Love the idea and atmosphere but the service and more importantly, the food, was a big disappointment. We did the tasting menu and the nigiri was not at all authentic as the rice was cold and not seasoned correctly. The fish itself was just ok for the price. We found the quality of food to be much better at RAW around the corner (where we went immediately after Nupo since we were still hungry after the pricey tasting menu). If you've had halfway decent sushi in any big city then definitely skip eating here as you'll be underwhelmed. For a sushi fix, head to RAW. read more

NUPO is an upscale Japanese restaurant in downtown Calgary. Menu has a choice of individual items or a tasting type selection. Food quality is good and one of the best for Japanese cuisine in Calgary. Drinks menu is very good and they have mocktails as well. Service is excellent. Not especially great value considering the price but NUPO is a good choice for a different dining experience. Parking lots nearby and there is underground parking in the building. read more

As of September 2023 and out of the 14 Omakase places I tried in San Francisco, Los Ángeles and New York City/NJ, this was my FAVORITE Omakase experience! I'm going to Asia later this year and could possibly change my mind, but I truly thought this was the best Omakase experience ever. Food - Wow. There were so many fish I ate that I never had nor tasted in that manner, but was extremely good! I couldn't believe for one of the dishes, I ate radish, but it was the best radish of my life. Better than my momma's kimchi. They make all the simple dishes really well and the unique dishes extraordinarily well! I don't take pictures of food, so I asked my friend to take pictures of EVERYTHING because it was all so memorable! Service - One of the waitress is a doppelgänger of Korea's top actress Son Ye Jin or IU. My friend and I were very humbled by her hospitality and graced by her exquisite presence. She always filled our water, refilled our ginger and made sure we had an amazing time! Chef - Last, but not least, The chef was AMAZING!! The chef meticulously explained every single piece and dish. He was succinct, yet knowledgeable. He was very welcoming, yet extremely focused on his art work. He also is a doppelgänger of Korea's top good looking actor. It felt like a celebrity was cooking for me. I will definitely come back one day! My trip of hiking in Banff was so worth it and finishing with my last meal at Nupo was PERFECT! read more

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One of the best dining experiences I have had anywhere in the world. Ashley behind the bar delivered an amazing Omakase experience for me and 3 colleagues. Drinks and food paired so perfectly that we did not want the evening to end. Some off menu craft cocktails, 7 day aged fish, turnips that that transcend vegetables, tomatoes that make you feel special, fish that melts in your mouth (literally), and a dessert that puts the perfect punctuation on the evening, make you feel like there isn't enough stars for this place. Just...go. NOW! read more

Nupo - Basque cheesecake. Dude...seriously. Eat it. Like, now. - Japanese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

This is a must go to if you are in Calgary! The sushi is some of the best sushi that I've ever had! The service was absolutely amazing! The ambiance was really nice... a little crowded. Every piece of food was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend! read more

The food was amazing but it was far eclipsed by the rudeness of the manager who ruined our experience within the first 5 minutes and doubled-down and tried to ruin in at least twice more. The poor waiter tried to compensate by being overly friendly and he was very sweet but he also didn't know any of the specials on the menu including that they even had a seasonal cocktail and misquoted the type of fish and market price of the tartare which turned out to be twice the price (which was fine but might have been nice to know that before we selected all our dishes and the rest of the order was in). There are SO many better options in Calgary than this with great food AND spotless service. read more

The food is good but very expensive. Very small portions. The service was alright as the place was super busy. Tables are very close to each other so you can hear people's conversations. read more

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Would not come back here for sure but would want to try the hidden restaurant behind this restaurant called eight. Me and my friends thought this place was so overpriced for mediocre food. We asked the waiter what he would recommend and what's his favourite dish and he told us the fish which didn't have a price next to it but MP (market price) it was $39!!! For bland white fish in some light ponzu. It was actually one of our least favourite dish. The miso cod at any other sushi restaurant had more flavour and for a third of the price. Kimchi pancake was gross. No crispyness whatsoever it was mushy pancake with barely kimchi flavour and the sauce did not go well with the pancake. A Korean seafood or vegetable pancake would have been better! Their unagi rice was a huge portion and must be shared amongst people because no one can could finish that on their own it's too much and no other flavours within to refresh palette. Cashew ramen I wouldn't have even called ramen. The noodles were clear glass noodles however the broth was decent and the toppings was good. This was one of the better dishes. Assorted sashimi had good fish but there was a tuna that definitely didn't taste fresh. My husband wanted salmon sashimi but disappointed to be told they don't have any salmon sashimi here. read more

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One of the most unique and scrumptious dining experiences! From the crafted mar-tea-nis to perfect sushi. The parsnip roll and Dungeness crab egg roll were nothing but spectacular!! Definitely try one of the mar-tea-nis with tea infused vermouth. It will blow your mind! If you only have one sushi, go for the aged and torched sablefish. Terrific flavors! This is a must place to try while you're in Calgary. You will not be disappointed! Not to mention the service is impeccable! read more

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My first trip to Calgary found me footing the bill for four at several of the finest dining spots in the city, sort of an extended family celebration. Cha-ching--sound of a cash register--I mean, really, what business has one of those these days? Nupo was a clear winner and stood a head above the others for several reasons. Finally, high end, high quality, fabulous sushi that dares to take a few chances here and there in taste and presentation and doesn't appear to march to the expectations of so many other like restaurants. So where are all the photos then? Sometimes ya just need to put the phone down and enjoy your company, though for a few courses I couldn't resist, like the sashimi platter which was understated but smacked you in the face like a big wet mop across the choppers. Take THAT, you wimpy vegetarian (me). And those fish "tacos" I didn't get to try but my family members swooned over. We had orders of blue fin tuna and sablefish that were simply spectacular, but not so different in the presentation arena maybe. Also, a second order of the salmon was requested, some of the most buttery, mouth watering I've had. A plate of four crab cakes was also a delight. For starters we settled on a locally sourced vegetable platter you're clearly not going to find at most sushi houses. Dressed in a special sauce, it was the perfect compliment and yet unusual to my mind. The drink menu is way fun, too, with sake poured at your table into a container that overflows into your drink cup. Not so much a mixed drink guy I settled on a fine Japanese beer but my family was all over the place on drinks that satisfied and which I cannot recall the names of. But oh, no. Here comes dessert and it's cheesecake. Sugar bomb, right? But what's this? A savory, tart flavor experience that was totally unexpected. There was something about that... it just fit everything nicely. Instead of loading you up with the predictable they stepped outside the comfort zone and took a chance. Applause. It's said New York City has some of the best sushi on the planet, and I've had my share there. Nupo would be a hit there, so some of the reviews here I don't get, but I do see that Yelp is primarily a tool for clobbering restaurants in this country. So be it. Next time I return here, reservations for four will be on the books before I step onto the plane in the U.S. Very highly recommended. Thank you for a dinner that is one to be remembered and cherished for a long time. read more

My wife and I have eaten sushi for over 35 years, mostly in Canada, but have also traveled to many countries and had it. After watching a Netflix series that featured as one of the competing Chefs, the owner of a string of restaurants here in Calgary, one of them being Nupo, we did a bit of research and found out that it offered an omakase sushi experience. We are new to the fine dining experience as it relates to Japanese cuisine, and decided to celebrate both our birthdays at Nupo, reserving a seat for the omakase experience. We were treated really well by the staff, and made to feel quite nice through the meal. We are still talking about it, as the experience of eating sushi prepared with the care and creativity of the Chef was amazing, there were 5 pre courses followed by 10 main ones, and we found the balance of flavours through the journey to be really solid, and the cheesecake at the finish was out of this world. The ambiance in the restaurant was nicely active, along with music the we really found to be awesome. Overall, we were completely impressed, and can't wait to try the other restaurants owned and run by this Calgary based Chef. read more

Had an awesome dinner date at Nupo with a girl friend. The restaurant is located in East Village at the @althotel I believe this is the first omakase restaurant in Calgary! . The staff and service was amazing. They had a full house on a Thursday evening, highly recommend getting a reservation. I love that their cocktails were named after Studio Ghibli movies! Definitely recommend the tempura green chickpea curry fritters read more

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The best "sushi" culinary experience in Calgary as of today. I say "sushi" because it venture a bit further than your classic sushi dinning, but with refinement and up most taste. The service was also top class, our waitress was very knowledgeable and attentive. Having spent some time in Japan as well, I can see that the chef is also offering some fish that you'd find only in the department stores of Tokyo, which are more adventurous to us caucasien, and I appreciate it! The bill is somewhat on the expensive side, but is to be expected for this level of cuisine. Fun to see Calgary having this kind of restaurant, finally! read more

Third time at Nupo - first time was outstanding, second time the food was delicious but had some issues which translated into a less that satisfactory customer experience. But third time was definitely a charm! So appreciate the attentiveness of Joshua, the senior manager who made sure that everything was exceptional. Our server Kyle was outstanding as well; engaging and attentitive throughout the entire evening. And the assortment of unique dishes - sablefish was absolutely delicious, the eggplant tostados so tasty, beautiful rolls and sashimi and the selection of sake probably the best in town. The thoughtfulness behind each dish with their complex flavours and the artistic presentation is simply amazing. Overall an outstanding experience and would definitely recommend it. So glad we returned, and thanks again to Joshua and his team. read more

I was having work done on my condo and took that as an excuse for a staycation at the Alt (East Village), and took the opportunity to fully imagine that I was on vacation with dinner at Nupo. I sat at the bar and the service was fun, respectful, professional, just fantastic. I had four things, two from the "plant" menu and two pieces of sushi. Everything was delicious but I was stunned by the sushi: it was macerated bluefin tuna done gunkan style and seasoned with this-and-that; it was spectacular, one of the best, perhaps THE best, pieces of sushi I've ever had. Now, I'm knocking one star off, because that piece of sushi was $14. The first piece was worth it. But I liked it so much I said "damn the torpedoes" and ordered another. It was about half the size of the first one, and still $14! I was gobsmacked. I left feeling reasonably satisfied with the price (it was around $75 with tip, and I only had tap water to drink), because this is a very talented kitchen, but that sushi- if it had been the same size as the first piece, then it would've been a full five-star experience. When I go to great sushiyas like Sora or Ari, they're amazingly consistent with portion sizes, so this was a bit of a shock. read more

I was SO impressed with this place. The location doesn't deserve this restaurant so go out of your way. Really awesome read more

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We tried many different dishes (sushi, fish and vegan menus) and loved all of them. Each one had amazing flavour and beautiful presentation. Cocktails were a bit underwhelming but the sake selection was great and made up for it. Service from Dana was great, very informative and friendly. Will definitely be going back! read more

I have such mixed feelings about Nupo. When you go to the website it touts a vegan plant-based menu with fish being a secondary item they carry. This is not reality. It is a sushi restaurant, period. And according to my husband, the fish was the best in Calgary. Great. I came here for my birthday. I'm vegan. Was so disappointed. Overall most of their flavours are lovely. The mushroom roll was really good, I'd probably ordered it for takeout again. But then I'd have to ordered a different meal from somewhere else, because NONE of their vegan dishes have protein. NONE! There was one chickpea fritter dish on the "plant" side of their menu, but we were informed it had dairy and eggs... wtf. For a Japanese-style restaurant there was no tofu, no edamame, NO F******* PROTEIN! This place is not for vegans, it's for people who eat fish who want a side of veggies. Also only a couple of their cocktails were vegan, most had egg whites. The bartender on that night though had an egg replacement and frother and made me a lovely cocktail. It's not on the menu though. Oh AND their only vegan dessert was SORBET! with the amount of years I have been vegan I am over any restaurant only having sorbet as a vegan option. I was especially enraged by the fact this was their only option at a restaurant saying they were vegan/plant-based. I would also like to mention I have been to Shokunin, their very meat-centric sister restaurant. I was given a more complete, satisfying and delicious vegan meal there than at Nupo. read more

I was there for a medical meeting. It was a wonderful experience. I didn't get a chance to speak to Darren, the chef. Every item was thoughtfully made presented and chosen. I have a shellfish allergy and Darren took great care. But food is incredible, uniquely arranged, and melt in your mouth, an artistry of flavour and masterful presentation. Each bite took me to different places and memories. It is an experience you don't want to miss. Comparing with Japan and other places in the world that we have to eaten, Nupo ranks in the top 3. Moreover, you have sweet, gentle, yet fun staff who took so much care. Thank you Darren and your amazing kitchen and front staff for a most memorable experience! I will be back many times more! read more

The sushi here was fantastic, not gonna lie. The decor is absolutely on point....however, we went for Omakase, this is a chef inspired and intimate affair among friends....but it is entirely likely you will leave hungry. Not unsatisfied....because the flavor is amazing but yoy may be hungry. read more

Extremely good sushi and out of this world cocktails in Calgary. You can see the chefs prepare fresh and tasty sushi but for me, the art of designing these cocktails using Japanese whisky, vodka and gin was what blew me away. Ashley behind the bar is an artist. She knows her craft and enjoys making amazing concoctions. I'll be back! read more

Very disappointing Small portions that are very average in flavour ..not a great waitress and the atmosphere as so so .. won't me spending any more dinners that Nopu.. Had high expectations and really wonder who wrote those reviews read more

I was hesitant to try this place because I have low expectations when it comes to the sushi grade in Calgary but I thought why not give it a try. We ordered a few pieces of nigiri (sea bream, Aji, and few others that I don't remember) and it was very tasty. Finally a restaurant in Calgary that serves good, quality sushi rice. I didn't quite taste the difference between the aged and regular sushi, although it might have to do with the waitress mixing up the fish that we order so we got confused. I like how the squid was cooked perfectly so it wasn't chewy and the batter is super light so it's not too greasy. The whole fish "taco" dish concept was neat, the ceviche was good but it wasn't anything special. All in all I enjoyed the nigiri the most and would come back just for that. $5 a piece is actually not bad compared to how much a lot of places in Calgary charges for a much lesser grade. Oh we had a bottle of the Italian wine and my friend ordered the castle in the sky? Drink and it was delicious. Good job on the cocktail read more

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Had dinner here last night and the food was disgusting. The agedashi tofu was not even tofu, it was some kind of custard ball dipped and fried. The ramen was not ramen.... it was potato starch noodles. The soup was not warm enough for the noodles. We sat at the bar and it had a stinky sweaty smell. I suspect the towel used to wipe the counter was not frequently washed. One of the worst places I've ever ate at. Expensive and disgusting. If they were not inside the hotel, they will be closing soon. read more

More like 3.5 Heard some good things about this restaurant and decided to check it out. While the food was fresh, and the atmosphere sleek, I was somewhat ambivalent about the overall experience. We ordered the omaske platter and it was very good but nothing that was really out of the world that was what we expected for the price point. The super special aged sushi that apparently is the only one that ages fish this way in North America for some reason was nothing extraordinary. The aged salmon was just ok and maybe not even as good as the regular salmon on the O'Malley platter. The highlight was the fish tacos which had a nice sweet marinade with guacamole in a rice puff seaweed shell. That is worth ordering again. The aged sablefish don was interesting and tasty with the smoke flavoured addition. If you are interested in "fancy" sushi from a uniqueness and presentation perspective this is your place. But if you want more of an authentic Japanese experience there are a couple other places in town that I would prefer to go to. Service was very pleasant and knowledgeable. Nothing bad about this place but nothing super special also. read more

Amazing food. Atmosphere like no other. The Hokkaido scallops were to die for. Darren Maclean is a genius.

Booked a reservation for the omakase taste experience and was refused when we showed up as they can only provide Omakase from the Omakase bar. Not sure where the system broke down there but they didn't even attempt to come up with any alternative solution to resolve the error until we raised a big stink. They did compromise in the end and offered to bring our own special Omakase eats to our normal table (turns out this is a huge compromise on their side as they weren't prepared for it and eating an omakase from a regular table impacts the customer experience)z But in the end, the owner drove over from shokunin to make it right and ensure we had a great night. The food was pretty good. Top notch eats and very fresh. read more

Heard so much hype about this place so couldn't wait to try it. Although the atmosphere is nice, the food was a bit of a disappointment. Great selection of drinks. For a high-end restaurant, you'd think they would provide something classier than your regular wooden chopsticks that you can grab from a food court. Ordered the kimchi pancake, sunchoke chips with hummus dip and tempura curry fritters to start. Followed by the fish taco, vegan ramen and unagi don as mains. Ended with the key lime and carrot cake desserts. The fish taco was the best dish, however, the description was boneless fish yet we found bones in it . Not terrible but not rushing back. read more

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This is the best dining experience I've had in Calgary in forever. The menu is short but everything looked appealing. The share dishes were incredible: curry fritters and tuna tacos especially. And the sushi/sashimi was absolutely top notch. The aged sablefish and king salmon were favorites. Recommend! read more