Zen 8
• 103-414 3 St SW. | Calgary, AB | T2P 1R2
Average User Rating:
8.54/10
8.54/10
Recommended by:
100%
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"My kind of sushi!"
Jordan
April 2011 — "I have never been a huge sushi fan, but Zen 8 in downtown Calgary is different. They offer exotic, more gourmet sushi than what your traditional sushi restaurants do. Many of their sushi rolls don't even contain raw fish as most usually do. They have things like tempura calamari, shrimp, veggies, yam, smoked salmon, etc. They even have a roll called the Alberta Roll, which was my absolute favorite. It has extremely thin pieces of raw beef with alfalfa sprouts, served with a warm lime wasabi butter for dipping. It is a whole new take on sushi in way you have never seen it before! The servers are great at what they do and very knowledgeable about the menu. Of course, you can still have many of the familiar Japanese staples like miso soup, tempura, california rolls, and edamame. If you've never really liked sushi, I recommend you try it again at Zen 8! You might just like it! "
User Rating
8.83/10
8.83/10
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"Best sushi I've ever had!"
Lindsay
April 2011 — "Zen 8 is located downtown in Calgary Place and definitely boasts some of the most luxurious and decadent sushi in the city. It is quite pricey, but worth every penny. I would recommend making reservations if you are trying to get in for lunch on a weekday as the restaurant is extremely popular with the corporate crowd. The atmosphere is high energy and the place is pretty pressed for space. The decor is simple but the food is astounding. Tempura is sold by the item with two pieces in each order. I tried the tempura avocado, which turned out to be about 2 chunks of 1/4 of an avocado perfectly deep fried. The edamame was delicious and the ahi tuna sashimi was the best quality I have ever had. Everything was great. The service was quick and well executed. The most amazing part by far was the sushi itself. The rolls are about $10 but come with 8 generous pieces and all contain about 5 ingredients. I highly recommend the Super Eruption roll! SO GOOD! On our way out, the Japanese sushi chefs all gave us a friendly good bye. It was the perfect end to a perfect meal. "
User Rating
8.83/10
8.83/10
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"Superb Sushi"
Nicole
September 2009 — "I recently had the pleasure of attending a business lunch at Zen 8 in the downtown core. This trendy Sushi spot is fairly small and fills up quickly during lunch hour so be sure to make a reservation. My party of four ordered Tempura Shrimp and Gyoza for an appetizer, and while the Gyoza were nothing out of the ordinary, the tempura shrimp were the largest prawns I had ever seen in my life, served with a mayonnaise based sauce with a bit of zing and absolutely fantastic. We also ordered their Dynamite Rolls, Spicy Tuna Rolls, and a few others and while these are my usual sushi staples, I was blown away by how good they are here. Not your ordinary sushi by any means. The fish and rice of course were super fresh, but whatever secret ingredients they add to their rolls truly create a party in your mouth. I also had a green tea Mojito which was also excellent. The green tea seems to take a bit of the edge off for a much smoother taste. The service was fast and we easily finished in an hour, and while their menu is a little pricy, the quality of food was well worth it and would recommend to anyone looking for an upper scale sushi experience.
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User Rating
8.67/10
8.67/10
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"Just look at the big picture"
Mary
August 2009 — "It seems like this is the new Sushi place that everyone raves about and I guess it is a very cool hangout, with an abundant menu of choices of rolls, dishes and fusion dishes. On my second visit to Zen 8 with a friend, we tried a variety of dishes of appetizers, rolls, hand cones, their dumpling soup and a couple of their specials. It’s a little more upscale, pricey place to have sushi, but the lounging setting deserves a thumbs up. To begin with, the service was excellent. Expect to be greeted with smiles and as if you are the special customer that walks in the door. The dumpling soup was pretty spicy and not really worth the $7 for 3 dumplings and a lot of salty water. The shared rolls and cones were good. Afterwards, the Special Scallop roll came. It consisted of friend scallop rolls, rolled in sushi rice and half a butchered orange. This is my main complaint of the entire experience. The roll itself was a little odd because it was warm and cold and I can’t get over the garnish – an orange with the tag still stuck on it. With that aside though, I think it is a great place to have sushi. So garnishing isn’t their strongest suit. As long as the food is good, it’s worth the go. "
User Rating
7.83/10
7.83/10
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DescriptionZen 8 caters to an upscale crowd. Japanese chef team offers traditional Japanese fare and original dishes. Private tatami rooms are available.
Location Information103-414 3 St SW.
Calgary
AB
T2P 1R2
