Mikado Restaurant

Great sushi for Edmonton! I had the seafood udon and spicy salmon roll with California hand roll ! Fresh fish !
Highly recommend this restaurant !

Meh.
I’ve been searching for good sushi in Edmonton since I moved here from Ontario 3 years ago. I adore sushi. I had concluded there is no good sushi in Edmonton. I was invited to a birthday dinner at Mikado and was reassured that this was going to be the sushi I’d been missing in Edmonton, this was it! WROOOOOONG. It was a let down just as all the others have been. Perhaps even more so because I had genuine hope for Mikado.
BRUTAL service. The staff were beyond confused and incompetent. We tried to make it as easy as possible with a group; one order, we all tuck in, we all split the bill equally. Easy enough? Apparently not at Mikado. It was a cluster the whole time. They didn’t bus the table which was perhaps my biggest gripe. The table was stacked with empty dishes during the entire meal. Totally unacceptable. Having a few late comers trying to order separate proved to be rocket science for the servers.
The sushi? It was OK. And just ok is not going to have me returning for hectic service and exorbitant pricing. No way. And it was SOOOOO freakin’ loud in there!

This place used to be the gem. It is now bad. The chicken and beef teriyaki has been burnt and charred to the point of dry and tough. It tastes like the gas, smoke unpalatable flavour. You cannot mask that with the teriyaki sauce. Each time we’ve ordered this dish (10+).
The sushi rolls have fallen in quality. Assembly is messy and doesn’t look appetizing. The sashimi selection is now very limited to the usual everyday/​everywhere fish: salmon, tuna, yellowtail.
Disappointing.

Love this place — the wife and I did a little shopping and decided to go for some well deserved Japanese food. The California rolls and cucumber rolls are my wife’s favorite and I always have the beef yakiniku! Some of the best beef, juicy and tasty!
Always have the saki — why not hey!

One of my favorite restaurants in the southside sushi battle has succumbed to suckyness.
What was once, one of the best restaurants for Japanese in the city has just mired itself itself into a swamp of mediocrity.
I booked a reservation here for my birthday and we got it no problem. Hurray! For special events restaurants that don’t RSVP are automatically disqualified as choices.
The food was actually quite good, small portions, but good.
One of my guests actually said
«I ordered the large sashimi ?» and the response… «that is the LARGE sashimi»
eek.
I know if I wanted quantity over quality I could go to one of the all you can eat places. The problem with Mikado is that the quality of the wait staff doesn’t match the quality of the food.
During dinner, our plates over 2 hrs were only cleared once. At a certain point we couldn’t see over the plates to the other side of the table. Not kidding. Stacking used sushi plates all over the boat didn’t make the plates any cleaner.
When the final bill came, the waitress made a face when we explained we were going to split the main bill and to have any extras as side bills (there were a few of my guests that ordered extras and favorites)
Then she didn’t allow them to pay a portion of the main bill and their side bills at the same time. Uggggggg.
Redeeming point though: One of my friends tried to pay cash, then changed his mind and decided to pay credit. He left the cash on the table by accident. They actually called me and let me know, so he could go back and get his cash!
I wish that Mikado had matched the quality of their food with their service, but unfortunately I can’t say they did.
PROS
Great Sushi!
Lots of free parking
Cons
Overpriced,
Small portions
Bad service
You can’t say Mikado is a bad restaurant which doesn’t care, but you can lament the fact that it used to be much much better. Skip this legacy restaurant and try somewhere new.

Great food, great service, atmosphere was very inviting, and we really enjoyed the private room as we were fortunate enough that they had a free one available when we arrived.
Food was delivered in a timely manner and was very well presented.
Our order consisted mostly of sushi and the fish was very fresh… one comment I heard often while we dined was how the red tuna and salmon felt like it melted in your mouth.
It wasn’t a cheap nor overly expensive experience at just over $ 30 per person; AND we were not looking for cheap — and nor did we buy the cheapest items on the menu.
We ordered the menu items we wanted to enjoy and it was well worth it!
I will return to Mikado again, and Highly Recommend it if you want to enjoy great food in an inviting, relaxing atmosphere.

Good japanese resturant… long wait times on weekends with no sitting place… however, food makes up for that… love yakiniku… service is usually good, but can improve… our usual go to spot for japanese food… recommended…

The sushi was really good lots of different things I had not tried before. Service was really good. The food is a bit pricey lunch for two was $ 75 ouch. Would go again the food was really good.

This is one of my fav Japanese food spots. For me I think this is one of the best places to go to if you’re craving for bento boxes. Their nigiri sushi’s are also quite good.

A hidden gem inside Edmonton South Common. They serve standard Japanese fare, but the ingredients are better and worth the price upgrade. For example, for California rolls, you have the option of ordering the imitation crab or real crab meat. Also, for the rolls, you can order them either with caviar or sesame seeds. This nuanced approach to ordering means that the chef understands the difference of ingredients and price, and is giving options to his customer. The owner is Japanese, and you can tell from the high quality and great taste. My favorite Japanese restaurant in the city.

I came here for lunch on Friday (today) with my sister at 11:45am. We were one of the first customers to be there.
Our server was great, very friendly and helpful. She noted to us that the Uni (my favorite), red tuna, and a few other fish is fresh today.
First thing we ordered were 4 Uni’s then full order of red tuna and a big green salad each.
We had tea for a beverage because I have to get back to work later, otherwise I would have gotten Hana Sake. .Yum. .
Our food came and omg wow…
It’s true when they say you eat with your eyes first.
The beautiful bright red of the Tuna Sashimi and the fresh look of the Uni! Our Salads looked amazing as well.
The Red Tuna was Crisp and had a fresh Bite, the Uni was buttery and flavourful.
The Uni was sooo good we ordered another 4 pieces.
We wanted to try the difference between the regular Tuna Sashimi and the Red Tuna so we ordered a full order of the regular Tuna.
There is a big difference. The Red Tuna is by far greater than the average Tuna. The Regular Tuna is creamier but lacks that extra omphf of flavor.
I am extremely impressed with the service and quality of food here today!
I live close to this Mikado location so I will be back definitely!

Been here many times and so far we have had good experiences. Sashimi is fresh and they have pretty good bento deals. I visit Japan often and I would say Mikado doesn’t disappoint.

I came to Mikado way back and it used to be great. Now, not so much. Now it just seems like the service isn’t as good and the food is a bit pricier for not much. I had the sushi pizza ~~bland. I had the appetizer of meatballs –that was delish! but $ 6.50 for three tiny meatballs? Really? The server forgot about us, so we stood by our table and waited for the bill. Paid cash, only left 10% (and that was for the meatballs!)
Will I go back, not a chance.

I gave it a 2 cause the sashimi is always fresh but other than that this place is gross! Even Tokyo Express is better. The teriyaki chicken is mushy and slimy, the beef is tough and full of fat! Seriously how is this place still open yuck

No Sushi for you!
I used to really like Mikado but over the years there is an increasing shabbiness and a weird version of customer service. My partner is mad for the Dragon eyes and the Kamikaze cocktail but the price no longer guarantees an enjoyable experience.
Last week we decided to drop by (Southside) for a few apps and once we entered, we waited by the front desk… and waited. We started wondering if they changed their hours or some other reason for the wait. In the whole visible area there was only 1 table with 2 customers. We thought the sushi chefs would possibly go get someone. It was so long with no one acknowledging us that it became very funny. We started laughing about this basically empty restaurant and no one helps you and we are standing there waiting to give them our money. We’re obviously nuts. We laughed all the way back into our car and to another eatery.

I, unfortunately, have to give this restaurant a 1 star.
I came here for the first time with a group of 6 during peak hours. It was crazy busy but my friends had arrived 30 minutes early to secure a table. The items on the menu looked and sounded great!
We ordered and our appetizers came out quite quickly. Everything was delicious and I even recall saying «this place is amazing!».
Things took a huuuge turn with our meals. Our rolls came out all at the same time. I had eaten a few from my plate when my friend across from me made a huge crunch noise. He spit out pieces of glass from his maki.
We were shocked! It surprisingly didn’t cut his mouth open, but he had bit into it pretty hard with his teeth.
We told the waiter and he looked somewhat alarmed and said he’d be right back after he spoke with the manager. I stopped eating entirely. My sushi came out the same time with his and I didn’t trust that my food was glass free.
After about 15 minutes our waiter came back and apologized and said he would take that dish off of my friend’s bill. My friend politely explained that he did not feel like he should be paying for any of his meal, after having such a health hazard come from their kitchen. The waiter went and got the manager.
She apologized and offered his entire meal for free. We asked the waiter for our bills immediately, as no one was interested in finishing their meal. He said he was off to get it.
At least 20 minutes went by without seeing our waiter again. I had to wave down a different waiter and let him know we were still waiting for our bill. He went and found our waiter who then asked if we wanted our bills separate. So that entire time, he had not gone to fetch our bill.
I was astonished to have such a horrible thing happen at our dinner, and for the waiter and manager not to at least put some effort into getting us out of there quickly. I was actually really surprised that any of us had to pay our bills at all. We had all lost our appetites and no one finished their meal.
Overall, I spent quite a bit of money on a meal I couldn’t eat, with awful service. I can’t imagine going back without fearing what is going to be in my food.
–Ashley M.

I’ve been to Mikado a couple times in the recent past and I’ve really enjoyed it.
In general, I found the service to be good. The staff were all very friendly (even the chefs working behind the counter talked to us and thanked us for coming in). The wait for seating /​drinks /​food was never long, and the waitresses answered all of our questions.
Everyone in the parties I was with enjoyed their food. I personally tried the BC roll, dragon eyes, and mochi ice cream (black sesame flavored). I didn’t know that I could get black sesame ice cream here (or anywhere in the city… mind you, I didn’t look that hard) so I was delightfully surprised! The BC roll had a massive chunk of cucumber in it, and I wish that was chopped into finer pieces. I ended up taking the cucumber out before I ate it because I didn’t like the texture it gave the roll. Without it, though, the roll tasted fine. The dragon eyes dish has quickly become a favorite of mine. The salmon, mmm, and mayo dipping sauce?! YES! It’s so good. I could eat that stuff every day.
It’s tasty, it’s close to home, and it’s affordable. How can you go wrong?!

Can I blame them for me ordering the wrong thing? Well I’ll compromise and blame them for having a lunch bento box that didn’t have any type of roll and for my stupidity of ordering that one.
There was nothing to rave about or cry about. I guess we did get a seat right away even though it was 12:30 noon on a Friday in South Common. Otherwise, 3 stars pretty much sums it up. I usually judge a sushi restaurant by the sashimi but since I didn’t have that, much less a roll, it would be unfair to rate Mikado higher or lower based on some meat on rice and tempura.
Remind me never to order a bento box again.

What’s a girl supposed to do when she’s starving at around 2 PM after a very hard afternoon of shopping at South Edmonton Common? The obvious choice for me was Mikado, but I don’t know if it will be so obvious in future.
Even at 2 PM, the place had a «fifteen minute» wait for our table of three. The problem wasn’t that Mikado was full, they were just short staffed and couldn’t seat anyone else. Fifteen minute was actually closer to thirty, but eventually we grabbed a table.
It took another ten minutes for a waiter to come over, but once he did he was quite attentive. Michael J, Rory T and I were all starving so we gave him our orders immediately and the food came out pretty quickly.
I really like the menu here, actually. An awesome selection of bentos, plates and rolls. Separate lunch menu means smaller plates, which means smaller pricetag. I dig.
My meat-​a-​licious bento was quite tasty, although three small pieces of chicken left me unimpressed. Still, the beef was a saucy highlight and the tempura was a crunch delight.
Usually this is the part where I would say, «Don’t come during peak hours!» But I’m not sure that would even help. If you’re looking to chow down locally, check it out. If you’d rather get a table right away, skip it.

Mikaido on the south side is convenient enough for a quick sushi if you are ever in South Common. Its interior décor is quite impressive striking chords of Japanese flavor from the dark wooden beams and sliding paper doors to the soft yellow lights that give the zen like feel.
What I really enjoy about Mikaido is their ability to accomodate anything from social gathering dinner parties to more intimate privacy settings. Their private rooms are quite large and aren’t as cramped as places such as Kyoto.
Service was reasonably responsive, no complaints here.
In terms of food selection and overall satisfaction, I must say that they don’t quite stand out from the rest of the pack. I feel that most of the sushi restaurants with the exception of the very very few often push the same quality and taste. That’s not to say that it’s awful by any means but I would gladly choose this as my primary sushi favorite IF there was something to return for.
In its defense however, I would like to point out that their Dragon Eyes are actually quite exceptional and is my favorite dish out of their menu.