Orléans Food Spot Review - Nagi Sushi

Despite every member of our household now being a vociferous gobbler of Sushi and Japanese cuisine, we somehow overlooked visiting this amazing Sushi joint until this week. Well, perhaps we can be forgiven for such a transgression, due to the fact that Nagi Sushi has only been around since March 2024.

Nagi’s chef and owner is Moriyuki Hiroha, one of the few Japanese Taisho - a sushi master from Gunma Maebashi. 🇯🇵 For over thirty years, he worked at Ottawa’s C’est Japon à Suisha restaurant. And more importantly Hiroha has brought over his connections to various suppliers which results in high-quality fish, some directly from Japan, being now served at Nagi Sushi. 🥢

Located in a strip mall along St. Joseph Blvd near the intersection with Orléans Blvd, you’d be forgiven if you thought that Nagi Sushi is a typical sushi spot - one of many that find themselves in equal strip-mall abundance in various neighbours of Orléans. But you’d be wrong, because Nagi Sushi’s locale surprises in the most delightful of ways the moment you enter the restaurant.

First, let’s make one thing clear, Nagi Sushi is fairly small. At most it can probably only serve 20 or so patrons simultaneously - that’s why it’s reportedly seen having lines stretching outside for lunch and dinner and why reservations are a common sight.

The decor is filled with warm and authentic Japanese decor, much of it imbued with warm wooden paneling, wooden chairs and maybe the nicest chop sticks I’ve seen in any restaurant in Orléans. Needless to say, it’s really nice to walk into a local restaurant that clearly cares a great deal about its decor, atmosphere, cleanliness, and dining experience.

Since our daughter is equal parts Sushi connoisseur we decided to make our visit to Nagi a family affair this year, and we definitely brought our collective hunger. All that to say that we may have over-indulged in our ordering, but hey, leftovers are never a bad thing, right?

And we’re thrilled to report that there wasn’t a single item that we ordered that wasn’t fabulously fresh, generously portioned, and served at just the right temperature. It was almost comical with which our collective eyes lit up after trying each dish with the delight of realizing that each new item we ate seemed to only get better than the last.

And while you can see our ratings for each item below, for me at least, the real standouts were the Vegetable Gyoza, which was maybe the best tasting Gyoza I’ve ever had (and that says a lot from someone who spent over twenty years living in Vancouver), and the Smoked Salmon roll, which is to die for, that is of-course if you like Smoked Salmon, which I mean, who doesn’t?

Here’s the link to their full menu.

Another thing of note is that while the food found here is clearly a few notches above the usual Sushi fare you’ll find in other parts of the city, the service was equally excellent. Attentive, pleasant and helpful in all the right doses. Bravo to the entire team! We will definitely be back soon!

⭐️ 4.9 stars out of 5

Let’s face it, Orléans isn't exactly known as a hub for foodies with restaurants having enough of a reputation to draw diners from other parts of the city. But that seems to be changing, as we have more and more local talent who are raising the bar. Maybe restaurants like Nagi Sushi, clearly rising above the mediocre masses of chain restaurants are just the catalyst we need to usher in a wave of higher quality dining to Orléans.