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| - Having lived most of my life in big cities on both coasts of the US, I am, unfortunately, the type of person who would roll my eyes at the mere mention of Calgary sushi. And thus far my prejudices had been correct- any sushi I had had in Calgary was a nightmare of bland fish and hard rice. But I still get the craving. And then one chilly night I randomly walked in, having forgotten that I don't believe in the myth of good sushi in Calgary. As soon as we walked in and saw the takeout-style counter, my partner said, "I don't think this was such a good idea." We sat down regardless.
Uptown Sushi is actually a pretty nice little place. For a cafe-style space, the decor is actually rather chic and pretty. So we were surprised to see our cute little table set with plastic cutlery (what kind of place has plastic cutlery, but still does place settings??). We got even more nervous when we saw the big laminated menus with stock photos of food, more like a cheap Chinese takeout place than a sushi restaurant. Growing more apprehensive by the moment, we ordered a couple of safe-sounding rolls and a potato and corn appetizer. We felt somewhat reassured by the very sweet waitress who said they could make my partner a spicy tuna roll even though it wasn't on the menu.
When the food came, it came in the little flimsy disposable plastic trays that you get when you buy sushi from the supermarket, rather than on wooden or ceramic serving trays one would normally expect. And we had little disposable plastic sauce cups for soy sauce. We puzzled over this incongruous experience for a second- the reasonably upscale decor, the carefully set table laden with disposable plates and utensils, the lovely and gracious service, the cheesy menus. And then, without our even asking, someone came and brought water to our table. Not in cups, but in two individual plastic bottles (we weren't charged for this-- this is just how they serve you water apparently.) Again, wonderful service but so odd! And then, with low expectations, we dug in.
Surprise! The sushi was great! Not transcendent perhaps, but tasty and fresh and well made. The potato and corn croquette was delicious comfort food, deep fried but golden and light and greaseless. The rainbow roll was topped with generous slices of fish and filled with crab salad made with real (not artificial) crab. The avocado and sushi roll (another item they were happy to make for us even though it wasn't on the menu) was yummy too. And the prices were very reasonable- I've had much worse sushi at much higher prices in this city.
Overall this was a great experience- unexpectedly good food and very nice people. If they could only give up trying to emulate fine dining using takeout props, Uptown Sushi would be a night on the town.
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