress to come around. My bro and I were gettin fed up so we started making a list of what were gonna order as our last wave of food. The waitress eventually came around and asked us if we needed anything else else. So we ordered a bigger order if sushi and maki and also 2 temaki cones. And then I complained to her we didn't get the squid Kara-age and sushi. She acted surprised bout the squid Kara-age, and said our sushi was coming (yeah right, sushi doesn't take 45 mins to make, especially when we ordered like 6 pieces of it). So she went to check on our squid. The squid came out fast, to our surprise, however it looked like they just deep fried and didn't wait to let the oil drip and shoved it on the plate (bcz there was mini pool of oil forming under the squid) but it wasn't bad. But our sushi from our second wave of food hasn't still arrived! Eventually it did arrive shortly after our last wave of food (which we waited for like ANOTHER 30 mins). Our maki came out, with no sushi AGAIN and also.... No temaki cones this time either! The service was so bad that when my bro waited for a refill of water, no one came so he went up to bar and grab one of the pitchers of water and re filled it himself! Our sushi eventually came out, but still no cones. We ate everything and we were thankful that we were full from that wave of food, so we didn't have to stay here any longer! We waited for our cones... But nothing came, and the waitress came around again and asked if we needed anything else (typical). And we complained that our cones haven't came out yet, however, if they aren't done... Don't worry bout it. So she went to check on them. And we saw her asking the sushi chefs and they had no idea of such order (I seriously don't know how the waitress put in OUR order, bcz it seem like we had the slowest service out of everyone who was served by her). So she gave us our bill and we want up to pay via cash. As common courtesy I didn't want to just leave the money on the counter. But no one came to take our money! So I got fed up; not wantin to spend my time any more in this restaurant I just placed it under the debit machine and left.

This was by far the worst service I've had in a restaurant! The food was decent (aside from the cold BBQ ribs and dumplings) but the service was horrendous!

Shiso, I have no idea how you priorities orders for your customers, but we felt like we were on bottom of the list! However u are lucky I believe in second chances, and the next time I come in for all you can eat, I'm expecting a...

I feel like quality has went downhill. I didn’t like the seating setup and felt like I was being watched by everyone in the restaurant while I ate because I was in the direct view of guests and sushi chefs, I like a more secluded eating area like a booth for example instead of a table in the centre of the crowd. We went around 4:45 for dinner and requested a window seat but apparently all those seats were reserved. I’ve been coming here for years and never got a window seat lol. While the Sashimi was excellent everything else was of poor quality. We ordered the Takoyaki as an appetizer and it was the worst I’ve ever ate anywhere, it was so overcooked that the squid texture reminded me of mashed potatoes, and it was so hot it burnt the roof of my mouth. The sushi rolls were so big I couldn’t fit a whole role in my mouth and disintegrated when picked up by chopsticks. A lot of the sushi was very tasteless, dry and the tuna being very fishy. Their selection is very small in regard to sushi options. Service was ok and the staff members were overall friendly I think. Side note* : Unsure why Red Deer has no All-You-Can-Eat sushi options either, I guess coming from Ontario we were spoiled to have such great AYCE and excellent sushi restaurants on every corner. I understand Alberta is land locked and the sushi will never be the same but AYCE is an huge plus for me - sushi is very expensive buying it by the roll. Overall, we will not be returning and will continue driving to Calgary for...

I think I may have just ordered wrong for my taste for my first visit? This place has some really good food reviews and I've been referred by more than one person to try it, but I found the food just ok.

To start with the positives, the location is great and the view our the many windows is great at the top of the hill. The atmosphere is comfortable and pleasant, as was the wait staff. The Black Dragon roll I ordered wasn't what I was expecting (I was tired, I thought it was all one roll, but was three separate rolls with the different ingredients) but it had my favorite bite of the day.

The crab stick salad was tasty, but was missing the crispy yam in the photo, which was a little sad. I would probably eat this again in the future though.

Negatively, the one roll I ate, I forgot the name of because it was very dry and lackluster in flavour. And the tuna tataki I ordered was a large serving size that included spiral radish and a salad portion. But the whole dish was almost a soup, floating in a very strong sauce that (to me) overwhelmed the taste of the fish altogether. It was the second dish I ate and it was so strong, I could still taste it at the end of my meal.

It might have just been an off day for me, I will be giving this place another chance in the future, but it didn't really impress me for my...