Dinner at Zen this week. Restaurant is not fancy, and seats are a bit worn. But staff are quick to greet and seat us. Menus are on the table and then you receive a paper order sheet. We choose various single and multiple items from the sheet to start our “ all you can eat sushi dinner for two hours”. Green tea, miso soup, spicy tuna cones, sashimi, salads, sushi, maki rolls, tempura, spring rolls, gyoza, ribs, scallops and golden buns come out on individual small plates. Portions are average or small sized but there are no limits ( except on sashimi which is 3” pieces per person) so order more is needed. I really like the fact that if you want one , or three you can order that exact number.Friendly staff ask us more than once if we would like anouther order sheet and keep our table clean if empty plates.
Once again this is not a fancy location. This is a family operated, casual, local , restaurant that encourages your table to have conversations with each other throughout your stay
The service is pretty good. The rolls are quite delicious and the sashimi is fresh with large pieces. I don't like how they charge an automatic gratuity on groups of 5 or more- that's a bit outrageous. I also don't like how they don't tell you when they are out of something for all you can eat.
Great place to sample different Japanese dishes and a fun outing. We enjoyed the private booths. Don't forget to order the hot dishes at the bottom of the menu - shrimp and yam tempura were excellent.
Before Watari opened, this was also my place to go for all you can eat sushi. I would go once every 2 months with my coworkers as we work on the south side. The food and service was good and the price was cheap as well.
Perfect spot for Lunch!. For a Monday, this place was busy! As far as 'curb appeal' goes, this place doesn't have any. However, once you walk through the front doors, you are pleasantly surprised, at least I was. The three of us( daughter, hubby and I, under hubby's recommendation) stopped in for ' all you can eat sushi". Service was initially a little slow- even after the lunch rush, restaurant was full. Once our order was placed, the dishes came out quickly. Our main server seemed either tired, or uninterested in her job. Presentation and portions were very appealing. Tempura veggies were a little soggy but overall, flavour and temperature of food was very satisfying. For the three of us, our bill came to approx. $60, which we felt was a pretty good value. Will definitely return to this little gem- even though it's no where near our home- worth the trip. :)
Good value. Here, you will spend approximately the same amount you will spend at Mikado or Sushi Sugoi. Seriously. And it's all you can eat.
Mikado and Sushi Sugoi are both divine, but at Zen you can get some variety and bigger portions.
There is your basic sushi/sashimi rolls, cones, tempura, hot foods like bbq short rib & bbq squid, appetizers, etc. The food overall is great, no complaints there.
The place is clean and comfortable, and I haven't had a problem with service.
Would recommend!
Zen is not bad for AYCE sushi. Just wish the food was more consistent. Some nights everything is amazing and some nights, just ok. We've never been disappointed going though.
Good experience. Zen was a cozy little sushi place.
It can get quite pricey however, I've been twice (for dinner) and the price had increased both times from what it was originally, the last time I went it was $27.95
The owner walked around a bit too often which was annoying.
Best value for sushi in edmonton. The all you can eat is great. The food is fresh and the tuna is by far and away the best around. The staff are not all fluent in english and can come off as disinterested because of not understanding or just walk away to find someone that understands better. This how ever is not much of a problem as you order by paper checklist anyway. Having said that they are generally eager to serve with anything you need. This style is the most user friendly for "new" people to trying sushi. They give you a picture menu and you just write down what you would like to try. You don't need to know how to pronounce any of it and they don't make you feel dumb for not knowing, like some places I have experienced. Over all we have returned many, many times and brought our friends with us.
Jackie Alnas Canceran
+4.5
Good food, Rude Server. This review is not about the food for it was good. We ate lunch and had the AYCE. To cut the story short--items were missing from our order and when we pointed that out the server just went away without even acknowledging me. She only gave us 2 menu slips and after using both didn't even bother to give us another one as if to say "that's it you're done!". When it was time to pay up I still wanted to give her a tip but when she was not satisfied demanded she get at least 10% then proceeded to hand to me the machine again. I didn't want to argue so I gave her $1 more. And just like that no "thank you" whatsoever she went back to the kitchen. I will go back there but next time it will be a nasty and demanding customer she will face. No point being polite to the server, she does not deserve it.
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Fantastic Value. I had a craving for sushi yesterday and decided to make it the day I tried Zen on Calgary Trail just south of Whyte Ave. I'm so glad I did.
This quaint little restaurant only offers an "All you can eat" (AYCE) menu with lunch costing $16.75 and another $2 for a pot of green tea. I believe dinner runs $26ish. The selection and quality is pretty good, and while I've seen more extensive and less restrictive menus in other cities, there is fantastic value in what is offered here. One should also bear in mind that this is Edmonton and its difficult to compare against places like Japan or cities like Vancouver. The decor is nice enough and the service was satisfactory. I also liked that they provided a photo guide to supplement the menu selection cards.
I tried a little of everything (within reason). The miso was simple but flavourful. The maki and nigiri were plentiful enough in options. The rice was bang on in texture and taste and the portions of fish and other ingredients were reasonable. The tempura was light, crispy, and not overly greasy. The grilled squid tentacles were fun; an interesting mix of tastes and textures. They brought out a fork and knife for those which made things easy. I'd suggest eating them right away though, I let one sit for a minutes while I sampled other pieces and it wasn't as good once it cooled down. The ponzu mussel was different as it was served cold and a little difficult to eat as it was still well attached to the shell. The gyoza were good but a little watery. The hand rolls were served in fresh crisp nori and that made me very happy. I've found other places around Edmonton must premake them because the seasweed wrap is usually soft and soggy and very difficult to bite through. No sashimi was offered on the lunch menu. The biggest disappointment was that the BBQ eel was served cold.
While this place might not be my all-time favorite sushi joint, it's good bang for your buck when you need a fix and as good as some of the more expensive alternatives in the city. I look forward to my next visit!
AMAZING!!!!!!!. I dont understand the bad reviews here, this is in edmonton, not vancouver. this is an amazing find. no it's not Kobe, but i have never had a bad experience here. the sashimi is as fresh as most places in the city, the wait staff and owner are amazing and its the best service ive had in a restaurant EVER in this town, and they are so fast. for 26 dollars all you can eat, this place is awesome. we go here once a week. if you can fill up my 250 pd juice monkey bf on sushi for 26 bux and he loves every bite (only 15 for lunch until 3 pm!), you are offering an incredible value i think! lol!
Surprisingly good. Reading the comments posted about this place I half expected a poor experience. However it was a great lunch!
The tuna and salmon were well prepared as well as all of the rolls we ordered.
A big miss was the steak. Unseasoned and tasted like it had freezer burn. Not appealing at all.
The big winner was the BBQ squid tentacles. It may look imposing but the flavor was excellent and the texture was perfect. It is a little hard to eat with chop sticks so I recommend using your hands to separate them.
The service was excellent and we even were treated to an off-menu experimental roll. Maybe with our feedback we will see it when we return.
Stoped by today, saturday, for dinner. They opened at 5pm and we were first ones in. Inside is quite cozy, and clean. Service was good and waitress took good care of us. Food was good and they brought to table fairly quick. Sashi pieces are on smaller side, but this is AYCE, and just keep ordering if you want more. Sushi is tasteful. Tempuras are good but i found them a bit oily. Beef short ribs are awesome, though teriyaki beef felt too cold and not so tasty. The price is $26.95, on a pricey side, but i felt it was worth while. For sure on my dine list next time i am in Edmonton.
We've been regulars at the downtown location for a few years now, but had to try the new Southside location as it is far closer to home. I really like the add on choices they have here, such as ten extra pieces of sashimi for $2. Overall, I found the quality and taste to be consistent with the downtown location, and the service was quick and friendly.
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Better than Downtown. Some friends and I went for all-you-can-eat for dinner this past week. We had been regular patrons of the downtown location for years, but we won't be returning there. The southside location beats the downtown location hands down for many reasons:
1. Location - unlike the downtown location, I don't have to worry if my car will be broken into or I will be mugged while in the area.
2. Food selection - The southside adds another sashimi selection on top of tuna, salmon, and surf clam: red snapper. Although a max of 15 pcs. instead of 20, the pieces were much larger. For sushi selection, they added a few new choices while keeping much of the rest the same, though sushi pieces tended to be larger. As for cooked food, they removed the baked seafoods, but added mussels in ponzu sauce which became a new favourite for me. Many other new selections were also welcome.
3. Price - at $24.95 for dinner, it's two dollars cheaper than downtown. Fine by me!
My friends and I plan to return more frequently! Excellent addition to Old Strathcona dining selections.
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Woooh... don't hate... southside zen is NOT CRAPPY like downtown zen :o. Ah, this place deserves a 80+ score for the price and quality/quantity of food you get...
It's $15 for lunch buffet all week and $25 for dinner buffet. The only difference is that during dinner you get tuna/salmon sashimi as far as I can tell.
Let me begin by saying that I will never eat at downtown Zen ever again, but this place has resurrected my interest about the Zen franchise. Why?
-Shrimp Tempura
-Soft Shell Crab Maki's
-Gyoza that doesn't fall apart when you touch it
-Freshly deep-fried agedashi tofu
-BBQ squid tentacles
-Eel on rice!!!
-New York Steak that actually tastes good...
-Cod fillet
-Curry fish balls that leave a good sensation in your mouth!
-Big pieces of salmon/tuna sushi
It's only $15! Just try it out it can't go wrong and if it does, boohoo, better than going to the same old $10-$13 bento elsewhere in town. This place is better and fresher and in a friendly neighborhood (not shady like downtown).
Check out the pics and see for yourself... :)
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