AYCE Sushi Restaurant located at Dalhousie and Murray in the Byward Market.

Hokkaido Sushi
Hokkaido Sushi
Hokkaido Sushi
Hokkaido Sushi
Hokkaido Sushi
Hokkaido Sushi
Hokkaido Sushi
Foods from Hokkaido Sushi
Comments

2013 Apr 3
Date of Visit: March 19, 2013

Although I love Japanese cuisine, I can generally only manage sushi in very small doses as I find the sweet, vinegared rice very rich after just a few pieces. I wanted to give this place a try however, and, aside from a bit of linguistic confusion over the menu, I had a pretty decent meal…

The Food
Surf Clam Sushi – Rating: 3 out of 5.
Mango and Tempura Shrimp Hand Roll – Rating: 5 out of 5.
Snapper Tempura - Rating: 1 out of 5.
Squid Ball - Rating: 2 out of 5.

Overall
This was certainly not the best experience I have had in a Japanese restaurant but the fault lay more with my misplaced expectations than anything done by the staff. The service, linguistic difficulty excepted, was very good and one of the items I tried was outstanding. I expect that this place is deservedly popular with quite a large number of patrons and, in the spirit of fairness, I rate it at a 4 out of 5.

See full pictorial review at: sybaritica.me

2012 Sep 16
I'm sad to report that they seem to have lost their initial lustre. The food is still decent, but now no better than 168 Sushi Buffet. The salmon was warm and mushy, the unagi was very fishy. Fried meats were hard, tempura was okay, california roll was okay, crispy salmon skin roll was nasty, soba/udon soup broth was nice, water refills were nice.

Three separate people asked us how old our kids were, in order to know how much to charge. That's fine, just a bit weird. :P

2012 May 25
I was here a couple weeks ago for an early dinner. I thought that the food was good for the most part. Service was quick and efficient.

Tempura showed up hot, the sashimi was fresh, and the bbq eel was great. Wasn't a huge fan of the yakitori but I had some sort of bbq'd beef roll while I was there which was delicious.

The specialty rolls were fine but I do agree that they can start to taste similar.

Certainly a better experience than some of my other AYCE sushi experiences. One thing I did notice, however, was that there doesn't seem to be a huge variation in dishes available between lunch and dinner. I would be happier paying less and loosing the few dishes (even the beloved beef!) if the quality is the same.

2012 May 2
I'm quite understanding when it comes to trying new restaurants and not having the best experience, but I'm making an exception after eating at Hokkaido last Saturday.

As many other people have mentioned, the service can be rather brusque and inattentive. Similarly to every other AYCE sushi restaurant, they forgot a few orders but it's no big deal because you can order again.

The menu doesn't contain any description of the rolls and I find this to be a huge oversight. We couldn't get a server over for long enough to offer any explanations which resulted in many of the rolls we ordered being very similar. I understand that creating new menus can be expensive so they should at least offer a paper insert with the ingredients of the rolls in the menu or they could put a copy at every table.

The tempura was fairly decent and not overly greasy but both my dining companion and I found the miso soup to be very salty. Taste of the gyoza notwithstanding, I'm curious why they are offered deep-fried as opposed to pan-fried.

At first, the sushi and the rolls were tasty but after trying more than two kinds, they all seemed to taste the same. Mayonnaise and tempura seemed to be an ingredient in almost all of the rolls. Different kinds of fish and ingredients are supposed to highlight each roll but we found all the rolls to tasted the same after a few bites.

Most critically, both my dining companion and I experienced gastro problems that night and the next day. If it had been just one of us, I would have written it off as a coincidence, but when two people both get sick after eating at a restaurant there is a problem in the kitchen.

I'm not saying I'd never go back, but I'm going to have to hear a lot of positive experiences and feedback to give them a second chance.

2012 Feb 12
We went there on Friday night at about 6PM - pretty emoty, it got progressively more crowded as the night wore on, but the service stayed good. Much better service than the other location that I visit (1000 Sushi Islands).

The sushi was very good (Prawns, salmon, tuna and crab) along with the rolls. As FF says, the prawn tempura was good. Tempura onion rings were sort of meh. Spring roll was average. Salmon and Chicken Teriyaki were both above average.

One odd thing - I felt really cramped at the booth - our knees were pressed up against each other - like they were trying to fit too many booths in....

2012 Jan 26
Sashimi was fresh and tender! Here is salmon, mackerel , and white tuna. The pieces are very small.

The threads of daikon on the plate are generous and delicious!

2012 Jan 26
This picture is of the Spider Roll (I think), which didn't have very much soft shell crab at all. Still, it tasted nice anyway.

One neat thing about the Maki here is that they don't put too much rice like other places do.

2012 Jan 26
Shrimp tempura were pretty good, although not as tasty or moist as other places. Sweet potato tempura was too thick and dry. Broccoli tempura was really good -- tight florets meant the batter didn't soak into them like I've seen in other places.

2012 Jan 26
As the reviews suggest, the food here is really very good for an AYCE place!

Service was friendly and worked well. Only a few dishes were missed from our orders.

Highlights: Sashimi, Sushi, Yakitori, Salmon belly, Green tea
Middle of the road: Tempura, specialty rolls
Disappointing: Vegetable Salad, Miso Soup

Everything was nicely presented as you can see!

2012 Jan 19
Went to Hokkaido sushi last week in a blisteringly cold early evening. Sat in the booth right in front of the door, but it was never cold. I definitely noticed they got rid of the Imperial Thai's elevated floor for the second dining area, so now the bathrooms are fully accessible. Not a small thing.

I didn't take notes, but generally I was quite impressed with the food. For AYCE, it's among the top three I've had in Ottawa. Of particular mention is the mango roll.. NOM. The unagi rolls had good, chewy though cold eel, good quality; a good sign.

We were three, and used about six order sheets, never taking too much on each to leave us the chance to know how full we were. The waitress seemed surprised we were still eating 90 minutes later and weren't ordering dessert yet. We did take a bit of time to decide (in-between the chatting), but the place was not full and we weren't blocking someone from eating at all. Also, the food was quite tasty and we wanted to sample more!

Nonetheless, service was attentive and nice, clean place, and good prices. Definitely recommended for an AYCE level.

Older


3