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1000 Sushi Islands
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
15 reviews for 1000 Sushi Islands
15 reviews in English
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Review from Melanie T.
Ottawa, ON
4/21/2012
Sushi... One of my favorite topics!
I used to live right across from this place and let me tell you, was it ever hard to say no. I am ashamed to admit, I even went alone a few times, and buried my nose into a magazine to avoid making eye contact with people. Oh well, I like sushi! When I want it, I'll have some!
In any case, I do agree with many of the reviews below, that yes, the service is definitely below par. Some of the servers barely speak english. (Which baffles me as to why some of their name tags say "Sue" or "Jen". Is that really their names?)
If you put aside the shotty service, the sushi is probably the best I've had for all you can eat in Ottawa. It's tied with a few of the newer places and now actually has some competition! I have always enjoyed their tempura, as well as their dynamite rolls. They're also introduced a mango roll recently on their newer menu that just makes me go Mmmmm!!! My stomach is growling just thinking about it.
I'll be back, though. Hopefully not alone next time!
***The only pointer I can give - Don't go at peak hours. The service is better if you go after the lunch rush, or before/after the dinner rush*** -
Review from Martin M.
Toronto, ON
1/2/2012
1000 Sushi Islands...
As a Toronto-ian I had to check out a all-you-can-eat sushi place while I was in Ottawa.
Went for lunch. The service quality was acceptable for an all-you-can-eat place (I've had MUCH worse in Toronto). The serving speed was also acceptable, but a little on the slow side if I was one to complain.
The sushi itself was very fresh, no complaints there. Selection was decent as well, nothing to write home about, but decent.
The only thing that was really a negative from my fairly good experience was the side dishes. I personally am a big fan of eel on rice. I received something that was more rice with a little eel that was cut up and mixed in (honestly, I'm not even sure if they were in there).
All in all though, aside from a few of the side dishes I would still recommend 1000 Sushi as a fairly decent place to eat if you're looking for all you can eat around the area. -
Review from Coy W.
11/23/2011
I feel like I can copy and paste most my review of Hockey Sushi into this place as they both have terrible service with terrible sushi, but I will write that even though Hockey Sushi can't seem to get an order to your table at a reasonable time frame at least your order doesn't get lost regularly!
I've been here twice and both times they had lost part (over a quarter) of our order making the wait even looooooooooonger. I don't find any of the food items good here but I will eat the grilled meats. The sushi is ok at best and I'm being kind. I'm not an AYCE sushi fan but will go with my friends. I'll be sure to avoid this place from now on. -
Review from Sophie C.
Gatineau, QC
11/14/2011
*Please note that this review is written by a vegan*
My friends invited me to an all-you-can-eat sushi date at 1,000 Sushi Islands on a Friday night. I was excited to try this place out, especially since I had just recently moved to Ottawa from Vancouver and had not yet eaten sushi since my arrival in the Nation's Capital.
We arrived at the restaurant at a little past 6:30pm. From the outside, the restaurant looked like it could use some TLC, but I understand that outdoor maintenance and esthetic upkeep is not always something a restaurant owner can afford to invest in. Besides, sometimes the best restaurants are the hole-in-the-wall places that look like crap from the outside. So, we went in.
The first thing I noticed upon entering is that the upkeep and cleanliness were really not up to par for me. The floor was absolutely atrocious, dirty and full of crumbs and who knows what. The sushi bar is right at the entrance, and unfortunately the whole place smelled fishy. Even if you don't know much about sushi, most people know that if it smells fishy, it's not fresh. The smell put me off a little, but since I'm vegan it's not like I had to worry about eating old fish anyway.
The service was a little unfriendly, but I understand it's an all-you-can-eat restaurant, so usually the service staff is on a mission to refill orders and tables, not to stand around and talk with you. As long as you don't expect your waitress to start explaining the menu to you, you should be satisfied with the service. The staff was pretty attentive, and as soon as we walked through the door we were seated, even if it seemed like their restaurant was full already.
The food. Oh boy. The menu offers some veggie options, but to be honest they could use a little crash course on what vegetarian means. For example, I ordered a Salad Roll, which is labeled with a leaf to indicate it's a veg option. Great, I thought. But when the roll arrived, it had fish roe on top and prawn in the middle. My friends had already ordered enough for themselves and weren't ready to help me eat the roll, so I had to "pull up my pants" and ask the server to bring it back to the kitchen at no extra cost. They never charged me for the roll. (Yay!) I politely told them that it was probably mislabeled on their menu and they should verify that this was in fact a veg Salad Roll. Overall I found most of the items really small, and some of them tasteless:
Tofu Roll:
Pretty small roll, but perfect size if you want a couple orders.
Deep Fried Tofu Cubes (not sure of the exact name):
Really, really bland. Pretty much deep fried watery tofu cubes with no flavour whatsoever, even if you drench them in soy sauce.
Avocado Roll:
Yum. A bit small, but then again they're the perfect size if you want to order a ton and share with friends. That way you don't get super full off one item.
Cucumber Roll: Yum. Same size as the avocado roll.
Hand-Rolled Avocado and Cucumber Roll:
This little guy was yummy. The seaweed was nice and fresh and crispy as hell. Yummers. I'd order it again for sure.
Mango Roll:
This one came in with my disaster of a Salad Roll. It was marked as a veg option with the leaf on the menu. When the Mango Roll arrived, though, it contained Mayo. WTF? Seriously? Mayonnaise. Totally unnecessary. I've had Mango rolls before, and they never, ever contained mayo. How can you indicate that something is vegetarian on a menu, call it a mango roll, and add mayo to it?!?! Grrr. This one I just left on the table when we left. I tried one piece and oh my, was it ever disgusting. Maybe it was because it was my first time eating mayo in about a year... but wow, yuk. Never again. Oh, and I recommend you don't ever try it either. Even if you like mayo. It's just yucky.
Eggplant Tempura:
Probably not vegan, but I figured that even muttering that word in their restaurant would get me dirty looks and a ton of confusion... so I didn't ask. I'm a bad vegan, I know. :( The Eggplant Tempura was good, but I would have to ask if their batter/technique is vegan next time. I'm pretty sure it's not.
Overall I wouldn't recommend this place. For $20+tax I ate shitty food in a loud and smelly restaurant, and was served food that was inaccurately advertised as vegetarian. If these things don't bother you, by all means, try it out and make your own opinion. For me, I'll be exploring the other sushi joints Ottawa has to offer, because I am convinced I can find better vegan sushi at a much better price.
Oh, and another thing: They DO NOT accept Interac. I really wasn't expecting that, since they accept all credit cards, but no Interac? Come on. My friend ended up having to pay for me since I had no cash and do not carry my credit card around with me.
Happy eating! -
Review from Eric B.
Ottawa, ON
Updated - 9/8/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I can't do it again... I'm done. After my third time at this restaurant, each time with worse service than the last, I can't go back. I've therefore downgraded my review from 3-stars to 1-star. This past time, much of our order was never brought to our table. Most concerning, we ordered one single salmon teriyaki amongst sushi for 8 people, and the salmon just never arrived. In the end, my wife just told them to cancel it. It was for my 4-year old son who doesn't like sushi, and he was quite upset, but got full on rice and soup. What happens? They bring it out AFTER we order dessert WITH chicken teriyaki (which we never ordered). Similar things happen regularly with the sushi orders, and the sushi is always dumped on a plate on the table, without any explanation of which sushi is which.
The decent taste of the sushi (not outstanding) just isn't worth the awful service. I won't be back!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/23/2011
Pretty nice sushi, and a great restuarant for kids, 1000 Sushi Islands is consistent and a… Read more »
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Review from Amanda B.
Ottawa, ON
12/4/2010
My brother, friend, and I had such a terrible experience here that it was actually funny. Though it had completely affordable prices and seemed to be very popular, we had terrible service and mediocre food. The waitress was sweet, but took forever to take our orders and bring them out. All the other tables seemed to be getting served before us. We spent almost two hours there, most of the time just waiting for our food and bill, which took 20 minutes alone.
The funniest part was when we all got excited when we saw deep-fried scallops on the menu. When they finally arrived, my brother bit into one and I saw the completely confused and fairly disgusted look on his face. I couldn't help but laugh and ask him what was wrong. It turns out that the deep-fried "scallop" was actually a fish ball! Not at all the same flavor, texture.. nothing. I'm not sure if they just got our order wrong, or if they were trying to pass off fish balls for scallops. Of course, we just found the situation humorous, but others may not take that kind of thing so lightly.Listed in: Glutton, International Flavour
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Review from Fayssal E.
Ottawa, ON
6/7/2011
Ok so I have been going to this place almost once a week for the past 2 years.
True, sometimes (only sometimes) the service can be terrible and slow, and even fewer times can the food be a bit "fishy". But I will say this, for the other 90% of the times I've went there, the sushi and sashimi was spectacular (you won't stop ordering until you cannot move), the service was very fast (extremely even), and the environment is very nice and comfortable in the booth area (I never sit anywhere else in the restaurant, the booths are great).
What I am trying to say is: give this place a try, and if you are not satisfied in the first try, give it at least another, you might have been unlucky. Believe me when I say it's worth it.
In conclusion, 1000 islands sushi is the best all you can eat sushi bar in Ottawa, and yes I've tried MANY of them. -
Review from HK T.
Ottawa, ON
12/1/2010 2 Check-ins Here
So far best consistent sushi place in Ottawa. Unlike Sushi Kan, ice cream is still included in the buffet portion. Typical sushi selection. Food and service was great and has been on a consistent basis.
My favourite.... baby mushrooms wrapped in beef. I probably could eat a 100 of these lol ....only available for dinner.
They have a small parking lot at the rear of the restaurant. Street parking is available. On weekends you can try and find parking at one of the near by offices which should be closed. -
Review from Jenny C.
Kingston, ON
1/28/2011
This place wasn't too bad. Especially for all you can eat, I was pretty satisfied with what we were served and the quality of it.
Although, without a doubt this place is way too slow. And usually when you're going for 'All-you-can-eat' you've starved yourself appropriately to make the most of it! That can be a painful combination.
But this place is perfect if you have a group of friends that you can spend chatting to while you're waiting. -
Review from Vladimir C.
Ottawa, ON
7/28/2009 1 photo
1. Food: Good selection of sushi, makis and sashimis. They are fresh and carefully done. The dishes are good, but not as good as the sushis.
2. Place: Clean environment. Try to get a table in the booth area. Anywhere else is very noisy. This place is always packed.
3. Service: They are nice but very distracted. Amateurs. Please verify if you got what you ordered.
4. Price: Extremely affordable. For the money you pay here you can barely have a nice hamburger in this city.
5. Verdict: This is probably the best all you can eat sushi place in Ottawa. -
Review from Azim A.
Ottawa, ON
11/13/2008
Another all-you-can eat sushi bar in the Ottawa area, this establishment has a quieter feel to it with an older clientele. The decor is fancier, and the prices are higher than other sushi buffets. However, the food is not proportionate to the price.
The service is slower, and the sushi itself is less fatty and more bland. The salmon in particular I found to be lacking in taste, which is usually my favourite kind of sushi. -
Review from Hintonburg R.
Ottawa, ON
10/14/2010
For $20 this is a pretty good deal. Service is fast and courteous. For all you can eat, it's a-ok with me. There is better sushi in Ottawa (see Sushi Umi review), but if you are looking to satisfy a deep hunger, have kids with you or want to try lots of different things, you can do a lot worse than 1000 Islands.
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Review from Andree M.
Ottawa, ON
1/20/2011
So bad we walked out!!! I was a regular customer until today. After receiving the last item on our first order (which was only a few pieces of sushi & 2 rolls of maki), I gave our paper for our second order. It was a busy night for them but after 45 minutes of waiting and nobody coming to see us, our waitress finally came and asked us if we wanted to reorder (oh, and my husband had finished his beer for more than 30 min and would of taken another one)!!! I'm used to having bad service there but the food made up for it, but this was just ridiculous! On top of loosing our order, it took her 45 minutes to come see if we needed anything else?!? So we walked out! I've never done that before but that was just ridiculously bad service. I was not gonna wait a minute more in that place!
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Review from Tyler S.
Ottawa, ON
6/14/2009
Hard to find a good all you can eat sushi place in Ottawa but this place certainly gets the job done. I'd stay away from any of the rolls with deep fried stuff in it as there always ends up with far too much tempura batter.
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Review from Yi L.
4/9/2010
great price. all you can eat; great service -- they charged my phone for me too.
Stay away from the tempura; otherwise decent food.
