All You Can Eat Sushi Ottawa - A Good Idea?

I'm not a fan of all-you-can-eat buffets and even more so when it comes to sushi. These establishments are all the rage in Ottawa and it seems like a new one opens every day. Everybody and their dog is trying to cash in on this craze.

I have to admit that I was suckered into the idea of being able to gorge myself on sushi. But this soon passed and I returned to eating simple, small portions.

First, most of these establishments smother their sushi in mayonnaise. This usually wipes out the subtle flavours of the rice and fish. Maybe it's just me, but everything has a sickly, sweet taste.

Miso soup in these sushi restaurants is a dismal affair. The worst I've had tasted like instant soup and had thick chunks of raw mushrooms floating on top. Not a bonito flake to be found anywhere.

Secondly, I have yet to experience acceptable service in an all you can eat sushi Ottawa restaurant. You might as well order a double-bacon cheese burger, because the servers will bring you what ever the sushi chef throws at them. I've found that my order was always being mixed up with the table three chairs down from me.

After eating sushi for over 20 years I got horribly sick for my first time at an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant in Ottawa. This probably wouldn't have happened if the so-called chef knew what he was doing. Perhaps I should have bolted when I saw the diet Pepsi can next to the electric rice cooker!

I don't want anyone to slap Sushi Guy with a liable suit, so let me just tell you to stay away from all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants on Merival Road and a place on Somerset Street in Chinatown.

There was nothing yummy about the food at this Chinatown restaurant. Again, perhaps I should have bolted when I saw the handwritten poster on their front door. It said something about security cameras having caught the customer on video and an arrest was imminent. Can't figure out why anyone would want to steal sushi from this place.

Honestly, I'm not a sushi snob. I'll let the posers in the Byward Market handle that. Try an all you can eat sushi Ottawa buffet. But once the novelty wares off, you'll want to consider a traditional sushi restaurant.

My favourite sushi restaurant, Ichibei, has recently disappeared from Bank Street and left a huge hole in my heart. I guess they were feeling the pressure of the buffet houses, because just before they closed, the owners were toying with the idea of all-you-can-eat sushi.

I have found some acceptable alternatives, but more about that in another article.

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