Sho Sushi Bar & Kitchen

This place is a good sushi spot if you’re not feeling for AYCE! Love coming here if I’m not that hungry for AYCE and just want some sushi. The prices are fair and you can definitely eat a lot with the variety of food choices the have! Try the seared choices, fire dragon roll, tiger roll, and rainbow roll! The restaurant also has quite a nice setting, and the servers are friendly.

My all time fav place! The sushi is awesome, the service great!!! We will be back!!!

Great interior
Food quality average
Service pretty good
Price over priced
I would come here if I want a nicer atmosphere
But for food quality I’d go to kinjo across the street

As a true sushi lover, I’ve been to plenty of sushi joints around Calgary. But Sho offered something that no other place did: a refreshingly modern taste on sushi.
I usually hate it when places incorporate modern or fusion concepts into their cuisines. Many restaurants turn a delicious, simple dish into one of overly complex and convoluted flavours. That being said, I was skeptical at first of coming here. But, like others, I heard fantastic reviews of the restaurant and decided to check it out for myself.
I came here on a Friday night with my family (all together, a group of 5). We came around 8pm and it was packed. The atmosphere was vibrant and lively and luckily the hostess was able to seat is right away. She gave us the menus and took our drink order without us having to ask and it didn’t take long at all before the food came after placing our order.
The food itself was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend the fire dragon roll. Not only is it quite a spectacle to the eyes but the flavours are a pleasure to the senses. We also ordered the crispy sushi (sushi filling in a small, crispy wonton she’ll) and it was amazingly light yet still retained its body and flavour.
For the five of us, we paid around $ 200 which is relatively decent considering we ordered a lot of nigiri. At the end, we got frozen grapes (a great way to end the meal) and the waitress did not rush us to head out.
Overall ⁵⁄₅ for both food and service. I applaud you, Sho.

We were told it was great. So we met friends here. So we waited to be seated… NOT busy… no one was around so we went to sit ourselves and she came over and sat us right beside the other 2 tables that were full in the entire place. Sat us without saying anything… no «hello» no «how are you» nothing. I’m looking at all the empty tables so we get up and move ourselves. It still took 5 min for someone to come take a drink order. Once we ordered food it came out lightning fast. Food was good. I’m a stickler for service though and this place sucked! No thanks! Go somewhere else.

Another great lunch! Great service, amazing sushi! Tuna Tataki is prepared perfectly, best in the city!

This is one of the best sushi spots in Calgary.
You often see the owner walking around and greeting people, and on two occasions, he suggested we order something new and gave us a free menu item to try (and both items turned into go-​to items every time we eat there: for example, the Roulette Beef is *delicious* with a sesame sauce to die for– we actually ask for spoons to eat it all, because we are classy like that…).
The appetizers are just as amazing as the sashimi and sushi, and we always finish with the delicious black sesame ice cream– you *have to* try it!
The only downside, and I’ve noticed other reviewers have commented on this too: terrible music. If you luck out you are seated further away from the speakers at some tables than at others…

Love it. excellent service. superb sushi and you can get brown rice! stampeder roll you are my favorite. so fun for a date or evening out with friends. excellent atmosphere. my favorite sushi nice and fresh. excellent service

We were hankering for sushi after a long day and were disappointed that our usual staple, Kinjo was closed for renos for the evening. Our luck had a turn for the better when we saw Sho, pretty much across the street.
Their dining area is quite large and well laid out. The hostess greeted us and was quite friendly. Our server was amazing. She was prompt and knowledgeable about the different menu items. She was also quite friendly and accommodating to our allergies (sensitivity to sesame seeds).
I was really happy to see a few fusion type items on the menu. The beef taco was quite tasty. The «crispy sushi» in a wonton skin cup was interesting. One would usually raise an eyebrow, mixing these two combinations but it worked for me. I got the special scallop one.
With a couple drinks, appetizers, two rolls, sashimi, dessert and some full bellies for less than $ 70 it wasn’t too bad for price.

The menu selection here is amazing! There are so many options for any sushi palette. I liked how you check off on the menu what you want, which is pretty standard as from what I’ve seen, and then the server will go over it with you. Your food doesn’t come all at once, which is also quite nice. The server and hostess were both very friendly.
The raw fish comes on a bed of ice, which compared to kinjo, is great! Everything was perfectly cooked, the tempura was crispy and not heavily battered. The tables are a good size for plates.
Their drink selection was nice with lots of wines and cocktails. The only thing that would have been nice is if their dessert selection wasn’t so American (or, chocolate cake, Apple pie, Cheesecake and so on). Other than that I have no complaints!

Best high end but authentic sushi I’ve found in Calgary. The food is fresh and delicious. The servers are knowledgeable and friendly, and were able to help us out picking a reasonable cold saki (we’re niave in this regard — but good match, thank-​you). The atmosphere is spacious and relaxed. It is fast becoming our favourite sushi place.

I was here with my family for my birthday. The music was at the right volume and the place looked clean. I ordered a few pieces of nigiri. The fish was so fresh I actually moaned. Amazing. I also ordered the spicy tune roll and the California roll. It was very spicy but super fresh. My husband had tempura shrimp, sweet and sour tempura chicken and some beef. It was fresh and very delicious. I have always loved the open kitchen concept and this was great.
Then they brought out an amazing red velvet cake gor my birthday equipped with singing
The only downside I had was the woman’s rest room had no toilet paper or soap. Kinda gross but I alerted the server and it was resolved. The men’s apparently was clean and up kept. We will definitely be returning.

A nice sunny day deserves a patio and since we were feeling in the mood for sushi but wanted to enjoy the sun we decided to go here.
I have to say I really enjoyed the ambience and great service Sho provided but I felt like the food fell short of expectations.
I know, it’s a fusion type sushi restaurant but does that mean that all your rolls have to have some sort of deep fried/​tempura to them?
We ordered a variety of rolls and none of them stated that the crab/​shrimp/​salmon or any meat were going to be breaded… so when they showed up I was disappointed that none had the freshness I was craving.
They were of course all tasty, but I felt a bit ill afterwards since I tend to stay away from fried foods. I can see this place being a great location to take someone to introduce them to sushi or for some that doesn’t enjoy fresh/​raw fish.

Really enjoyed my dinner here!
The restaurant itself is spacious, clean and modern. The give you a trio of samplers on the house as you sit down: some toasted nori, spiced nuts and kimchi (I think. I only tried the nori).
I had the miso soup, the tuna sashimi and the agedashi tofu. My mom had the chicken skewers, and the Ninja roll.
The tuna sashimi was amazing! Great size, fresh, and the correct temperature. One of the best I’ve had in Calgary!
My mom really enjoyed her chicken skewers and ninja roll also.
They have a great variety of sake on display that I look forward to trying on a future visit!

Came for an early dinner with a friend in the middle of the week and the place had two other tables, so parking was easy (private lot) and no wait to be seated.
First impression was cool; a modern place that looks upscale on the outside, but when you walk in you you feel better about wearing jeans and a sweater than you did a minute earlier. Pretty casual atmosphere.
We were sat immediately, but drink service was way too slow for only having 3 tables (and waitress brought us 2 Coke’s instead of the 2 KOKANEE’S we ordered). They provided a complimentary nut/​seaweed wrap/​ginger which was nice.
Ordered shrimp tempura as an appetizer and a mix of 8 simple and more hearty rolls between the two of us (leftovers for munchies later). The rolls came out before the tempura which I didn’t like as we ordered the HOT tempura as an APPETIZER. The sushi itself was a sight to see, amazing presentation, they had some creative looking rolls I haven’t come across in my sushi days. The sushi was very tasty and impressive.
We had leftover sushi to take home, but we realized we forgot it at the table when we got to the car in their parking lot. We went back inside literally 1 minute after leaving for the staff to tell us that they had already thrown it out. Why would we ask to have it packed up if we weren’t going to take it? They could’ve run out to our car to give it to us, I could see my car from inside the restaurant the whole time and my friend was smoking outside while I went to the bathroom before we left. Moral of the story, remember to take your sushi with you!
Overall I would come back for seconds. The price was decent, the place was nice, the service was average, and the food was great. Close to Chinook Mall.
Service 2/5…Food 5/5…Price about $ 40 per person (keep in mind we had a lot of leftovers).

Bottom line this restaurant is not your typical Japanese restaurant. The interior is modern, and if it weren’t for the sushi bar being visible you wouldn’t know you were in a Japanese establishment.
The portions are small, for the price but the food tastes good The presentation of the food is also quite nice.
If you want more traditional Japanese food, in a more trad. setting then this place isn’t for you.
Every table gets a three portioned sample dish with salted peanuts, nori (Seaweed), and kimchee.
Also every table get’s a little skewer with frozen grapes with your bill, after you’ve finished dining.
To sum it all up, if you like Japanese food and you like bigger portions try one of the older Japanese restaurants in town.
Ginza in Willowpark would be the one I would suggest.

For a while I’ve seen Sho’s construction along MacLoed trail and wonder just how good this place will be when it opens. Is it possible to have ANOTHER fav sushi joint in the south? Maybe. I’d like to say this place has potential.
They offer the recognizable items one can expect to have in sushi restaurants: sushi, sashimi, rolls, takoyaki, tempura. But one doesn’t have to look hard to find unique items: they carry aburi style sushi, crispy sushi, and smoked duck sushi. They also carry an impressive list of sakes that are scattered around the dining room available for purchase.
The last few times I was here I had their common items like tempura, takoyaki, spicy salmon rolls, and their take on the spider roll. Their cooked appetizers were crispy and weren’t over done, but their sushi were just good enough to be satisfying and enjoyable but I have to be honest and say my favourite places still hold a firm standing.
But I greatly suggest going here to experience great sake tasting. Their servers and managers were great to talk to about sake and often made suggestions. One time we even had a chance a sake I was eyeing on the shelf! I would suggest getting their Negi Toro crispy sushi, and their smoked duck sushi.
Finally, I find the sushi prices fair and here. The rolls were under $ 8.00 and allowed me to get several to try without staring at the menu too long, trying to choose the ONE ROLL to have for the rest of the meal because it was over $ 15. It’s a sushi restaurant, not a Subway joint. That said, Sho is not a place for those silly stoners. Nope.

Let’s put the story about what happened the first time I was here… in the attic.
Do-​over night!
What to do on a Tuesday night, when your movie starts at 10:45 and everywhere else closes at 10? To Sho! Where you will be waited on by the nicest tiny Japanese lady, whom, even when manning a grip of busy tables, was a total boss when it came to service. She was polite, funny, FAST, knows the menu incredibly well, and did a great job of making sure everyone around her had a wonderful evening. Like moving the empty table next to us closer, so that we had more room for food and the protozoa-​esque containers for chilled sake.
Love! I’d like this place even if they had mediocre food, because our waitress was such a blast to be around. Thankfully, that was not the case. Her favorite sake choice, the pear flavored, was refreshing and possibly deadly, so while it was tasty; I refrained from having more, lest I fall asleep at the theater! The Dassai 39 sake was also light and fruity, although it tasted stronger. I had a hard time deciding which one I liked best. All of it!
Yes, Sho’s fare leans more toward westernized sushi, so if you’re coming here expecting to relive the experience you had when you wandered away from your tour group in Tokyo and stumbled across Hattori Hanzo’s Kaitenzushi Restaurant; gurrrrl you are in for a world of disappointment.
Westernized sushi can still be good noms in the right place, and Sho is one of those places. The spinach gomae here was on point, and the yam tempura was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I also love that their special Veggie Blossom roll wasn’t so big that it was awkward to eat. The rolls here have a good rice to filling ratio and are very reasonably priced! Between the two of us, the bill came to under $ 29; super reasonable for 2 drinks, tea, salad, appetizer and three different rolls (at 6 pieces per roll!). Not to mention, they threw in a complimentary dessert of speared frozen grapes. Totally refreshing and the perfect end to a cozy dinner! Let’s go again.

Review #6 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012
Let’s go fo’sushi? Fo’sho!
I like Sho. I like the big bright windows. The casual yet classy décor. And the fact that there’s a sushi roll you can order that comes all lit up! Yep, it’s on FIRE! I also enjoyed that we ordered waaaaay too much food, came out stuffed, and yet someone didn’t feel like we broke the bank. Another different, stand out item — sushi pizza (deep-​fried sushi rice topped with salmon mayo and black tobiko).
Other items ordered: vegetable tempura, chicken fried noodles (yum!), Asian tofu and tuna tataki.
What made the visit better was the cocktail I ordered. Was it a piña colada of sorts? I want to say yes. but honestly I cannot quite remember. It was delicious at any rate and looked so cool in the glass! (See?
).
Anyway, food was tasty, service was good and I liked the vibe I got here. I’d give it another go.

Opened to the public today! :)
Japanese sushi & cooked food tapas style.
Very large space, they even have a lounge area upstairs!
Sushi nigiri pieces are $ 2 & up a piece.
Rolls come in smaller amounts as it is tapas style, so it’s smaller portions and meant to be shared.
Had seared nigiri pieces… not bad but they really need to sear it and not cook it — but our waitress was just learning (first time)
Dinner for 4 (pretty full) was $ 66 before tip (food no drinks) which I thought was pretty decent.
I would come back and try it again… especially after they’ve settled down.