Towa Sushi

Cute restaurant and atmosphere. Decent sushi but wouldn’t call it the best. If you like huge rolls then this is the place for you. A little bit on the pricier side with there being so many more sushi options in downtown. I suspect that the owners are Chinese as the food isn’t that authentic.

Owned by the same person who owns Sushi Boat in NW of Calgary, this restaurant serves average quality sushi for premium price due to location, even though sizes of Sushi and Rolls are bigger than those served at Sushi Boat.
This restaurant charges fixed service charge of 15 to 20%(not sure) for a party with equal to or more than six people and upcharges if you modify the ingredients of menu. I am allergic to dairy products and requested to remove sour cream from rolls and they charged $ 2~$ 3 for removing the ingredients.
Generally and overall this restaurant uses too much of sugar in their food.
There are better sushi restaurants in Calgary such as Zipang.

After passing by the night before, my coworkers and I decided to stop in here for dinner the following night for some light sushi. I had read the reviews and after deciding that the only flaw people could talk about were the size of the rolls, I decided how could a roll be too large? So we went.
To start, the menu is extremely overwhelming with the amount of new sushi options that I had never even heard of before. The reviews spoke mostly of the playboy roll which I immediately knew we needed to try out and we were also attracted to the mango special roll. Once the first roll proceeded to come out we were baffled at the size. I literally had no idea a sushi roll could be so large, but yet it was a little too large. We laughed about it and the sushi was indeed really delicious, but in my opinion it was really about the presentation here.
The sushi was good, but not great. The presentation was amazing. The atmosphere was fun and the waitstaff was extremely friendly. This is definitely a good option if you want fun new types of sushi, fun looking sushi, or a place you would like to eat good food while hanging out for a long time. There was nothing bad about my experience and we definitely enjoyed the «too large» rolls and I would indeed go back. Overall, I wish I could rate this 3.5 stars which is my true feelings regarding this restaurant.

My girlfriend I decided to go to Towa for lunch recently. I had been here before and loved the sushi, but this time was not impressed at all. We ordered the avalanche roll and shrimp tempura roll. I did not realize how huge these rolls are. They are impossible to eat! The avalanche roll was literally an avalanche of unappetizing cream cheese and crab slop dumped over messy chunks of salmon loosely wrapped in rice. It looked disgusting. The shrimp tempura roll was also massive, mostly rice and impossibly to eat. I expressed to the waiter that we were not happy with the sushi and could not even see how we could eat it and he suggested I get a knife and fork. I told him in my experience a roll was usually a bite size and beautiful to look at. His response was that this is contemporary sushi and again would I like a knife and fork. I have worked in the service industry and what I would expect is to be offered something else from the menu and an apology for the presentation, even if this is how they think sushi should be served. I will never go back here, and in the long run that does affect a business. Really poor customer service and horrible sushi.

Had gone for dinner here today. Great sushi and a lot of different styles. Being from Vancouver, I would approve. I should post a pic but what I ordered was amazing. A little big for my mouth but still delicious. I have to figure out the pic posting soon.

Bring back the lunch menu! Sushi chefs are friendly. the other staff are slow and English is minimal. They always forget to fill the tea and I don’t enjoy the rolls. Nigiri is good, fish is fresh

Excellent rolls. Their portions are huge and everyone is nice and friendly. Try the Playboy Roll… it’s amazing!

Delicious! Once you overcome the Parking Games of Mission, you’re greeted with friendly staff, clean décor and fresh cups of tea.
We started with their Ishikari soup, a salmon miso soup with vegetables (mine had chunks of potatoes and carrots.) Then sampled a platter with assorted sashimi, which was fresh and very generous in portion size. The fish was so fresh that we ordered more sashimi before moving onto our rolls.
Generous portion size seems to be a theme. The rolls were some of the biggest I’ve ever seen. All rolls seem to be two-​biters unless you reeeeally can take it like a champ*. And how many times can a girl say «there’s no way that can fit» only to have it disappear into the abyss… Wait, what? I digress.
We had the Playboy Roll, which came wrapped and tented with tinfoil on a sizzling plate. The waitress then lit the plate tableside, creating a spectacle of «ooh flames!» (This was how we came about the roll in the first place, when a table across the room ordered it. It’s about the only time we can get excited about any kind of Flames lately.) After the flames die down (d’oh), the tinfoil is opened to a delicious roll of salmon and yam (I believe?) topped with shrimp and crab, with the entire roll drizzled with a spicy mayo-​type sauce. The sauce really brought out the sweetness of the crab and days later, I can still remember the taste of the smokiness from the ooh flames!
We also had the Spider Roll (pretty standard fare) and ended up cancelling our other roll because… huge rolls. The meal was finished off with tempura vanilla ice cream.
The service was attentive. Our cups filled regularly and our plates cleared promptly. And there is the running gag of «That’s What She Said,» every time a roll comes.
Pros:
Playboy Roll (especially if you’re a closeted pyro)
Portion size
Cons:
Parking
Portion size
*It’s the perfect place for a first date, guys!

Nice place, friendly staff and really good sushi. The Sashimi was excellent too.
The biggest downside is that THE ROLLS ARE TOO BIG.
You can never fit one in your mouth, it ends up falling apart or you have to wrestle it with your chopstick, which totally ruins the experienced.
you almost need a steak knife and spoon for the sushi rolls.
If only they would make the rolls fit for a Normal mouth ! :-(

Overrated, overpriced, and overly sized rolls
Calgary needs to step up its sushi game. The whole contemporary rolls worked 10 years ago when people were still new to sushi. Nowadays, people want the real deal. Just ask Toronto and Vancouver, cities that’ve gone through a Japanese food boom in recent years with the emergence of authentic izakaya, ramen, and sushi places
Highlights
— Freshness of the fish. Toro that night was especially good
— Décor
Lowlights
— Overpriced. 7 bucks for an avocado roll is pure robbery
— Comedic size of the rolls. The rolls were very sloppy, containing too much rice and falling apart as we ate it
— Greeting me in Japanese when the place obviously isn’t Japanese doesn’t do anything for me
Recommendations
— Less is more. Each 6 piece roll could easily be 12. That way, allow the customer to try a few more things
— Sell the freshness of your fish, not the over the top rolls. What’s the point of fresh fish if you over-​complicate it

There is nothing negative to say about Towa. It is absolutely delicious. Not only do they serve some amazing dishes I have never tried before, their sushi is a big portion. They don’t stiff you on anything here! I love that they serve coke in glass bottles too! They allow you to pack your unfinished food away, they are always replenishing your glasses with water, and they’re always picking up empty plates. The service is great, the atmosphere is very sophisticated and fun.
The only downside is the parking. Boy, is it hard to find street parking. When it’s super busy you’re either walking a long distance or you’re stuck paying at the parking lot and it’s 3 dollars every 30 minutes. What a joke. But that has nothing to do with the actual restaurant itself. Just a fair warning for those that drive! I highly recommend Towa Sushi!

Towa is and has always been one of my favorite spots for sushi. The fish is so fresh and you are getting quality over quantity. Watch out though because even if it doesn’t seem like you have ordered a lot of food, the rolls are fairly big and the sushi portions seem to be double what they are at other restaurants.
One thing I highly recommend you try is the spicy salmon tempura roll! The entire roll is deep fried and cut into four pieces, served with spicy mayo drizzled over top and dashes of togarashi spice! Delectable! Keeps me wanting more! Towa doesn’t take reservations, so if you want to get in on their delicious rolls, you may have to wait. Don’t worry though, its worth it!

I enjoy Towa for a twist on traditional sushi. They have a bright, modern space on 4^th St and 22^nd Ave SW. The space isn’t huge, so don’t be surprised to find it full. They are very quick and efficient though, so the wait is never too long. The rolls are huge (2−3x the diameter of a «traditional» roll), so take this into consideration when ordering!
Some of our favorites:
— Salmon Tataki — generous slices of salmon lightly seared on one side — flavorful and melt-​in-​your mouth deliciousness
— Towa Special Roll — huge roll packed with salmon, red AND white tuna. This roll is sure to satisfy your sushi cravings
— Fire Cracker Roll — tempura’d jalepenos, cream cheese and smoked salmon — this one is for when you want something completely different!
We often get takeout from Towa, and they are usually quite quick even when the restaurant is packed. This is a great option if you want some good food but a quiet night in!
Review #27 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Review Challenge

It’s proving to be very hard to find a good sushi place in Calgary. But we decided to try Towa as I read the other reviews. It turned out to be great!
The service staff was very welcoming and we were able to get a table without a wait on a Saturday night.
Their menu is a bit pricey but the rolls are HUGE! You definitely get enough for what you pay for and then some. But it can be quite hard to eat. I definitely don’t recommend this place for a first date or business meeting.
Tempura was lightly battered and a good variety of vegetables. Their fish was quite fresh and love the ginger! Not the pink coloured stuff the real white pickled ginger. They leave the container on the tables which is an added bonus!
Will be back to try more rolls.

Went to Towa for lunch a while back and were pretty disappointed. Nothing was breathtakingly bad, but nothing was standout delicious and the prices where pretty high ($ 12 for an avocado roll?!). We had:
Miso soup and the Special Miso soup — Generally tasty.
The special miso was a slightly sweet version from Hokkaido, advertised as cooked with vegetables (½ a carrot slice and 1 piece of potato) and fish (two small pieces of boiled salmon). An interesting variant on the usual miso, but nothing I’d run out to get again.
Agedashi tofu — ⁵⁰⁄₅₀.
Served in a comically large bowl, the sauce in the bottom was quite tasty and nicely warmed; however, the tofu itself was not particularly well cooked. I love when the tofu gets soft and almost molten in the middle (I seem to recall Zipang having great agedashi like this). This was just sorta warm.
Various sushi — Serviceable.
I really don’t like the way they cut their sushi, super thin and long with ~¾″ dragging on the plate on each side of the rice. The fish was fine, but if the fish is great, I’d rather have a shorter, thicker piece I can really sink my teeth into.
Wave creative roll — Blah.
Perhaps my fault, I should have realized that the kani salad would be mayo-​drenched california roll filling. However, there is no reason why that needed to make up fully ¾ of the contents of the roll. The red pepper was a nice touch (more please). But the tempura shrimp and scallop where segregated to separate ends of the roll. What caught my eye on the menu, beets and corn, ended up being a sprinkle (3 brunoise sized pieces of beet! slightly more corn) of veggies that I had to place on each piece before taking a bite.

Great sushi, romantic ambiance, awesome service — you can’t go wrong with Towa Sushi.
Nestled in the heart of 4^th Street, Towa Sushi offers authentic Japanese cuisine in the trendy neighborhood known for Lilac Festival, great eateries and a toned down version of 17^th avenue. Although the prices are little above average, their portions make up for it. The rolls baby! 2 rolls can feed 2 generously, they serve unique dishes you won’t find anywhere else in town; Duck salad served with cantaloupe and oranges, Ishikari soup (my mouth is watering just thinking about these two dishes), and deep fried ice cream.
Towa Sushi stole my heart the first time and although I do enjoy eating at Kinjo or Globefish once in a while, its always a treat to eat at Towa. I wish I checked in with Unilocal every time I’ve been there in the past; I’d have a badge for this place for sure!

We ordered 3 rolls last night — ebi tempura, salmon and the Towa special. The total came up to $ 47.00 and it was more than enough food for us. The dynamite roll was particularly good — instead of seaweed it was wrapped with tamago. The only issue was some of the salmon still had a it of the skin of the fish. The salmon roll was quite plain I think its best to stick to the tempura based rolls. We ordered the Black and White roll (salmon, tempura) was delicious — I love the texture and taste of this roll. We also tried Sunset roll (mix tuna/​salmon). The tempura roll and the Black and White roll are winners. The rice was quite nice. Three specialty rolls will definitely fill up two hungry people.

This is still my favorite Japanese restaurant. It has not fail me… not yet and hopefully it will not ever fail me.
I went there on Friday after work to have a girls night out. We knew how busy it could get (especially on a Friday night), so we got there at 5pm. Yup it was an early dinner but the service and food were still amazing.
Some people might think that it’s a little bit pricey, but I think it’s worth it. They do have excellent service and the food is great (BIG ROLLS! FRESH SASHIMI! HOOOOT TEA!) Really that’s pretty much what I ask for in a Japanese restaurant.

Ahh~ I’m half a year late with this review. Is it fair to review this place with my Californian standards? I wasn’t expecting super awesome sushi in Calgary, but I wasn’t satisfied at all with the rolls and especially the price! Not worth the long wait at all :\. I will note, however, that this is my cousin and his friends’ favorite place to get sushi in Calgary when they want special rolls.
The most memorable rolls for me were the Black & White Roll and the Spicy Salmon Roll. All the other rolls we ordered (Alaska, Spicy Tuna, and :((I don’t remember the other two) were more plain. The thing I didn’t like the most about Towa was how big each piece was~ Sushi is meant to be eaten in one bite, but it is totally unreasonable to put such a huge piece in your mouth at once x_​_​_​x. I think ruins the experience of eating sushi because you don’t get all the flavors you’re supposed to at once. I mean, please, shove a whole piece in your mouth but I don’t think you will be comfortably or enjoyably chewing it…
I don’t remember what our total was, but it ended up being $ 25 per person. I wasn’t even full! /)___(\ Oh, Towa…

If I could choose my own execution method — it would be death by mercury poisoning due to a major sushi overload.
Towa Sushi has a great location — right down on Fourth Street with lots of people watching. They have a great selection of rolls, traditional and a bit more exotic. The prices are a higher than average but so are the size of the rolls — three rolls can usually fill up two people. And really, who only orders three rolls — lots to take home. They always serve your Saki fast, never rush you with your bill and the mood lighting makes it a great spot for a first date. Walk south for a stroll along the Elbow River or north for a stroll down 17^th Ave.
What are my favourite rolls there? I always order the same thing at every sushi place — spicy tuna, crispy tuna, dynamite roll. I tell myself it’s so I can compare places better. It’s actually because I like what I like.