Review Japanese Restaurant Miki - Banff

We were craving for ramen and we expected it to be a little better. But the foods are actually expensive and disgusting. The tankotsu ramen sucks, the noodles are too hard, veggies are bitter and the pork is literally half a piece. Not even. 1/4. Save your money guys 🤷🏻‍♀️

My friends and I visited this restaurant in Banff after taking a dip in the “Banff Upper Hot Springs.” The restaurant is a bit on the small side but luckily they were able to seat our party of 7. When it comes to the All You Can Eat menu it is has very limited choices. The service was good, the staff greeted us coming in and leaving the restaurant, as well as checking with us to make sure we received our orders and to see if we were ready to order more. The sushi tasted pretty good, tempura was good and the chicken wings were good too. Rice tasted fresh, salmon was average, avocado and cucumbers tasted fresh as well. However for $35 + a 15% gratuity fee (party of 6 or more) = $43, I think the price for the selection of items was pretty surprising. The food was about what you would expect from a sushi restaurant, but they didn’t have anything special to set them aside from a sushi restaurant elsewhere. If the prices were lowered, this would be a great place to eat at regularly. If you have a bigger group or plan to eat during a busy time like the lunch rush it would be best to plan ahead and make reservations.

My daughter and I shared the veggie sushi for two. The food was fresh and delicious. Service was friendly and proactive. All in a sunny, open room with a gorgeous view. I have eaten in many restaurants in Banff and this one is now near the top of my list.

Awesome! Quite small but classy atmosphere. My boyfriend and I got the $30 per person all-you-can-eat sushi & tempura (I believe this special is only on during the winter). Sashimi, soup, dumplings are also included with this. It was very much worth the price and we ate until we were stuffed. The server was excellent, very friendly and checked up to see if we wanted to order any more (which we did). Overall a great experience. If I lived in Banff I would go all the time!

Stayed in Banff for a night and had supper here. The staff were very polite and the service was great from my experience. The food was good but there is definitely room for improvement in terms of quality. If you are planning on dining here and you're a big eater be prepared to burn some plastic. Overall a decent experience.

Went here for dinner and it was terrible. We should have known this meal was going to be bad when they handed us a rule sheet for eating. I ordered the ramen while my friends went for the 35$ AYCE option. My ramen was made with instant noodles and they put the entire Bok Choy cluster in without separating it. When my friends got their sushi it was mostly rice and poorly rolled. There was only a few strings of crab in the sushi. The waiter kept hovering around our table and he wouldn't let them order more until they ate all the rice that was on the plate. It was awkward having him stand right near our table and watch us because we were the only people in the restaurant.

The staff are friendly, and the fish seemed good quality. This is let down by an awkward concept execution: decor is dated and a hodgepodge of eras, pricing, and portions are out of sync with other local offerings. On the positive side, the soya sauce is better than average, and the miso soup of better quality and flavour than you often find. I really feel they need to pick a decor, and execute it. Pick a simple menu structure, and choose if they are $ $$ or $$$. Then use plates and serving platters to suit. (A mix of bamboo platters, plastic Asian buffet bowls and Ikea plastic kids plates was tone deaf) As it was we felt that the food as a whole came off as very cheap (sashimi quality aside) plated in a mid range way, and charged at the high end. Decor was $ but they where trying to make up for low turns with some service mannerisms from a higher end place. (Having to make eye contact to initiate ordering or service) Rolls and rice where not pleasant. Better quality rice, cooked delicately, and appropriately seasoned would be great, and tie the food side of it all together.

They need more professional waiters to improve their service. When we were ordering, the waiter, seems like the owner, was not patient, and when we asked about the difference between several entries, she just left without a word. We asked several times and waited for more than ten minutes before a younger waiter came to us. Fortunately, the food was good.

Great service, fantastic and properly made sushi, I eat sushi often and I have found some tasty new favorites here. The service was prompt and friendly. The food is made to order EVEN ON ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI NIGHT! yes the place is shabby but that doesn't matter when you're drinking fresh matcha tea and eating a delicious and fresh surf clam! Parking is tricky, but worth it. This is my new go to sushi spot when I visit Banff.

If you can find Any parking at miki then you might want to try their AYCE until April 30. It's $30 pp kids $15 11 and under. It's a tired looking 80s resturant. The servers speak no English at all. They were friendly enough but it would be useful to even have basic communication skills. The tempura was quite good as are the cones. The laid out sushi on the table was wierd.. hand written signs in plastic containers. The rolls were messy and poorly made and over sauced. Gyoza were falling apart and they were the premade stuff. I didn't know you get free ice cream with AYCE. Would have been nice if they didn't use my coupon for ice cream. On the other hand I can't see myself coming back. Theres too many resturants out there. Plus it comes with a number of rules you have to read on plastic sheet.

Came here for all you can eat sushi tonight and left being barely able to move. While the all you can eat doesn't include any actual sashimi, there's a good selection of nigiri and rolls to choose from, and we particularly enjoyed the hand rolls (cones). Try the dragon rolls (unagi) and the spicy tuna rolls. <br/><br/>The tempura was also great. We were a big group, so we had about a thousand pieces of mushroom and zucchini. We couldn't get enough of it! <br/><br/>The dumplings were quite crunchy; I'm usually a big fan of dumplings but wasn't that impressed tonight sadly.<br/><br/>The nigiri was pretty good. We had a ton of salmon and tuna nigiri that tasted pretty good. <br/><br/>Then finally, there's ice cream at the end if you still have space!<br/><br/>It's generally around $30pp for all you can eat here, and we definitely got our money's worth today!<br/><br/>We've been here many time before and will happily come back again!

I have been coming here firca while and have never had a bad experience with the food or staff. Although I prefer when they have all you can eat sushi, ordering off the menu is still well worth it.

The sushi and sashimi at Miki is very well made. I don't tend to eat tuna sashimi but the one at Miki was amazing. It was smooth, buttery and my favourite here. I also enjoyed the shrimp tempura and spicy tuna roll. It is very convenient since it was connected to our hotel The Inns of Banff. It was pretty expensive and very quiet as there weren't so many other customers. It was pleasant but not the most amazing sushi experience I've had.

Our overall impression was positive after this our first visit to Miki. I ordered the gyoza, assorted tempura and a spicy tuna roll and all were well done. My partner ordered the edamame, agedashi tofu and spinach gomae and she enjoyed her dishes. We are both fond of Japanese restaurants and we agreed that this one is good but not outstanding. The ambiance of this restaurant leaves something to be desired, it's a bit stark. It could use some remodelling to make it feel cozier. However the service was courteous and prompt.

Never again. Overpriced and subpar. The server ignored my husband and me for 20 minutes until she realized I was staring at her. She had all of 3 or 4 other tables in the entire restaurant. We had a little bit of rice and a couple rolls left over and she was rude about it. She threatened to charge us but made us feel like she did us a favour. Terrible service. I'm sorry we built up our appetites to spend so much on terrible food and service. On our honeymoon.

Disappointed. Service was extra slow, portions very small. Sushi was badly made. They brought me a pot of green tea that was luke warm. Our bowls of salad had 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. They did not bring the rice with the miso soup as is custom.

Starting June 2014 All You Can Eat is NO LONGER. The new menu was disappointing. Very small portions.

No longer ayce. We had vermillion dinner for 2 and the rolls had little substance. The food was good just to small on quantities of fish in rolls.

Fantastic. Despite some poor reviews we had a fantastic experience here. The service was fast, friendly, and authentic, the food was amazing, and the view was spectacular (the sun was setting in the background over the rockies). The staff were attentive without being all over us. Really loved the fact that the chef preparing the sushi was in a dress shirt, vest, and tie. Totally reminded me of the style in some of the great restaurants when I was in Japan. <br/><br/>After perusing the menu I opted for the all you can eat (long day skiing and there was too many items that peaked my interest). My girlfriend ordered a couple of different maki rolls. The tempura vegetables were great: perfectly el dente texture coated in a light crispy batter that wasn't greasy. The tempura sauce was delightful as well; I usually pass it by at other places but I found myself thoroughly enjoying it here. Some of the nigiri was a bit small but as part of AYCE, that just means I can try more things without over-eating. I really got into the hand rolls. They had a good selection and some combinations I don't see often. They did a fantastic job of combining textures and flavours and all of the rolls had the perfect amount of rice (meaning not too much). <br/><br/>We would go back here in a heartbeat, in fact on our next trip through Banff we'll absolutely be going here for dinner, and we'll be bringing friends.

Expensive, poor quality food, inconsiderate staff. My wife and I stayed at Inns of Banff so we decided to walk to this restaurant because we are elderlies who can not walk far on slippery sidewalks especially at night. We were the first clients to arrive and we were seated against the wall. We requested the table by the window because I am claustrophobic but the staff refused claiming that it is already reserved when we made a reservation ourselves before going there. I intended to have the "eat-all-you-can" but I love sashimi which we were told that it is not included. They have a very limited listing for the eat-all-you-can menu. We were also informed that our time is limited so you have to eat fast. (elderlies are prone to choking when they eat fast) I have read several comments about the "eat-all-you-can" that you have to wait for a long time for the delivery of your order. Therefore, if the time limit expires and the food is not delivered, you're out of luck. This is nothing but a get rich fast strategy. I ordered an overpriced sashimi (that turned out be as old as I am) but I needed to eat as my blood sugar was going down to the verge of having a hypoglycemic reaction. As soon as my blood sugar was returned to normal, it gave us the incentive and courage to risk a walk to the Keg, a couple of blocks away, for a dessert. I fulfilled my cravings for a fresh "all-you-can-eat" sashimi and hundreds of other choices at Asian Buffet when we went back to Calgary. More power to those who enjoyed their meals at Miki's. I hope they were not paid to post a positive comment.

Not Recommended. Pricy $30 all you can eat with limited selections. The quality was ok but they were so slow in bringing the food out, especially on sushi orders. We had mostly deep fried stuff the whole time. Waited for 45min for the first order to come out and then when the 2nd order of sushi comes, they told us there is no more mackerel. So they were basically out of food and then another 30 min later they were out of tofu and sushi rice. What kind of restaurant is this that does not prepare enough food for customers. We were there for 4 hours when it could be a 2 hours dinner. Bad! If you are in a hurry that just want to grab something to eat then this is not the choice for you. If you are really hungry go to this restaurant, I think you would starve to death.

Terrible service from front and back of house. Waitresses were unwelcoming and abrupt. They did not explain the ordering system and then reprimanded us when we tried to order because we filled the sheet in wrong. <br/><br/>The kitchen staff were just as disinterested. We had ordered tempura broccoli. We received tempura pumpkin instead, with no explanation of why. The tuna was all "white tuna". <br/><br/>We ordered tempura salmon and tempura snapper and got 2 pieces of salmon instead. Again no explanations or apologies. <br/><br/>The icing on the cake was being served off deep fried oysters. <br/><br/>At one stage, another group of people waited at the door for over 5 minutes while the restaurant staff were all chatting in the kitchen. <br/><br/>Never again. Absolutely disgusted with both the food and the service.

Never coming back. I was told by many to try this restaurant. The menu selection is terrible and overpriced ($20 for udon with vegetables) ... My husband and I decided to go with the All You Can Eat. Bad decision. $30 for bad sushi. The best thing was the edamame. I ate half of my very small one person serving of udon, had one deep fried tofu left and half a small bowl of rice left ... First, the servers ignored us for 15-20 minutes until I FINALLY caught her eye (there were 4 tables occupied). Then she condescendingly scolded me for not eating everything and said she'd have to charge us. She came back and said "special for today, we don't charge you but remember for next time." Needless to say I DO NOT recommend this restaurant to anyone. I also had to add up the subtotal and GST for myself. Go into town and eat at the other sushi restaurants. I'm sorry I still gave a 15% tip.

Same restaurant?. Lots of negative reviews here - makes me think they're talking about a different place?<br/><br/>I've been to this restaurant a few times. Food has been uniformly excellent - fresh, tasty. Service has been friendly and quick. Decor is certainly dated, but the view out the window (as is true most places in Banff) is lovely. All you can eat after a day of skiing or hiking is nice. We've had sushi lots of places, including in Tokyo, Vancouver, New York, Toronto, etc. and this place is right up there for quality. They also have one or two varieties of fish you rarely see in Calgary.<br/><br/>On a cold day, it's also handy to be able to park indoors (just go up the ramp to the 2nd level parkade) and walk through the hotel to the restaurant.<br/><br/>The only thing I can think of we might be doing differently than other reviewers is coming early. We have kids and usually drop in here after some outdoor activity, not later in the evening.

Terrible food, horrible service. Being an Asian, I like Japanese food, especially their gourmet sashimi and sushi. Among the Japanese restaurants I have tried in Canada and USA, Miki at Banff is the worst!!! It is a pricey restaurant, even considered its location. But the sashimi is not fresh at all. All the zoe on sushi are pickled and very salty. <br/><br/>When we noticed the waitress is Japanese, we were excited and thought we were in an authentic restaurant. However, that only meant the bad service. We will never go back, for sure!!!

Good deal with fresh food!. All you can eat for $30 is a great deal, which my hubby tried! I wish I have this restaurant in Edmonton. I had a Chirashi Don and I really liked it. You can't see the rice. It's covered by lots of sashimi. Fresh and tasty.

Horrendous customer service. It is with deep regret that I have to write this review about one of our local businesses. With my sushi-loving in-laws in town for the holidays we decided to go to Miki on December 29th. We called and made a reservation for 6:45pm and showed up on time. We were promptly greeted at the door and shown to our table. The waitress then left. She did not ask if we wanted water, say that our server will be right with us... she said nothing. All tables were full except a 2-seat by the bar and a 4-seat beside us which was dirty. <br/>Five minutes after we sat down, a couple was seated at the 2 seat table. Five minutes later they had place their order and had beer. We still didn’t have water. But, being overly polite, we waited – filled out our sushi order form – tried to catch a waitress’ attention. There were 3 waitresses and we seemed to be sitting in a blind spot, even though we were in the middle of the restaurant. I could see the wet bar, the men making the sushi, the ‘order-up’ table, and every other table in the restaurant.<br/>At the ten minute mark I started to try to flag down a waitress. But even waving the white order form sheet would not bring their eyes to our table.<br/>Then, after 20 minutes of watching 3 waitresses walk by our table repeatedly, a family of 4 is seated at the table next to us. They barely have their coats of and a waitress is there! With her back to us! It was truly unbelievable! After she was finished taking their order, she turned to walk away and I had to loudly say ‘Excuse me’ to get her attention. At least the tables next to us would have heard me. Oh my goodness, it was like she never knew this table was here. I say to her ‘We’ve been waiting 20 minutes, could we get some water’ She offers no apology, just takes the order form, asks if we want wasabi (which we do), and gets the water. <br/>15 minutes later we are still waiting for food and our glasses are empty. I walk to the wet bar, get a pitcher of water, refill our glasses, and return the pitcher. They don’t even notice! The family of 4 next to us gets their food.<br/>We get our first plate of food, which of course we inhale because we are very hungry after 40 minutes of waiting. She never asks if we want beer or wine. The in-laws ask for a bottle of wine, which she does not understand and we point out on the menu. She’s quick in getting this to us. While we wait for the rest of our order, I watch food go to other tables. The Japanese family on the other side of us is getting great service. And so are the other 2 Japanese tables at the other end of the restaurant. The young couple that were seated after us are getting good service. We were forgotten once we were seated and are now ignored.<br/>I watch a plate of food journey to the end of the restaurant. The guests say it’s not theirs. It comes back to the order-up table. The 3 waitresses gather around trying to figure out who’s food it is. They seem to have it sorted and put the plate behind a full towers of plates on the order-up table and walk away. 2 minutes later our waitress picks up said plate and brings it to us. Odd. I ask for more ginger.<br/>More food comes and we place a second order. We never get more ginger, or water. I ask for 2 additional sushi cones (the BBQ Eel and Avocado is really good) and she tells us our time is up and there are reservations after us. At this time is it 8:15pm. But since we were ignored for the first 20 minutes I was not going to allow this to cut into our time. She talks with one of the chefs and brings us the cones. I notice that a table of young Japanese that were here before us are not asked to leave. At 8:30pm she brings us the bill. She does not ask us if we want ice cream (which is included in the all you can eat). So I ask her if the ice cream is included; she says it is. We get our ice cream. When we go to pay I ask her if there is a local discount, she says no. I ask her if there is a discount for being ignored for 20 minutes, she says no. We pay, give a small tip, and I tell her to have a good night; don’t forget about anyone else. The table that was there before us is still seated and no one has come in to sit in 3 tables that have emptied. So we feel we were lied to and they were trying to get rid of us. <br/>I wish we had brought a snack to see how long we could have sat there without being acknowledged. <br/>This whole experience was completely bizarre. To be forgotten about, have to ask for service, and then feel like we’re being kicked out. They do not try to rectify the situation. They could have made this a better experience if they had provided good customer service once I got her attention; but they just wanted to get rid of us; make the bad experience go away.

We ordered beef Shabu Shabu for a family of four. The service here is slow, inefficient, and non-attentive. The food itself was good but we struggled to get the attention of the staff to order additional meat or refills of water and tea. Because of this we left the restaurant, which was only moderately busy, after 2 1/2 hours without eating as much as we would have liked as we ran out of patience for them to bring additional food. The value for money was not good because we were shorted the amount of food we expected to receive for the size of our group. We just couldn't get them to bring it in a reasonable time.

DO NOT EAT HERE! The service was absolutely terrible. None of the staff speaks English, it made it extremely difficult to order. My boyfriend received one complete meal and I waited almost an hour for my meal. The sushi was not well put together, even there rice was horrible, there sticky rice didn't stick. We were charged full price for food we did not even receive and when we went to negotiate the price we received $5 off of a $66 Terrible meal. Save yourself the headache and eat ANYWHERE else but here.

Just finished dinner here. For the price you pay (too high) you get horrible service. We waited 50 minutes before we received our food and my glass has been empty for the past hour (I had water). They also didn't use the proper rice for sushi so they definitely cheap out on that. Overall this restaurant gives Japanese restaurants a bad name. If you can help it, do not eat here.

Great spot! $25 all you can eat Sushi, can't beat the value

Would NEVER go back. I have been to Miki's Sushi in Bowness Calgary and so I figured the location in Banff would be just as good. Not a chance. Service was slow, sushi was very small and looked very messy like it was not put together properly. The tuna also did not taste or look very fresh. Would not go back.

When Connie and I first discovered Miki, it was immediately a fast-favorite. With a really excellent and diverse all-you-can-eat menu and really helpful and attentive staff, it was easy to love them.