| You would have been hard-pressed to find a sushi restaurant in Northern Manitoba when I was growing up. We stuck to our own fish delicacy (beer battered pickerel) and I didn’t even experience sushi until much later in life, when I travelled to visit my uncle. But since he grew up in the north as well, and seemed to have fallen in love with Japanese food, I decided to try it. I enjoyed the fresh seafood and light taste, the communal dining style and the often ornate displays of dishes created with pride.
I had heard rumours of a very cozy booth at the new Globefish Sushi and Izakaya (translates to sake bar), so I made reservations for our group. It was a good thing I did, because when we arrived on a Friday night it was smaller than it looked from the outside and was packed full, with a lineup. High visibility on 14 Street N.W. (the space was previously occupied by Saigon Broadway Vietnamese restaurant) allows for all-day commuter advertising, so obviously many were anxious to try the place out.
Having owned restaurants in northeast Calgary and in Vancouver after coming to Canada from his native Tokyo, owner Koichi Nakamura wanted to take advantage of the high-profile location and be closer to the downtown core.
The décor was sparse, but large wraparound windows and mirrored walls expanded the space and an L-shaped bar allowed diners to observe the open kitchen area. Our booth, the only one in the restaurant, was large enough to accommodate eight – once seated, we were tucked away and no longer visible to most of the restaurant or our server. It took almost an hour to place our order. To give them the benefit of the doubt, it could be attributed to how busy the restaurant was, or the fact that we were out of sight.
The extensive menu highlighted the original Globefish special rolls, with house recipe sauces created by Nakamura and his staff. There were also numerous different types of appetizers, as well as the traditional rolls and sashimi, which were offered individually or in combos. The drink menu listed 16 different types of sake, served by the glass or bottle, and three selections of Japanese Shochu vodka. Nakamura’s desire for the space was to create a sake bar with Japanese tapas for people to enjoy.
Once we ordered, the food came quickly and our service was friendly. We loved the vegetable tempura ($6.95), assorted al dente veggies breaded in tempura batter and served with warm sauce. The endamame ($4.95) was warm and fresh, but overly salted. There were high marks all around for the mentai calamari ($7.95), tender pieces of squid lightly breaded and drizzled with a slightly spicy cream dressing. And the order of veggie and pork gyozas ($5.95) were cooked to a perfect tenderness.
For sushi rolls, we ordered the California Trio ($12.95), a set of California rolls that come in original, spicy and crispy. The crispy rolls were topped with crispy rice cereal, which we found a little odd. We also tried the Alaska rolls ($6.95) and the Globefish roll combo ($13.95), a mix of California rolls, dynamite rolls and spicy tuna rolls. In general, they had nice presentation and were flavourful, but looked as if they had waited too long before they were served to us.
Overall, our experience at Globefish was hit and miss. But, if you’re going to have a bit of a wait, the booth was a comfortable place to do it.
Globefish Sushi is located at 326 14 Street N.W., phone; 521-0222. |
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