Blowfish Sushi Lounge

This is hands down my favourite place for sushi in Alberta. The fish is fresh, the dishes innovative, and the atmosphere unlike any other place in Calgary. While most places in town are opting for the beer hall feel, Blowfish has remained a chill lounge that feels comfortable for lunch, dinner, or late night drinks.
I was pleased to see on my most recent visit that new innovative dishes (sushi pizza!!!) and Village Brewery have been added to the menu.
Love love love this place!

Once upon a time, in a magical land called the Internet, a writer for a family magazine had asked me to keep her company for dinner. She had to write an article on a cool place for a date in Calgary, and thought my ability to be charming, humorous, and most importantly, fight the urge to become a werewolf at a full moon, would be great reasons to bring me along.
The evening that followed was simply fantastic as a dining evening (check the pics!). It started with the Agedashi Tofu, a great start of fried tofu with accompanying sauce. I’m normally not one for tofu, but admittedly it was well done. Crispy where needed, with tones of sweet and salty.
Next up was the Tuna Tataki. Albacore tuna, seared, and paired with a light soy sauce. Well done. The tuna was flavourful, and the sear well done. I quite liked this dish.
We then decided to try 3 signature rolls, the Black Mamba, the Blowfish Signature and the Tandoori Chicken. Of the 3, the Blowfish is a winner. Crispy, soft, it’s a great mix of textures and flavours. The Black Mamba was also pretty good, wrapped in unagi as such. The Tandoori, well, that was a bit of a miss. It did taste good, but felt a bit disjointed. While the other rolls had a harmony where the flavours all meshed together, the Tandoori didn’t.
Add to that the discovery of the rather cool Lucky Buddha beer. Love the green bottle, and I smuggled it out of the restaurant where it now has a place of honour on my bookshelf. I guess I really should give the restaurant the deposit over since I cheated them of 10 cents or so. It’s a pretty smooth beer, not too strong, so it doesn’t overwhelm the delicate flavours of the sushi.
Overall, it was a great meal, and service was attentive. Music wasn’t too loud at the time, and it’s tastefully decorated with artwork by local artists.

I went there for yyc burger week and had the ramen noodle burger. I’m not sure if it’s normally on the menu, but it should be! I LOVED it with all my heart. Such a unique dining experience. It was kinda spicy but not enough to make me sweat in front of the lady I was with (wink).

I’ve been here a few times now and each time was a good experience. I’ve had their sushi and enjoyed it. Their Ramen burger for YYC Burger Week was my favourite one. Kudos to the chef! I’ll be back for sure!

Music too loud (~_​~;)

I came here with a buddy of mine during the Big Taste in Calgary this month. I had only ever eaten at a sushi restaurant once before, and didn’t have the best experience, so I was hoping Blowfish would restore my ability to like sushi. My god, this place was great!
The dinner started with teriyaki chicken skewers, which we both loved. Then came bowls of miso soup with a variety of tempura (mmm), except I found a particularly spicy pepper in my soup, and it was so hot that I was gasping for breath and tears were streaming down my face!
As for the sushi, we both got a massive plate with tons of variety. Rainbow rolls, shrimp, salmon and tuna nigiri, some plain red (I think it was tuna?) and white cuts of fish, and a fried rice ball. Everything was fresh and delicious, but the Rainbow rolls were a hit for both of us.
The thing I remember disliking about sushi when I tried it before was the fact I could really taste the seaweed, but with the rolls we were served, I couldn’t taste it at all! (though the Rainbow rolls were the only ones that had seaweed in them).
The four-​course meal (which included some yummy ice cream for dessert) came to $ 35/​person… yikes! But I would definitely go back there again, I went from not liking sushi at all to having sushi cravings the next day!

Yuch yuck yuck is all I can say. This has got to be some of the most tasteless sushi I’ve ever had and saltiest, rubbery miso soup. Maybe it’s because it was over the Christmas holidays and they didn’t have usual staff working. Whatever the reason, it was awful. A definite not to return. Oh! To also mention the little spider like bug running through the bill binder.

I’m not one of those jerks that purposely sits there and stares at you, expecting you to remember and bring out every dish I ordered. I’ll actually ask «hey, where did my appetizer go?» and wouldn’t hold it against your tip or anything.
Buuuuut, when the sushi is that GNARLY and the prices are past the gouging and into straight ROSHAMBO, you can keep the appy and let me bolt out of your place and into the warmth of my obnoxious Unilocaling ways.
Yes, what you witnessed was a gritty conversation between me and a personified Blowfish. If there ever was a time Blowfish reigned supreme, it wasn’t when I came. The sushi were dry. I never took the importance of well cooked rice up until I had terrible ones. I was like eating a handful of uncooked beans. I was also disappointed with the soup given it was a fancy bowl of NOT A REAL MISO SOUP.
Still this place does have it’s perks and might get a second chance. They do have an interesting lounge vibe that caters to a house crowd. They do have fish tanks which I’m sure rates high amongst fish owners. Also Budhha beers.

My friend and I made the spontaneous decision to try Blowfish out as we happened to be walking by so i had no prior expectations. However, the décor and the prices threw me off a little for a sushi restaurant but we decided to see it through as it was hailing outside (Just another summer evening in Calgary).
We ordered the Mauwi Woawi and the Kamikaze Rolls and they were amazing! They definitely took the fusion approach, and it came together quite well.
The menu did lack variety, and many items were not available, which I can see might be a problem if I hadn’t just gone in for a snack.
The server was nice enough, and she came by to check on us frequently.
Overall, a slightly overpriced spot for sushi — but it was also worth it because the food was a pleasant surprise.
I will definitely return for the Kamikaze roll!

Great food, great service, loved the cool ambience of the restaurant but pretty over priced. If you’re willing to pay for the $ 20 sushi rolls then you’re in for a treat. Love their drink menu, such exotics choices for drinks. Recommend trying their popular blowfish sushi roll. Who would have thought mango would be so refreshing on sushi?

the portion sizes and prices need some updating…
this place was meh.

I didn’t mind the atmosphere, its a small place, modern décor, dim lighting with techno music playing. The menu was limited and quite pricey. The rolls were around $ 15, and about 8 pieces each. I tried a few different rolls, they weren’t really anything special, I would say about average or even less. The service was slow even though it wasn’t very busy. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but I don’t think I would go back.

Best Sushi in Calgary. Game over. Done. Blowfish — 1, Everyone else — 0.

We’ve been to Blowfish sushi many times and enjoy the menu. The cajun, rainbow & tuna roles are the best. Only complaint is that the service is slow; we only go there if we have time to park for awhile. Would rather spend the extra money here than go somewhere else for a run-​of-​the-​mill sushi menu.

Ok… this has to be the WORST Japanese fusion I’ve ever had! The menu was very limited, but I didn’t mind it. We ordered a wakame salad for $ 7.50, that was maybe the second best dish that night. The we tried… something Unagi… after we ordered it, we found out it was just ordering 2 pieces of sushi, and one with a «kick» to it (they added cream cheese). Almost all their sushi had cream cheese to it. The first roll was the blowfish special, that was the best roll that night. I really liked that roll. Then we had the sushi pizza, creamy scallop/​scallop special and the crunchy salmon. The sushi pizza would have tasted better with smoked salmon, we swear that’s what the menu and the waitress said. but when it came… it was regular super thinly sliced salmon.
I’ve never had such a bad scallop special/​creamy scallop roll before!!! They suck left over tempera bits with seasoning INSIDE the roll with super thin layer of creamy scallop on the top of the roll! same with the crunchy salmon! we thought it was going to be salmon skin with raw salmon. but once again, it was left over tempera bits with seasoning in the middle. I’m surprise you can pack the tempera crumbles in the rolls so well, super old and oily will probably do it. but that takes some skills, i’ll give you that.
overall, i don’t think i’m going to be coming back. it’s a shame cause theblowfish roll was so good, but everything else was pretty… below average

Great unique dishes and a hip-​hop vibe. A little more expensive than most.

An innovative menu, and a lounge concept makes Blowfish a valuable addition to Calgary’s downtown nightlife. However, service was a problem for me… for instance, sitting down in a after-​rush restaurant, I understand, it takes time to clear tables… but sitting beside tables full of dirty dishes during my entire meal makes it far from a enjoyable and appetizing experience. Inconsistent food times and inattentive servers leave a bitter taste to the delicious food.
Overall, I’m «BLOWn» away — far away. Not planning to return there for a while.