Samurai Sushi Bar and Restaurant

This is how it’s done. The Roger Federer of Sushi, the Michael Andretti, dare I say, the Steve McQueen. How easily can a master shame an entire city? I speak of my hometown, more importantly, I speak of my hometown sushi chefs. In recent years, the quality of Japanese food has decreased somewhat where I live. Don’t get me wrong, we have many options, around ten in fact. And most of them… kind of… well…suck. A few are dreadful while others gain a passing grade only out of desperation. Some fail because of a limited menu, others because they cut their sushi too large. Some simply lack passion, or at the very least, an actual sushi bar.
Ultimately, my point is that years ago, after the closing of a favored Japanese restaurant, I began searching for a replacement. To this day, that has yet to occur locally. When I travel, I inevitably find surrogates. My demands are simple. I require a dominating sushi bar and a relatively intimate atmosphere. I require a charismatic chef with unequalled knife skills. And of course, I require the food to be good. Every time I go on vacation, I always insist on sushi at least once. In Banff, I found Samurai. Those 200+ words of preamble was necessary for the following statement to carry the necessary weight: I really wish Samurai was in my hometown.
Granted, such quality comes at a cost, prohibiting it as a weekly indulgence, perhaps monthly. But it’s depressing I found such superior sushi hiding, literally hiding, in the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. My girlfriend and I weren’t staying there, just freeloading on the free entertainment, snapping photos and browsing the incredible architecture. We had planned to eat somewhere, but where…
Then someone mentioned sushi, and I became excited to the point of being borderline aroused. We went searching, almost gave up a few times. In the end, I almost ran into it, Samurai – okay, the name sucks. Sorry, to break out of the moment, but really? Samurai Sushi? I thought the names of Japanese restaurants in my hometown were bad. Sushi Hut? Wasabi Sushi? Might as well call it «Japanese Typecast». Is it such a chore to give it at least an original name, something cool, like Japanese words with six or seven syllables? I mean, you could’ve translated the address number into Japanese, and that would’ve been more interesting.
The fish are brought in via plane per the claim. All right then. So does the mail; I’m not sure why that’s special. It could’ve been brought in by truck – Vancouver is like eight hours away. That one good sushi restaurant in Prince George I alluded to brought in stock via ground from Vancouver – they did just fine. But that’s unimportant; what’s important is how good the itamae is. Has he proven himself? Not just how he handles the fish, but how he handles his knives or his clients? The art is as much in his interaction with customers as his creation of sushi.
Fear not. My eyes were locked on him like a lava lamp; if the itamae was the Ark of the Covenant, my head would have exploded. It was perfect, every cut, ever form. This was what I was waiting for. A rainbow of nigiri – shrimp, scallop, tuna, salmon. The whole experience was painfully short. I tried to extend the joy with casual conversation, but eventually, I had to swallow the last bite. It was not some strange fusion cuisine. There were no deep-​fried rolls or pizza sushi. This was a classic serving, like watching a Spielberg movie. It looks easy, but if it were, everyone would be doing it.
Nevertheless, let’s not ignore the truth of the experience. Samurai is a small place nestled in the bowels of a great hotel. It’s not cheap, with my bill coming to over $ 50 for one person. Miso soup, eight pieces of nigari, and six pieces of maki for $ 42. Twice as much other places, but that’s where the deception lies. Samurai is not the same as those others; it’s better. I’m not going to say its perfect, and the cost is daunting. No doubt, you might be able to find nearly as good for considerably less, but with the Obi-​Wan-​Kenobi of sushi chefs, fresh fish, and amazing presentation, sometimes you just have to put your money where your mouth is… literally.
Monthly, I would go at least monthly.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Presentation: ⁴⁄₅
Value: ⁴⁄₅
Recommendation: 4.5÷5

Beautiful restaurant nestled in the Banff Springs.
The sushi boat is a great pick, because it offers a good variety of great sashimi, and if you order more than one, they customize the second one with more variety. Our first boat was featuring king salmon, eel, tuna, yellow tail, crab, and cucumber. But our second one they featured king salmon, salmon skin, avocado, and Japanese pickles. It was great to have customized options available!
The price was very reasonable for the portion sizes, especially within the Farimont! The plum wine there is amazing, I don’t think I got the brand name, but it’s worth a try. We tried the beef tataki as well, which would have been a bit more acidic, but it was quite good with the minced accompaniments.
Recommend reservations, it’s not a large restaurant! The service is okay. It seemed a bit like the servers weren’t super comfortable with the whole sushi-​restaurant vibe, so I have a feeling they might get cycled through the different Fairmont restaurants available in the hotel, but they were pleasant enough, just did not seem super comfortable.

This is a very small restaurant and probably not a place to impress your date or celebrate a special occasion. The décor was very simple and kind of meh, but if you like really fresh sushi, this is the place to visit. Make sure you make a reservation beforehand because the place is tiny, it gets filled pretty fast. If you enjoy huge menus and many ingredients in your rolls, you won’t be a fan. Their menu is pretty limited and rolls do not have 10 different things in them, but everything is so delicious! Also, if you are a «value» sushi customer who wants to see thick pieces of fish on their sushi, you will be disappointed, but if you are the one who can appreciate a perfectly cooked rice and extremely fresh, perfectly cut fish, you will come back.
Samurai Sushi Bar and Restaurant is quite expensive, but I do not mind paying more when I am presented with a quality food. After all, you are at Fairmont, nothing is cheap here.
The restaurant is open only for dinner, from 6 to 9 and unfortunately it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so plan accordingly.

I guess i had differing expectations. I heard about how everything is flown in and fresh, so i expected this restaurant in the grand Fairmont to deliver. While it wasn’t terrible, temper your expectations. If you’re coming from a big coastal city with heavy Asian populations, I feel it would disappoint. The sushi rice was too cold and hard, and the shabu shabu needed other varieties of veggies.
That said, the tempura was light and very well done, and the raw fish was good enough.

A first look around Samurai, and I was pleasantly surprised. The décor is tasteful and quaint, great mix of eastern and western design. I came here with my parents, whose English is not the best, but the waitress was very nice and helpful about it. We ordered a shabu shabu and were given sashimi-​grade meat, which was delicious and obviously very clean, since it can be eaten raw. The sushi was made with dabs of wasabi incorporated into the roll, and although I normally don’t eat wasabi, I appreciated the effort. The dessert, ginger crème brûlée, was amazing! It was in a large shallow bowl so there was more torched sugar than custard, which I prefer. The ginger was subtle but really added to the taste, which was even more enhanced when eaten with bits of the fruit that was artfully arranged on top. Great food, great service! I’d definitely come again!

Possibly the best sushi I’ve had. I like to judge the quality of a sushi bar by the sashimi — a good way to gauge raw (pun intended) quality. And the salmon sashimi here was tops. I felt that the prices were quite reasonable for the quality, and the sake selection was solid. Super convenient if staying at the Banff Springs, and worth the trip if not. I went back three of four nights there. The staff was awesome, cordial and accommodating. Ross Buckberrough hosted with comfortable and personable professionalism. It made the experience even more memorable to chat with Ross and the rest of the staff (especially since dining alone) and learn a bit about the area. And, Ross has, bar-​none, the greatest title ever — «Samurai Captain». Bravo!

When I stayed at the Fairmont hotel in Banff, I didn’t really know where I should eat. I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, so I knew that I wouldn’t be allowed in some of the snootier places in the Fairmont Banff Springs. However, the hotel concierge assured me that I’d be okay at the Samurai Sushi Bar. I didn’t even need reservations.
I really wanted the sukiyaki, but you can’t get the sukiyaki for just one person. I couldn’t convince my husband to try this dish. :(
I settled for $ 4 tamago, miso soup, and an avocado roll. My husband ordered the rainbow roll, miso soup, and a tuna roll. I thought that the tamago was overcooked (it was brown and too dry in places) and the fish smelled a bit fishy. I know that it’s the middle of Canada – not anywhere near the ocean – but it’s the Fairmont! C’mon, people!
The prices were really high for average-​tasting sushi.
If I had to do it over again, I’d head back to my hotel room and change into formal clothes so that I could try one of the hotel’s other dining options.

Four stars for apparently being the best in town. Based on recommendation from our B&B hosts, we found the fish to be very fresh (flown in from Vancouver daily) at Samurai. However, located in the Fairmont Banff Springs, prices were double, sometimes triple, what one would normally pay (average $ 8 — $ 10 Canadian dollars per two pieces of nigiri and $ 65 per couple for hot pots), so be prepared.
We also liked the aquarium next to the sushi bar, but felt a bit odd about sitting next to the live fish while eating their kin…