Sushi Shogun — Restaurant in Surrey

I don’t know what possessed me to venture into the wilds of Surrey BC, a place where the main culture is bacterial and the only art is graffiti. Maybe it was the promise of a funky and cool sushi joint with excellent jazzy techno music. Maybe it was the curiosity to see if there is any life beyond Patello Bridge. Maybe it was just a moment of madness.

Whatever it was, I soon regretted it as I drove past strip malls, vape stores, shadey quality used car dealerships, gas stations and way to many pawn shops, looking for Shogan Sushi, a place that claims to be the best sushi restaurant in Vancouver. I found it in a nondescript building on King George Boulevard, next to a payday loan store and a nail salon, and used video game store.

I entered with trepidation, hoping to find some hidden gem in this distopian wasteland. The decor was indeed vibrant and eclectic Japanese with a massive mural on the wall, red tear drop lights and lots of fresh chocikeys. The music was actually from several loading screen from a playstation 4 game. The staff were friendly enough and very professional, but looked bored and tired, kind of like the ladies who work the streets outside.

I ordered a selection of sushi rolls, hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the quality and presentation. I was half right. The presentation was excellently on point, with elaborate garnishes and amazing plating. The sushi looked like works of art, almost too pretty to eat. But when I did eat some karrage, I was mildly disappointed by the blandness and weakness of it. The Kamikaze roll salmon skin was chewiness and fishiness and pointed out the lack of freshness of the ingredients. The food was all style and had less substance.

I left feeling unsatisfied and slightly nauseous. I paid my bill, which was reasonable for the hefty quantity but not for the quality. We drove back to Coquitlam, vowing never to return to Shogan Sushi. It was a wasted trip, a wasted meal, and a...

I used to drive pass by this restaurant all the time on my way home. First experience was ok,but I feel like they could have been better.

I ordered the #1 Tonkatsu lunch special and a BC roll. A bit disappointing if you ask me. The special comes with a miso soup, and a bowl of rice, green salad and Tonkatsu. The BC roll was great. Never have I ever been to a sushi restaurant where their BC roll was a majority of BBQ salmon skin. Honestly, my favorite item out of the meal. The size, amount of salmon skin, and the price was on point. I still can't believe it was only $5.55. The miso soup was also good. It had large pieces of seaweed and more tofu that I'd used to having with my miso soup. I enjoyed the deep and rich flavour. Now onto the bad part. The plate of rice, salad and Tonkatsu. I was disappointed that my green salad had no dressing on it. Friends who I was with ordered a egg/meat lunch special and had their salad on the side. Their salads seems to be bigger and had dressing on it. The Tonkatsu was also a bit disappointing. One of the pieces was literally a piece of fat, deep fried and coated in bread crumbs. I was expecting to get something better considering I was one of the first people on my table of around 12 people to order first and get their food last.

Overall, I say it was a decent experience. Probably gonna have to visit again to update my review. The presentation here is pretty cool. My friend ordered a crunch combo (2 sushi rolls with deep-fried tempura batter on top (not actually deep fried rolls)) and it came with a cool plate. It was a Samurai Warrior where the top of his head could be taken off; was filled with dry ice and smoked (added water at the table). You could see the effect and the smoke you could feel. Pretty cool and a...

TL;DR: Incredibly poor quality fish and a host of other problems. Avoid.

My initial impression of this place was positive, as the restaurant was packed and people appeared to be having a good time. I can only assume they've never had good sushi before because everything was downhill from then on.

Starting with the menu, every page warns you to inform your server if you have any food allergies before ordering (good!) but also states clearly that "substitutions will be charged extra." How they square those two somewhat conflicting statements is unclear, but in case you have an allergy or a dislike of avocado, it's in nearly every roll. Every Last Roll.

As the restaurant emptied out, I ordered some sashimi. Salmon, tuna (chūtoro), and toro. The pieces that arrived were massive. About double the usual width of a slice of sashimi. The reason why they were so thick became evident when I bit into the fish and every piece was frozen in the center. At first I thought it was merely very cold or thawing from having been flash frozen, but instead the fish had been kept on the edge of frozen and had spent hours if not days freeze-thawing. It was mush. Flavorless fish mush. Had they sliced it any thinner it probably would have fallen apart.

Service was effectively non-existent and I spent the majority of my meal waving away gnats that we're trying to sample my fish. Or they might have been circling the pungent gari that had the vague odor of disinfectant.

The decor was interesting. Loud club music played, accompanied by a laser light show. At least the tables and floor were clean.

I will definitely...