Blufish Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Winnipeg

My last review was four years ago. Since COVID I've been in the Midwest USA. I preface this because coming back home and trying this now, I realize how delicious some of this food is. I've been reading the reviews and looking at the photos and I have some pointers for those visiting now.

Knowing what to order here is important. The signature items generally shine here. I still look for something similar to the spicy Ben roll when I'm in the USA and have not found it yet.

First the bad ... Service was kind of abysmal when we went last night. Back in the day, this would never fly. The server was not friendly at all. They took our order, made no recommendations, didn't remove empty plates unless we were handing them to her and due to that, tried to constantly force plates on to the table. She was Curt and blunt. My man wanted to pay for everyone's meal and she questioned it... The restaurant up keep itself is also not as I remember it. It's not as tidy as it used to be. The menus remain the same as when I was working there and are showing their age.

Now for the good.... Most of what we ordered tasted as I had hoped. It was flavourful and uniquely blufish. As I mentioned the menus looked like they were really showing their age, but that also means they have not price increased since the menus were created so the value is certainly there considering the rise in grocery prices. Where I'm from in the USA, we pay the same amount for our sushi but in USD.

There were some instances that gave me pause like the Cajun seared salmon seemed not to have enough Cajun seasoning and the somoku roll didn't taste like torched scallops. Aside from that, everything that we ordered was delicious. The white truffle tuna carpaccio was improved on this visit, but I don't think it's the original truffle oil as that was the best. Parking though is terrible here as it is in all of exchange. We lucked out and found one on main Street in front of 411ish. There's enough room for 2 cars and most people don't realize right away. You cannot park there during rush hour but after 530 you are golden.

Previous review ..... I use to work for Blufish, but now that it's under new management I wanted to see how it was going. A lot of the serving staff has remained the same, with changes in the kitchen from what I can tell. Tonight we did the White truffle tuna carpaccio, Blufish scallops, Cajun seared salmon, Hachimitsu ebi, Ben Roll, and shrimp tempura. Skip the White truffle tuna Carpaccio. It was my favorite item there originally. The slices are no longer thin like in its original incarnation and the sauce tastes different. I think they switched truffle oils. They have some of the best tempura in the city. Their shrimp tempura remains on point. They are also one of the few restaurants that serve gluten free tempura without doing an up charge. I did not try it on this trip. The Hachimitsu Ebi is one of my favorites. The sauce is heavenly, and the shrimp very large pieces. The price is extremely good, I definitely recommend this one. Ben Roll still is fantastic. The Blufish scallops, though never been my personal favorite, was a number one seller due to its flames upon delivery. When you see one, other tables tend to order it because its presentation is beautiful. You also can't beat the price for this, and its cheaper to eat it in the restaurant than to make it at home. This restaurant has always been great for accepting modifications. If you have a food allergy issue, they will try their best to accommodate.

So looks like things on this visit remained very good. We did go in for lunch awhile ago and the quality of the bento box was not stellar, but the pricing for what you get is. We had Kenix as a server and she did an...

I visited Blufish yesterday evening with my boyfriend and my mom (we were all craving sushi), and we heard lots of great reviews and word that Blufish was one of the top places in Winnipeg to go for good sushi (alongside Yujiro on Grant).

We reserved a table earlier in the day online - this was a super easy and convenient option! We ended up arriving 15 minutes early and they were able to accommodate (I was 100% okay with waiting if needed, but it was great to see how accommodating and welcoming the crew at Blufish was). ☺️

First off - the cocktails. 😍 I tried both their Plumtini and Lychee-tini, and I honestly could have sipped on those all night long. Our server was really great with recommending cocktails to try as well!

Between the three of us, we ordered a variety of items - from edamame beans, to sashimi and nigiri sushi, and a few different rolls. I myself have a shellfish allergy (a sin for a person who loves sushi), and the staff were very accommodating with making sure that the items that were unsafe for me were on separate plates, and they acknowledged when those specific rolls were on the table as well. Kudos to the staff - this effort meant so much to me! 🙌🏼

The sashimi and nigiri was amazing, their wasabi was great - the only items I found I could have passed on were their salmon bakudan roll, the seaweed wrap was quite chewy and not my favourite, and their philadelphia roll (again, just a tad bit chewier than I’m used to - although I will say that I really appreciated that they were open to switching out the smoked salmon for raw salmon with this roll). These are not reasons that will deter me from returning though - I will definitely come back again!

I can definitely vouch after this visit that Blufish is indeed one of the top places in Winnipeg for sushi - I will agree...

Really disappointing. We ordered $60 worth of sushi NYE, and it was delivered so warm the roe was sliding off and the fish looked shiny.

An hour in the fridge and it was finally up to about the temp you'd expect when you unpack cheap grocery store sushi. The rice was bland and gummy. No hint of rice wine, mayo or wasabi inside the pieces. The $13 Rainbow Roll, which is meant to be an exquisite blend of seafood flavours, was rubbery and had nothing distinctive about the taste compared to the CA roll. Fish was sliced unevenly, in differing sizes on the nigiri.

I called Blufish and very courteously asked how it could have arrived warm. I didn't get into the questionable presentation. Could it have been sent out warm? They got defensive and started going on about how sushi doesn't go under heat lamps---why would it? Then they asked if it came with tempura (it didn't), which they apparently thought made it okay for the sushi to be warm.

Since it was being delivered to near UM, why not throw in some ice? I asked if it's possible Door Dash tossed it on the seat under the heater. Blufish claimed they make sure sushi goes in an insulated bag.

We're waiting for a courtesy call from the manager. Nothing.

$80 with tip, and a disappointing NYE meal.

EDITED: well, they sure got back to us quickly wanting this review removed. Two wait staff promised a gift certificate, which never arrived. Nothing from the manager.

We finally learned what happened after an hour of transfers on the phone with DoorDash. DD had escalated the concern about warm sushi to their Health/Legal Department, who issued a full refund for the meal...