sen zushi

quality sushi. the food, service, and atmosphere are all quality aspects. the sushi is the best i have tried [in victoria], and you can tell they put a lot of effort into making your experience a good one because of all the little details in the food presentation. the dining room is cool too, it really feels like a classic "japanese" space, i suppose; i like the skylights. our waitress was kind, and even offered to teach me some japanese; only drawback to theplaceis that it's expensive; you're not wasting your money if you want some good eats though.

overpriced and going downhill with quality. i have had ok sushi at sen in the past, but i echo the sentiments of the previous reviewer in wondering if they have changed ownership/kitchen chefs.

the last few times the food is nowhere near the quality i would expect, despite the price still being much higher than any other sushiplacein town.

the last experience i had with them was recently when i ordered a kitsune udon with steamed vegetables to go. when i got home and opened it up i was shocked to see that unlike every otherplacein town, their kitsune udon consisted of only two tiny pieces of tofu pocket. the veggies i had paid extra for turned out to be some sprigs of green onion. the broth was too fishy.

go somewhere else.

never disappointed!. this is theplacei never get disappointed.

people are so great and reminds me of japan and how high quality japanese customer service is. although i order exactly the same things, it's always great and consistent.

sushi is very fresh. i love bbq eel sushi and i can taste the freshness, not like frozen one at fake japanese restaurants in downtown.

only thing they can improve is waiting time. sometimes it takes quite long to be served, but it's not a really big deal because i know it's worth waiting:)

we love senzushi! i believe this is the only real japanese restaurant in victoria. don't waste money going to the fake one!

decent prices, good sushi, amazing sauces. theplacewas prompt and friendly and i can't speak highly enough about the fried oysters! everything we get is delicious and i keep going back.

i don't really understand why thisplaceis so popular. we ordered 4 sushi rolls that we felt really tasteless. i picked up a piece of tuna roll, everything fell apart right away. not a good sign. their tempura was expensive for that amount. service was a little slow but our waitress was nice. but that was it.

this is by far the best japanese restaurant i have ever been to. the servers are incredibly friendly and the food is the most authentic around. this restaurant is better than most in cities 3 times the size. when all the other sushi restaurants in town use variants of the same menu, it's quite refreshing to discover aplacethat chooses to do things differently. they have so many inventive dishes that add their own twists to well tested classics. tonight i had the don don combo which is one of those dishes. it combines two japanese classics, udon and donburi in a way that shows its own inventiveness while giving hints to what the server told me was a traditional dish from a region in southern japan. some of the options like ochazuke and nanban are things that are common staples in japan, but that seem to be very hard to find across the pacific. a special shout out to 2 servers who i have had on a few occasions, maiko and randie, who have been absolutely outstanding every time i have visited. i will be back soon for sure.

it was "ok" but hardly worth a like.. i saw on google that thisplacewas getting great reviews so i thought i would try it....i did, and i won't be back.
the food was fresh but not great and the prices are too high.
they even charged me for spicy mayo...really restaurants should never do that.
the chairs were very uncomfortable as well.
shizen has far better food that is better tasting.

past glories can't keep working. sen zushi was possibly the best sushi in victoria before a kitchen fire forced them to renovate and relocate. i happily recommended it, and it was first recommended to me by my japanese professor.

but since opening their new location, they've been forced into a new business model. smaller location, less atmosphere, poorer product. we went for the first time since they re-opened a couple weeks ago, and they used imitation crab meat, lacked some victoria staples like salmon & avocado rolls, and charged 40-50 cents more per roll than the now-nearby shizen sushi.

what was kind of sad to me was that the chef is still the same, and i could tell the care put into each dish. perhaps it wasn't the best day for ingredients, but the imitation crab begs to differ. cuts were thin with slight gristle. everything was still fine, good even. but no longer better than other options. and at inflated prices, not worth recommending.

a sad day. i hope they can go back to their former business model of a semi-formal atmosphere with a dimly light dining room, larger space, and a push for the same quality they once had.


-----20 jul, 2014-----

best sushi in victoria, and i don't say that lightly. i've tried almost everyplacein town, and i have 3 places i would recommend. ebizo, shizen and senzushi. by and far, senzushi is consistently the tastiest, the freshest, and the most enjoyable sushi in town. they also have a great variety of hot food for non-sushi eaters, and probably the best oyako don in town to boot. but almost everything here is just awesome from their salmon to their unagi. the only reason i don't go here all the time is because it is a tad bit pricier than other places. but the quality is well worth it. i was enthralled to hear they've re-opened at a temporary new location after the devastating kitchen fire in april 2014. if you're looking for a nice dining experience with a group of friends or just a significant other, senzu is a greatplaceto go.


-----10 aug, 2010-----

i'm writing this review to dispell the myth that the last two built. i was recommended sen by my japanese teacher back in the day, and it's been a regular evening out whenever we go for sushi. tonight we have visited to confirm it's state, and the chefs are still here. the sushi is wonderful and though a little more expensive, well worth it. though i'll admit the service has always been a little slow. overall, highly recommended.

my last review was edited?? i'm a sushi snob and really not sure why thisplaceis rated so highly. the first time i was here the service was awful, the food was over priced, small and flavorless, and nanban chicken was still raw when it was served to us. i swore i wouldn't ever come back, but a couple weeks ago i was dragged back with a friend who really wanted to check it out. once again the service was terrible and food is just not that good, certainly not at these prices. i have had better sushi at late night all you can eat places. i guess most of the positive reviews of thisplaceare by people that really don't know what good sushi is... because thisplaceis not good.


-----26 oct, 2013-----

the atmosphere is nice, the service was good but the food was marginal at best. as a vancouver sushi snob, i liken the food quality here, to a late night all you can eat sushi joint in vancouver. however, here the food is very expensive for what you get.

for $5, california roll better be 10 piece or made with real crab, not here. the negitoro roll was very fresh but didn't even have a straws thickness of tuna in it, and certainly not worth the $5 i paid for it. the agadashi tofu was undercooked, lacked batter and tasted like it was sitting in brine for much of the day, not to mention the five t be coming back.

the worst part is we were served raw, not like a little undercooked, but blue-rare raw chicken!! there was a thin cooked layer followed by 80-90% of the meat being completely pink. when we presented it to the wait staff, they were oblivious the the problem. it was almost like the server had no idea serving undercooked chicken, let alone raw chicken, was a serious health code violation. then the server asked if we wanted another one or something else, to which we said no and had lost our appetite. to our shock they brought over the bill with the cost of the chicken still on it. when confronted about this, they said, "it is not our policy to discount food, customers dislike." wtf!? sure i can understand that if someone didn't like the food and was just being fussy... but they served us raw frickin chicken!?!! at any other restaruant in town, our entire meal would have been free and at the better places they would have given us gc's for 1-2 more dinners to try and win us back... this place, "the best we can do is a 50% the item in question."

i have never dined and dashed before, but we just walked out!

thisplaceis/was a joke. we will never go back!

good sushi, surprisingly traditional. we chose sen zushi based on several reviews and blogs listing it as victoria's best sushi. made a reservation in advance for a saturday evening. based on reviews, we had incorrectly expected a more contemporary atmosphere. it was very traditional japanese, decor reminiscent of 20 or more years ago, but the food was solid. we were told it was japanese owned and operated. (other reviews note that the sushi chefs trained in japan. onlyplacei've ever been with an anglo female behind the sushi bar, but the results were excellent, just an amusing observation.)

it was crowded when we arrived at 7:30pm, but had cleared out in about 45 minutes. it closes at 9pm, and the kitchen made last call at least 30 minutes in advance, so plan to go early. we were tourists in victoria, but, in general, we were surprised at how early people ate and restaurants closed.

the menu was not sushi focused, with lots of traditional main courses, appetizers, etc. that said, the sushi was quite good, with a wide variety of options, many contemporary specials. some of our crowd needed some quick calories, so we started with both pork and prawn gyoza (pan fried dumplings), which were excellent. one in our crowd went traditional and had a braised beef donburi dish with egg, she said it was quite good. the rest of us ate sushi, all were pleased. we focused on sockeye salmon, given the region and time of year. traditional nygeri sushi and sashimi were both quite good, larger than the normal pieces we were accustomed to, but who's complaining? a nice variety of rolls, and they volunteered to customize, since i don't like cucumbers. quality of fish was excellent and preparation showed attention to detail.

service was not polished, but trying hard, willing, with a great attitude.

wine list is very limited, but focus was on premium sakes, so we drank the recommended bottle. i'm not experienced enough to provide an informed review, but we enjoyed it.

i would recommend this restaurant without reservation. willing service and sound cooking/food preparation, quality ingredients.

authentic as it can be. sen zushi was one of the most authentic sushiplacewe've ever been in canada. i can say this since i'm from japan:) japanese owner and chef pretty much says it all. there were a lot of original maki's that i've never seen and they were awesome! huge menu selection, atmosphere very quaint. waitresses were all very freindly and cute too. it's a must go if you're in victoria, you won't be sorry!!

over hyped. i went into thisplacewith high hopes. numerous people had told me that this was the bestplacein town. it was ok. sushimi was strangely cut. large but very thin slices... not a fan. the ponzu sauce on the tataki seemed to have no flavour. rolls were lacking a certain amount of love. not fresh tasting and they fell apart the instant i touched them with my chop sticks. service was very average.

the best part about thisplaceis the decor. very nice restaurant to walk into.

ebizo still reigns supreme in victoria... imo

it's good!. when i was living in vic, this is theplacei'd go to when i craved sushi/sashimi. although a bit on the expensive side, it's consistently good and definitely better than most, if not all of the other sushi restaurants in the downtown area. service can be a bit slow at times so i'd usually try to get there early to avoid the rest of the dinner crowd.

yum!!!. my favourite sushiplacein victoria! they have very different menu for sushi! it's good to have something interesting. reasonable pricing too! must go again!

good sushi. and agedashi tofu needs grated ginger. the chicken teriyaki is always way over-cooked, but it's a good, basic sushiplacethat's better, and more authentic, than most places in town.