sen zushi

awesome. we waited about 20 minutes to get a table, but learned our lesson about the need to make a reservation on a friday night. it was a full house until about 8pm, so the service was as fast as they could be considering the workload. our server was very friendly! we had a variety of different things, from seaweed salad to tempura, sashimi to rolls, and everything was fantastic. as was said in a previous review, best. desserts. ever. and i don't know about not being able to take home leftovers considering that we were able to take the remainder of our meal home with us. i will definitely recommend senzushito my friends.

do not go there! warning. senzushiused to be our best japanese foods spot for years. i've recommended this restaturant to many friends of mine. until last night, i will never ever go back to that restaruant!!!! being a old customer of sen, i can tell you they've changed their kitchen chefs recently!!! the prices are still the same, expensive, but the quality of foods and ingredients are terrible and horrible. the services are getting worse too. we had to stop our waitress many times while she walked by our table just for refilling our teapot! we ordered beef undon and kazudo (the dish i always ordered at sen for years). the beef slice were way too tough, i can't chew them! i swallowed them, no kidding, i swallowed! the deep fried breaded pork chop were overcooked too. it was dry and tough. i can cook better breaded pork chop than sen now at home. besides those 2 dishes, we ordered mackeral sashimi (i loved this dish so much before, i had it everytime when i was at sen). at that night, both my husband and i got food poisons because of this dish. my tummy was hurt like i had colon disease. my mouth was full with smell of that mackeral. we also had to return one of the dishs, vegetable tempura. i was speachless when i saw that dish. the dish costs $8plus tax, 7 pieces vegetables. and last night, that dish had 1 brocoli, 1 green pepper, 1 zucchini , 2 lotus roots (1 inch small). that wasn't even the point to return the dish. the brocoli was plain, no batter at all! yes, no batter, plain green brocoli. i asked the waitress to look at the dish by herself, she said to me, "well, it is sometimes like this." we returned and cancelled that dish. i'm not going to pay $8 plus tax for those 'steamed' vegetables! and, its soy sauce, which is on each table, is no longer japanese soy sauce. it's more salty now. before even it was little pricy, the quality of foods was worthy of the prices. now, senzushiis foolling its customers and destroying its good reputation that was built up for so many years.

outstanding sushi and fresh japanese. very friendly and helpful staff. the restaurant underwent changes and making it fancier than before which is nice. it is not stuffy. it was busy and noisy on the last two occasions we went with the family but i prefer a quieter environment. the menu is very large making it hard to choose. however it does not compromise the quality of the excellent sushi is served. the rice is always super fresh and tasty, cooked to perfection. the fish is the freshest and you can see the care put into the sushi and nigiri. i also like the chef recommendations, the starters and the wine was very good. i would recommend senzushifor families and couples looking for an authentic japanese experience.

past glories can't keep working. senzushiwas 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 every place in 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 great place to 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.

great japanese food. i lived in japan for a year and miss the food since returning to canada. senzushiwas probably the best japanese food i've had since coming back (and i've tried a lot). decent price for what you get, and the sushi/sashimi was top notch quality.

senzushiis one of the most beautiful sushi restaurants i've seen in victoria! the space is quite open, with sky lights bringing light into what would otherwise be a very dark space. although the tables are close together, they are elegantly separated by floating pieces of fabric and screen-printed art hangings.

best japanese food i've had in victoria to date.

service from maiko was excellent. we were made to feel welcome as soon as we entered the restaurant.

i had the senzushilunch special plus tuna sashimi. each course was fresh, to temperature and well presented. i ordered my steak rare and it was cooked perfectly.

my wife was equally impressed. it was so good we will make the trip to town again tomorrow just to eat at sen zushi.

good sushi, surprisingly traditional. we chose senzushibased 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. only place i'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. senzushiwas one of the most authentic sushi place we'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!!

really expensive on fort street. they aren't even downtown and the menu is priced expensive. in short i picked up this girl (i think she is japanese) and wanted to close the deal so took her to 'sen zushi' for lunch. turns out she doesn't like sushi either. she said she doesn't eat it much and eats cooked restaurant meals. still the bill was too high and i didn't even need senzushito close the deal with my new friend.

the best experience on vancouver island. i've been a regular at senzushifor several years, and i've never been disappointed. they are serving a fine dinning menu at a very reasonable price.
and if you are a fan of eel, their unagi bateria is incredible. if you're thinking about going out for sushi in victoria, i wouldn't even consider anywhere else.

enjoyable and tasty. having enjoyed sushi and other japanese specialities up and down the west coast, senzushiranks in my top 10. i've literally been to over 150 different places in the past 15 years of traveling. now that i live on the island i've finally found one that i care to return to. cozy, albeit slightly dated atmosphere, friendly service and ok portions. nothing stands out as stellar, but sometime it's just ok to find a reliable quality & friendly service. will be back for more!

reliably great. my go-to place in victoria for sushi and japanese food. after living in japan for some time, i'm pretty hard to please when it comes to sushi, but senzushireally is great. i like the atmosphere, i like the staff, it's all good. the only thing i'd change is the hours - it's closed at really odd times, and i've gone there and found it closed more times than i can count. now i call ahead to make sure! :)

one of the best. i personally believe senzushiis one of the top sushi place in victoria. i love everything about it. their menu has lots of food for people to choose from and most of the time, it is very difficult to choose because everything sounds soo yummy. their sushi is always fresh and taste good!!! my favourite are:
- sunset roll
- katsu don (if you are hungry, any donburi will make you feel soo satified because they are big)
- my favourite ice cream- the black sesame icecream
i don't have a particular favourite sushi because everything is good!!! you'll want to go there many times once you try it the first time :)

senzushiis our other favourite sushi restaurant. it's handy for us because it's only a couple blocks from our home and we've never had a bad experience.