In my neck of the woods, there's not many options in the immediate area for dining out. It's mostly chains or fast food. So imagine my surprise when I noticed a Japanese restaurant (that's not an Edo or a Tokyo Express) being built in the area!
Nagoya Japanese Cuisine is located in north Hollick Kenyon, in the same plaza as the Save-on-Foods. They've been soft open for a month, and held their grand opening just last week (Aug 28). Prior to their grand opening, they had an ongoing promotion for 10% off your order, whether dine-in or take-out. A good incentive for people to come in and try them out while they establish their presence in the neighborhood.
We went for a family dinner at the beginning of August, shortly after 5:00 and was surprised to see the restaurant pretty busy for such an early dinner time. I guess being surrounded by a residential area makes it pretty easy for people to pop in, as it took us only five minutes to drive to the restaurant as well.
The restaurant is a good size, with a mix of booths and tables making up the seating. Chairs are red and plush, tables are black marble, and plenty of white pendant lamps hang from the ceiling. A painted mural adorns the right wall, highlighting many Japanese landmarks.
Nagoya's menu is pretty expansive, covering a wide breadth of what's usually offered at Japanese restaurants. Appetizers, tempura, rolls, maki, temaki, nigiri, sashimi, grilled fish, teppan, bento, noodles, donburi, and sushi boats/platters. It wasn't available yet during our visit, but Nagoya also has tablet menus where you can view pictures and prices while punching in your order. My brother and parents went a second time when the tablets were in effect and noted the ordering process was a bit confusing. They wanted to order multiple quantities of one item but weren't quite sure how to input it into the system. Thankfully a server comes by at the end to verify your order.
Another shortcoming that had been fixed since our first visit was the menu lacking descriptions of what was in rolls or other dishes. Even when asking our waitress about what was in a roll, she was unsure. As of now, they've updated their menu to include descriptions, painting a more accurate picture of what you're getting. Comparing my past notes to their menu, I also noticed that some prices have already been changed.
During our visit, we ordered the ika karaage (originally $10.95, now $9.95), deep fried squid tentacles with a side of mayonnaise. The batter was thick and stiff, the type to get super crunchy and hard in the fryer. Good enough, but probably not my favourite rendition of fried squid as it was a bit greasy. I also would've preferred a different type of dipping sauce or something more than straight up mayo.
The ebi tempura (originally $11.95, now $13.95) was a standard offering and came out in a basket with six pieces. We were all a bit confused by the presentation though, as they laid the shrimp over a wooden fan that they also battered and deep-fried. It felt like an unnecessary prop, perhaps to give the illusion that you're getting more, but I hope for humanity's sake that no one has tried to eat it when ordering this dish.
Next up, the tonkatsu donburi ($13.95), which we ordered as a filler dish in case the rest of the items weren't enough to fill our stomachs. A deep fried pork cutlet is covered in egg, mushroom, and onion and then served over a bed of rice. The cutlet was thin and we didn't find the bowl to have much flavour as there was a lot more rice to topping ratio. However if you're looking for a big portion, and a hearty dish for cheap, this will do the job of filling you up.
The rainbow roll ($16.95) is a typical family favourite and Nagoya's rendition had a base roll of crab stick, avocado, and cucumber, topped with salmon, tuna, shrimp, snapper, and more avocado. We all thought the roll was well-constructed and the fish was fresh.
Lured by the picture in the menu, we also ordered the dynamite roll ($14.95) with tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, mango, mayonnaise, chopped scallops, cayenne pepper, tobiko, and masago. Also well-constructed with a nice creaminess from the scallops.
The Nagoya roll (originally $20.95, now $24.95) was recommended to us as the signature roll of the restaurant. Panko shrimp, tonkatsu sauce, and avocado make up the interior of the roll while unagi, tobiko, bonito flakes, eel sauce, and 24K gold flakes adorn the top. Gold flakes are always a little gimmicky but the actual roll itself was quite good. Although a bit pricey, it's probably the best roll out of the three we tried. Also a good choice for people who don't enjoy raw fish.
Lastly, we got the sushi and sashimi boat (originally $45.95, now $48.95), which had 12 pieces of nigiri and 12 pieces of sashimi. The fish included were salmon, tuna, snapper, cooked shrimp, surf clam, and tako (octopus). I would've liked to see a little more variety in terms of the fish selection but I can't really complain since the boat disappeared in no time.
Although there is room for improvement, Nagoya was for the most part decent. Prices are a bit on the higher end, even more so now that they've updated their pricing, but it's usually the case at any Japanese restaurant. Service was friendly with some hiccups, but that's something that gets better over time with more training and experience. I'm not sure if it's worth going out your way for, but because it's in the area, I see myself heading over for a quick dinner from time to time.
Nagoya Japanese Cuisine
16639 50 St NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 758-8899
- CT
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