Kisara Sushi - Guelph, Ontario

Let me begin this review by saying that I never post reviews of restaurants. Ever. But my experience here was so astounding that I simply cannot sit idly by and let this place go unchecked. I am Asian and recently moved to Guelph from Vancouver, and have eaten at many ... great and sub-par Korean-owned sushi places but this one takes the cake. My boyfriend and I originally wanted to order from the all-you-can-eat menu but found that dinner prices were rather high for our budget ($34++) so we opted for the regular menu instead. The menu had spelling errors ("vegitable") and the page for nigiri and sashimi said "SUSHI" and sashimi. When I asked the server if sushi meant nigiri it was clear she did not know there was a term for that type of sushi. If I print the word "cake" on a menu, I don't expect customers to assume that I mean cheese cake. Similarly, it is shocking to see the umbrella term "sushi" being used for nigiri in a place that is so clearly marketed to be Japanese (the decor was beautiful). We ordered the gyozas and a beef and chicken yaki-udon. The server had an amazing attitude, very friendly and bubbly but clearly lacked an understanding of Japanese cuisine or Asian culture. When she served us the gyozas she DISCARDED MY CHOPSTICK HOLDER that I had folded from my chopstick wrapper (see photo). I CANNOT BELIEVE THE ABSOLUTE IGNORANCE DISPLAYED IN A CLEARLY ASIAN ESTABLISHMENT. I understand that some cultural idiosyncrasies are obviously glossed over and not taught in training but STILL. The cultural ignorance is astounding to me. I was too embarrassed to tell her. When the gyozas arrived it was clear that they were deep fried and not pan-fried. A simple google search will tell you that Japanese gyozas are typically served pan-fried but that's fine. There were large blisters on the outside of the wrapper and the inside was chalky, with a cabbage (no meat) filling that had the texture of cardboard. The vinegar served with it was watered down. I have worked at an Asian restaurant cooking and serving deep-fried pork dumplings for a fraction of the price that tasted infinitely better, also served with rice vinegar, so I know what rice vinegar is supposed to taste like. I had the chicken udon. It came with udon noodles, a pinch of shredded iceberg lettuce, and a few slices of the least appetizing pepper - green capsicum, drowing in sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The other miniscule veggies are not worth mentioning. The chicken pieces were juicy and had a great texture but the entire dish was drenched in an overly sweet teriyaki sauce, and I found a tiny hair in my dish (see photo, on the side of the bowl). Normally I honestly wouldn't care for a tiny hair or two here or there, but the dish was so saucy that I didn't even want to mention the hair to the server least she try to get me another serving. I only ate half before I couldn't take it anymore and absolutely destroyed the toilet. And then to add the icing on the cake, I banged my hand into the door which was honestly entirely my fault but definitely ruined my mood. When my immigrant mother moved to Canada and gave birth to me she would cook me yaki-udon, just plain noodles, and I would slurp it up as she ran errands. It was my favourite dish for as long as I can remember and now it is ruined. The only reason this review is two and not one star is because of the decor and the server's preppy attitude. Needless to say I will NEVER be returning and this establishment is just an embarrassment to the Japanese cuisine in Canada. I'm sorry to say that. Read more

Overall, I was very pleased with my experience. I got the seafood soup and salmon over bed of vegetables. The food was very tasty and I appreciated and savored every bite. Service and food was a little slow, hence the 4 star but it was worth the wait.

Listen to the 1 star ratings. If you've been to a sushi place before, you'll know this is one of the worst. 1) slow service. 2) green tea = coloured hot water with no green tea taste. When I told the staff it just tastes like hot water they said they know but ... that's all they have for green tea. 3) not a lot of selection for all you can eat. Look at the menu before you go with all you can eat. 4) significantly over priced. Read more

Great place for sumo wrestlers and rice lovers. Sushi come with a transparent piece of fish on top of block of rice (and I'm NOT kidding - the piece of fish IS transparent ). The quality of sushi does not depend on whether u order buffet or not - we ... ordered a la carte and they still came as described above ("I'm sorry, they just make them here like that"). Definitely the place to avoid. Read more

Sushi was very good. was very happy with the shrimp tempura.You can notice the pride that's put into the food here. Not overly coated and very good flavour . Waitress was very friendly and checked up on us several times. will be back for more for sure !!