Naru Sushi — Restaurant in Sydney

First and last time. Took my girlfriend here as a Valentines supper surprise, and I always wanting to try Sushi. She was happy they served other dishes besides sushi. We got there then we were asked if we would mind sharing a table with other customers. I told her no, I called a week prior and booked a table for 2 for the occasion. We were then taken up stairs to a small room with a large table and were asked if we'd mind waiting for a table to clear. I said no problem. Approximately 20 minutes went by and still no table. We were not offered anything to drink or menus as we waited. We finally got a seat and our server disappeared for an additional 10 minutes. We were finally given the menus yet still no option for water or any drink. When she returned another 15 minutes later I ordered 2 drinks and she left again without taking our orders. At this point we were ready to leave. But we stayed. Upon returning again another 15 or 20 mins later we got to place our order. I ordered what was suggested to me from a friend for the first time trying and ordered 4 sushi rolls, ginger no wasabi and a fork as i just previously had elbow surgery. My girlfriend ordered a traditional beef dish. Then after another Approximately 25 to 30 minutes we got our orders. They gave her another persons order which looked like squid or something else I have never seen or wanted to. She was a little upset as she does not eat sushi. I explained this to them and they came back in about 10 more minutes with her correct dish and mine except they didn't give me my ginger. The owner later came upstairs and asked how things were going. I told him I briefly what had happened and about the rest of my order, he told a young server to get me some ginger. She came over and rubbed a small slab of Wasabi on the side of my dish and left. By this time all our food was cold but to try and make a night of eat we ate a little each but gave up and took the remaining with us as there were 2 more couples waiting in the same room we had to wait in. I told them we were done and they could have our seat. They said they were also asked to share the larger table. All in all I can guarantee we will never go back there. Honestly between us both this was the worst service either of us have ever had in any restaurant. I would give it 0 if possible. Arrived with a great appetite but after all the waiting and other issues we just didn't want anything to do with their food or establishment. They were well staffed but major lack of communication along with way to many customers in then the staff could accommodate. 0 smiles from anyone working there and most of the people eating there. Very loud atmosphere and you could feel the stress the servers were under. We were more then happy to leave that night sadly. Sorry but I have no kudos to give for this place or staff. Try and book a time other then a holiday in my opinion. And I never did end up getting a fork after asking 2 times. I ate with...

I had heard good things about the sushi at Naru, but—perhaps after being spoiled by great (and affordable) sushi in Vancouver—I must say that I was very disappointed.

From the beginning of the meal, I was disappointed with the iceberg lettuce salad topped with a sesame dressing that had almost no sesame flavor, and tasted just a little bit too much like Kraft Italian dressing; it was jarring. It was not bad—it was ok. But it did not leave a good impression.

I ordered a set plate, and when it came, I found that the plate was oversized for the amount of food on it which left it looking empty.

The tempura was ok, though the vegetables were not cut with the precision I'm used to seeing in a Japanese restaurant, but that's fine. The tempura sauce was bland.

The sashimi was presented well, and the fish quality was—well, not superb, but to be expected for this time of year. The rice was good. However, some of the rolls were too large in diameter and were falling apart, and some had rice with uneven thickness throughout. Also, the flavors of each item did not always come together very well.

Which brings me to the ginger: personally, I enjoy raw ginger, but many at my table do not. I was surprised that the ginger was not more pickled. It was also cut a bit thickly, and some pieces were quite large while others were small. At times, I had to use my fingers to tear it.

Because there are not many options for Japanese food here in Cape Breton, I will likely try once again sometime—perhaps when food prices have stabilized. I realize that restaurants can't help that food is so expensive right now, and so I don't blame them for such high prices; however, it is currently not worth the cost of eating there.

The wakame/seaweed salad was good: substitute this for the house salad, if you go here.

The miso soup was good, and I would have liked having more time to enjoy it before the rest of the meal came.

The wasabi was excellent! Like getting kicked in the nose by...

Great food, friendly service, but pricey!

This appears to be the only really sushi restaurant in Cape Breton.

The restaurant is very nicely decorated. The two floors offer lots of comfortable seating. Menu selection was good with lots of rolls, ramen noodle soup, nigiri sushi, and sashimi.

Service is friendly and the food arrived quickly. I had the teriyaki ramen and some rolls. All of the food was delicious but portions are small.

Overall a very good Japanese restaurant with great food and friendly service. We found the food to be on the pricey side for the size of portions. Would definitely be back as this place is good for special occasions.

Update: 2018/11/03

We returned here on our most recent visit to Sydney almost 2 years since our last visit. I had to reduce the review rating by two stars.

While the decor and ambience remain exceptional for Sydney, we did not have a positive experience with the quality of the food and service.

We ordered the Chirashi which was very good. But the other two items, the Gyu Tataki was very tough and lacked any real flavour and the Wakami Spicy Tuna Roll at $16 was a tiny little roll that hardly any tuna in it.

When our waiter, who was polite enough, can by to ask how things were, we expressed our disappointment with the wakami roll (which has less tuna than most $4.00 tuna rolls elsewhere.) we told him that there was hardly any tuna in it and the roll was almost exclusively a rice roll. Especially priced at $16.00, this roll was definitely well below expectations. He tried to reiterate that it was a spicy tuna roll, nodded his head and smiled. We tried once more to explain to no avail. He nodded and smiles again and walked off.

I wonder what the point is of asking your customers for feedback is if you aren’t going to listen and take any action on feedback that is given from customers.

Not sure that we will he visiting this restaurant again. We’ll try the Sakura Sushi restaurant across the...