The reviews were absolutely spot‑on. It's a small place, so definitely make a reservation. The staff were incredibly friendly and the service was fantastic. And the food... wow. The rolls were unbelievably good. We ordered three of the five special rolls on the menu, and every single one was outstanding so flavorful, so fresh, and packed with ingredients. They don't cut corners on quality, texture, or portion size. The wasabii was freshly made (not the tube kind), which was such a nice bonus. Honestly, if we lived in Calgary, we'd be regulars at Ari without a doubt! Thank you! read more

Having read stellar reviews, I just had to give this place a try. I was able to get same evening bar seating when I called the restaurant directly. The dinner special is what I came for. A variety of sushi for $48. The value was excellent. Presentation was lovely. My only suggestion is to remove the avocado from the sockeye sushi. Service was friendly and attentive. There is onsite parking which makes life a lot easier when you're not familiar with the area. read more

Ari Sushi - Sushi! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

So here's the thing. The sushi is legit. Came here to make up with this restaurant and was totally welcomed with open arms. It's the best sushi in this town.... If you follow the (unposted) rules. Totally worth it. read more

The reviews were right on. Small place so def make reservations. Staff were very friendly and service was fantastic! And food...omagosh...the rolls were so delish. We ordered 3/5 special rolls on the menu and each one was superb!!! Sooo yummy, tasty in their own way. They did not skimp out on ingredients, taste, texture, portion, you name it! So, so good! Wasabi was not from the tube and was fresh so that was a bonus! Too bad we do not live on Calgary, otherwise, we'd def be regulars at Ari! read more

I'm really conflicted *seriously!*...part of me wants to tell the world about Michael Kim's food at Ari but the other part of me knows that once people wise up to this incredible restaurant I'll have to fight for a reso. I live for food. It's a really big part of what I love in life and I'm passionate about it. I've eaten at great restaurants all over the world... Michelin starred restaurants... hidden gems... local favourites... and certainly many sushi restaurants... NOTHING prepared me for Ari! After Ari I came away thinking that I've never actually eaten sushi before. Easily the best sushi I've ever had and one of the best food experiences of my entire life. No exaggeration. I went to Ari on the recommendation of a well respected chef friend of mine... to be brutally honest (I love him but) he's Gordon Ramsay harsh about food. A very hard marker... so when he was effusive about Ari I had to give them a go. Given my friend's praise I had really high expectations - Ari BLEW ME AWAY! Wow. Just wow. Ok... with that, here are some oddities that folks should know about: - the building that Ari is in looks like it should be a drive in burger spot...kind of odd - resos are only available up until 8pm(!) - I had omakase (chef's choice) - the food wasn't inexpensive (but having just had an 'upper end' steak dinner a few nights before I thought pricing was actually pretty reasonable. My teenage son said he would save up all his pennies to go back! He's actually a harsher critic than I am) Chef Kim has a pretty interesting back story...probably most food worthy is that he was previously at a 5 Star international hotel in Korea. He very obviously knows what he's doing. I don't know how he sources his fish (probably don't want to know) but he has things that just don't exist anywhere outside of Tokyo. Wow! I honestly never knew fish could taste like this. Chef Kim's sushi rice is a treat all on its own... weird to say but I've never had anything like it. His house produced fresh wasabi was again until anything I've ever had before... it wasn't just hot (it certainly was btw!) but it actually tasted like something. I could absolutely go on and on... RUN(!), don't walk to Ari before they are booked up forever, and don't be scared to spend some cash... it's certainly cheaper than flying to Tokyo and I'll bet Ari would be in the top tier there as well. I can't wait to try chef Kim's yakitori restaurant... ssssh! I won't say anything about it until I get a chance to try what they have on offer. read more

They had such fresh fish but disappointed no shiso leaves to pair with high quality fish. There were a few pieces that weren't my favourite like raw squid, raw octopus. Their menu is very small and my meal just didn't feel complete without shiso leaves. read more

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Good food very fresh, only portion bit small, not to many table place small, make a reservation is recommended

We decided to have sushi last minute so we couldn't get a reservation and got take out instead. The sushi were delicious! Fishes were fresh, and the fish and rice proportions were just right. The fried shrimp head was a pleasant surprise. The only drawback was the limited parking space. I'll definitely come back when I visit Calgary again. read more

Ari Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Best sushi In Calgary with outstanding Sushi and sashimi Excellent service and vibe. I will come back again, been to this place more than 15 times read more

Ari Sushi - food qualities are outstanding. Best Sushi in Calgary - Sushi Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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We are visiting Calgary for the first time from California, and are always on the search for excellent food. We ordered a sashimi and nigiri special (40 CAD) each, and it was incredibly excellent in flavor and in price. The sashimi combo was a piece of art. We wanted to go again the next night but they were closed. Thank you to Chef Mike for chatting with us as well. read more

The sushi was so fresh. The staff introduced which fishes were on the plate. We had great service and the price was very good with the quantity of fishes they had. read more

Ari Sushi - Sashimi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

I didn't want to write this review - for Ari sushi is already busy and difficult to make a reservation, I didn't want to make it worse... We had omakase for my wife's birthday (chef will pick the best quality sushi for that day - $150-200/ person) I am a die hard sushi fan and we were blown away by the extremely high quality sushi - simply world class sushi ! From fresh wasabi and ginger to top quality rice and miso soup, everything was to quality My only complaint would be service - servers should be more attentive, while dining (But they were jam packed even at 5 pm, it's understandable ....) Better than top NY, DC & LA sushi restaurant maybe even better than most sushi restaurants in Japan Best sushi restaurant in Canada period (2nd place goes to sushi restaurant in Blackcomb) read more

Great food and service! Real Japanese run restaurant . Make sure make reservations! Good parking.

The lunch sushi special and all the sides just keeps me calling me back. The quality of the food and the staff remains consistent with each visit-- absolutely top. read more

Ari Sushi - Lunch Sushi Special - Sushi Bars Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

What a treat for our last night of our Canadian vacation! Sushi was beautiful and delicious. So glad that we were able to get a reservation!

This sushi restaurant is such a gem at Inglewood. My first time coming here and they truly did not disappoint! At first glance the restaurant did not stand out but the inside has a nice cozy vibe which I love. Would recommend the seared tuna sushi!! read more

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What I know about sushi in Calgary can be summed up in two dines: hotshot Nupo with its celebrity chief located in a posh, hip, new hotel not far from downtown (... definitely hotshot, and for good reason)... and tiny Ari Sushi, tucked away in a somewhat trendy neighborhood but with far less pretense. I'm here to tell you there's plenty of room for both kinds of dining all things sushi, sashimi, etc. and I wouldn't have it any other way. I won't go into Nupo because that's not this review. Ari is more your neighborhood kind of sushi joint that has been created inside a newly repurposed building on a corner and hits the mark quite nicely in my opinion. Truth be told, there are probably a bunch of smaller sushi spots in the city not unlike this, and that pleases me. Now, down to business. Warning: I'm a professional dad, what you're about to read should scare the ever living crap out of you. Came with a party of six that included my wife, our daughter and her husband and one of their young couple friends. Last night in the city on our first visit ever here. Everyone knew I was footing the bill up front, so let's just call it what it became: GAME ON. Bottles of sake started coming, and coming. Large orders of sushi and sashimi platters were arriving, plenty of seaweed salads and small tofu dishes, edamame, miso soups, tea, beer, more sake, more beer, more sushi, more sake, specialty sushi and sashimi orders. Did I mention sake was involved? Somehow the staff made it all effortless and everything worked the way it's supposed at any restaurant: you have lots of fun, and the service and food just becomes a part of it all, seamless. No, "where is my order," or "I wish they'd quit hovering," etc. None of that. Just perfection. At the end of the evening we stepped into the chilly night air, lingered, hugged, promised to do it again when we return and went on our way. Total bill for 6 was less, and not surprisingly, that Nupo for four a few nights earlier. Different night, different people, different kind of experience. So while I totally dig the big experience of the world class kind of dine, I adore something less pretentious, much more relaxed and the kind of total experience that was delivered here. I'd come back here in a heartbeat and do it all over again with the same folks. Maybe we'll order sake next time. read more

Wow! This place was amazing!! The sushi and sashimi was super fresh and the rolls were absolutely delicious. The chef was super attentive and introduced each dish to us. He even gave us an extra piece of bluefin with our dinner sashimi special since we were the last order of the day! Highly recommend this sushi spot for authentic Japanese food! read more

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Great sushi in Inglewood. I was pleasantly surprised by the good quality sushi at Ari. The facade doesn't look like much and seating is ordinary, however the sushi and sashimi we ordered were excellent. Fresh, and nicely presented. Service was very attentive and our dishes were timed perfectly. Good selection of sake and other beverages. Definitely going back. read more

Great location, fresh, awesome staff & service. My daughter & I enjoy this place. Highly recommend!

By far my most favourite sushi restaurant in Calgary. Everything is so fresh and so good. Service is always excellent and the chef comes to the table and chats with everyone. The dine in area is limited so it's always packed. If you want resos you need to book weeks in advance. They use fresh wasabi. All the dishes had amazing texture and flavours. Best of all prove point so so reasonable. read more

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Great quality and fast service. Worth making a reservation. I've never had a bad experience here.

I was doubtful hearing about the great reviews on google given so many false reviews these days but was proved wrong. This is really really good sushi. Probably the best I have had in Calgary and rivals some of the finer Vancouver ones that we have tried. We had the sashimi special for dinner. It came with two chef picks: salmon belly and bluefin tuna. The salmon belly was extra ordinary smooth and silky. The bluefin tuna very nicely flavoured. The other pieces were excellent on their own also. We also had the Hamachi tataki which had some nice flavouring from the roasted shallots. We rounded it out with agadashi tofu, ike karage, salad with sesame dressing, and a few orders of sashimi salmon, hamachi, albacore tuna. All very tasty and super fresh. Wasabi was distinctly sweeter and perhaps made fresh? The pickled ginger was nicely pickled and not hit you over the head like most places. Service was friendly and efficient. First time post no-mask policy. Staff still masked so didn't feel much different. Smallish restaurant so weren't really walking around much that required a mask. Table booths separated by plexiglass so felt safe still. Head chef and owner came out for a visit after our meal and chatted. Was very nice and could tell he enjoyed and proud of delivering great sushi. Apparently he opened last December during Covid. His previous stint at Omaske cut short As they didn't make it through Covid. In any event this is great place for sushi. A bit pricier but I think it is worth the splurge. Go treat yourself. read more

So delicious! Highly recommended, honestly the best sushi I have ever had. We had some of the classics as well as there Ari special roll which was so unique and delicious. read more