Zen8 Grill Teppanyaki restaurant Review

By far the worst customer service with awful food ever, this restaurant would be the last place on earth to have a meal.

Choose not to go in the first place!!!

Jordan was a fantastic server and made our experience so fun & memorable. I would definitely recommend Zen 8 to anyone because of her!

Great atmosphere with a great server. Thanks Linda!!!!

Amazing prices at this restaurant. Glad i came! Linda was a great server and very personable :)

Great food. The waitress Dilana went out of her way to keep my coffee full. Great way to start the day.

Great daily specials and drinks! Always have had good service here

Like the Sashimi salad a lot and have for lunch 3 plus times a week at the Center Bar which serves food from both Zen 8 and Melrose. 3 pieces of Salmon and Tuna each plus a few slices of avacado, not sure where in Calgary can beat this for a price.

Love coming here before and after hockey games! Always a fun time.

Went there after winning a huge amount - mini lotto. Told the server I had over a thousand spend between my friends and I. Drinks took over 15 mins to get. Then appies came ( delivered by other staff other than our server ). She was pre occupied by her friends and on her cell phone at the bar. Waited with an empty drink and no quality check over 30 minutes. As industry worker this was unacceptable. Did not stay for mains. Still tipped my 25% as an industry worker, but only on a $45 bill vs if I had better service for friends and I could be potential $500 bill or more. Lost bussines for the owners and would definitely be telling my friends to boycott. Would not recommend

I ordered sushi, but the rice didn't stick when I picked up the sushi and it fell apart. The next day, I had stomachache and it lasted for two days. I didn't have good experience with sushi night.

Great atmosphere, friendly staff and the food is good!

The food was terrible and over-priced. Spicy salmon had a thin slice of salmon on top and barely in the middle. The Unagi roll had no unagi, it was just rice and sauce.

The last time I was in, I had a server who I had recognized has been working at Zen8 for awhile (she was pregnant not too long ago). Her service was on point as she was very attentive. It was my first time that night where Zen8 had $1 nigiri on special and she had recommended it to us since we had never experienced the $1 nigiri special. We were skeptical at first but all the types of nigri we ordered was fresh and all came at a decent size. Well worth the price. Will be returning again and will be asking that server for her name so that the next time I write a review, she can receive credit for our positive experience (if she is in of course).

Amazing service food was slow but service was great definitely returning

Good happy hour, servers were nice and friendly, will he back!

Where to start? Food was tasty and place looks nice. Staff friendly when greeting us. Now the bad - sat at grill station, chef actually slipped w/the egg and got it all over me (seriously raw egg and every thing) had to ask staff to clean the egg from my chair and floor, no offer to pay for cleaning my dress.

Glass broke later on and we ended up being the ones to clean it up despite server knowing it broke and there was glass everywhere. They double charged on some booze items, we had to fight to remedy it and then after speaking to someone in charge (probably just supervisor as they didn't do much nor say sorry) they gave us 10% off the bill...still no offer to pay for my dry cleaning....

The food was tasty but everything was stupidly overpriced and portions small. Not sure if they think b/c it's part of the casino they can charge more for less but was not impressed. Night started off ok but quickly went downhill and staff just seemed to want to get people out of there, they weren't attentive, socializing amongst themselves and pretty much ignoring customers.

Nice ambiance, decent food at reasonable prices (especially the $5 menu late Friday and Saturday), the service is hit or miss but as an average over my handful of visits it's generally lacking.

Zen is always a good time! Very versatile location with free parking that you can use to springboard to other nearby events (Flames games, Stampede, Saddledome concerts, Cowboys, gambling at the casino, etc.) or hang out all night too.

Variety of Asian inspired menu items with daily food & drink specials so you can try something new every time. Good food, sake bombs (with a MASSIVE drum), teppanyaki shows, private booths, friendly staff... they got everything you need.

Located in the casino, it is a sushi and teppanyaki restaurant. There is plenty of daily and happy hour specials that can be a good place to take a break from the casino and the club. The restaurant has a upscale atmosphere and is vastly different than the casino and club. The ramen wasn't very good cause it clumped when it arrived and the sushi had alot of rice in it.

Went for an afternoon lunch - was the only customer there. Waited 5 minutes to even be acknowledged. Took over 30 minutes to get my food so my lunch break was used up really quickly waiting.. asked for the food to be packed up which took another 10 minutes. Would absolutely not recommend if you're looking fast service.. server was very kind, though.

Friendly staff and really fun atmosphere. Great place to come before or after hockey games / concerts (bonus free parking) but make sure to book a reservation. Ask jana for sake bombs!!

Love the daily food specials. My favourite is sushi Monday's! They have over 10 rolls for just $5. The quality is really good. Would definetly recommend!

Great atmosphere, and good food! Definitely a place I would recommend

This is an awesome place to eat. Everyone is very friendly. Cheers.

Amazing fun atmosphere with good food & happy hour! Definitely recommend

Always an amazing experience coming here. All of the staff are extremely kind, helpful, and knowledgeable. Their service is always above and beyond, remembering little details about you when you inevitably come back to dine again. The food is outstanding and always comes out fast and delicious. Order any of the teppanyaki s and I promise you won t be disappointed. The sous chef will cook it right in front of you and put on a show that your friends and family(or a date) will never forget.

Been coming here for dinner right before a hockey game. Friendly staff, great atmosphere. Get your happy hour drinks here before heading to the game!

Never had a bad experience here! Food is always good and you cant beat their happy hour FOOD prices!

The appetizers were amazing, but the main courses were not great.
Had a nice atmosphere.

Good quality sushi at great prices! Normally sushi is expensive and this place does have that kind of sushi. They also have the late night $5 menu with really good selection. Balance your meal with selections from both regular and discount menus. Great atmosphere and great staff! Highly recommend!

Fantastic place, great food and great staff.. 5 stars!

Great food, atmosphere and service. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone :)

I always come here with my husband and our friends before and after events. Sarah is the best!!!!

Been going here for years, it s somewhat of a hidden gem. It s a Japanese restaurant/bar inside Cowboys Casino with good daily food and drink specials, especially on Fri/Sat after 9pm with an amazing $5 menu! The $5 ramen is a must get and is really quite good!!

The staff are friendly and attractive. Great place to get the night started to have some drinks and food before heading out on the town. Also FREE underground parking! Great for the cold Calgary winters. Definitely check it out.

Came here for lunch with some girlfriends for the first time and we enjoyed the atmosphere and service. Some of my friends have certain food sensitivities/ restrictions and we really appreciated our server who was really nice and patient. She gave us recommendations, put in our modified order, and checked in with us to make sure it was what we wanted. Thanks Dalena! We felt taken care of and it was a pleasant experience for us.
Defs recommend Zen 8!

Waited one hour and ten min to get our food. Apparently it was mixed up with another order . No one came to check on us . No drinks . No utensils . Don't know how they can operate like this . There are way better places to go for sushi in the city .if you like waiting for your food with no acknowledgment of your presence, this it isi the place for you

Inside cowboys casino nice layout and friendly staff

Outstanding service and amazing sushi! I will definitely come back to this restaurant!!

I really enjoyed my time at this restaurant. The food was amazing and the staff was wonderful especially our server,Dalena. She was very attentive and kind. I plan on visiting later in the future.

Best place to relax and eat ! We love to bring our family and friends here !! Highly recommend to anyone !!

Great place to dine! The quality, taste and service there are exceptional. I would recommend this restaurant.

Visited this place April 28th and was looking to party it up with friends but the wait times for food and drink were slow because the waitress was more concerned chatting it up with her friends. We had to ask other waitresses to get us stuff and when we flagged the original waitress to place an order she seemed very displeased that I waved for her. Needless to say we left to go party elsewhere.

Jordan is the bestest server ever we love her & the Gyoza is sooooo good

It's delicious. The Miso Soup is fantastic and always makes me feel good. Great Value too. I especially love the teriyaki chicken on rice. I go here at least once a week. Can't get enough!

Most amazing restaurant! We went for a bachelorette party and booked a private sushi making class! We had such a great experience and all the staff went above and beyond to make it an enjoyable and personalized experience. The chef was incredible and was joking and having so much fun with us and in the end we took home the extra sushi, bamboo mats, prizes and the instruction booklet which is super helpful! I would highly recommend this class and the restaurant to anyone. We all loved it and will definitely be going back!

Great place at any hour. I recommend the tropic bomb. Look at Darren he is so happy on his birthday ;

Good sushi, but having to walk through the casino outside ruins the vibe.

Wow worst night ever. N we been here often!! Wow !!

Great place to enjoy a night out with friends. Lively atmosphere, good food and drinks. Our server, linda, was very accommodating and always has great suggestions about the menu and drinks.

I always come here before hockey games to pre drink with my friends. Always a good time here!

Amazing food, amazing service. Love the atmosphere. If you want to make some noise order the sake bomb... :)

The curry soup bowl was delicious. Woud recommend to family and friends.

Great food, establishment, staff, and fond memories!! Highly recommend to anyone who's down for a good night of fun

Did a sushi making class and it was fantastic. Really fun atmosphere. Will definitely return for more tasty food. Thanks Aki!

Highly recommend this restaurant. Great atmosphere, friendly servers and tasty food. The miso soup, rock n' roll and the midori roll were some of my favorite dishes. Try the "Hello Kitty" hand crafted cocktail, it's dangerously delicious. If you want to make some noise, order a sake bomb...

had my birthday there last week in the kabuki lounge. They did a dinner package affordable for all my guest and we karaoke after our meal. It was a really great time.

Great place to go after a flames game or on the weekend for their 5$ special menu. Our server Linda was very knowledgeable and really made sure we had an enjoyable experience!

Delicious sushi here. I was actually impressed after mistakenly coming here on a Tuesday night just to find out they offered nigri $1 dollar specials for salmon, albacore tuna, red tuna and scallop.The rolls here seemed creative but overdone with sauce. The sushi rice here however was not rock hard like other places. Bill for sushi came out to $25 after ordering 25 pieces. I'd recommend coming here for a cheap date night.

Service to get our food was a little slow, but we weren't in a rush. Rolls were not, a little too ricey for our taste but the fish was definitely fresh. Good location inside casino. Would return.

Great atmosphere, great food but even better experience. As one of the previous reviews said below Yeaaaaa Zen8 Yeaaaaa

Service is excellent especially Jana. 1$ sushi special was excellent.

Wonton soup was terrible. Try Japanese Village instead.

This is one of our usual sushi spots in Calgary. We have tried quite a few places, and Zen 8 Grill is definitely in the top 2. The service could be slow at times, but the staff and the food make up for it. The waitresses/waiters are always nice and friendly. The food is quite tasty and dare I say even addictive. Best of all, they have a Friday and Saturday night promotion in which they offer sushi platters 50% off! Or at least, this used to be the case.

We were there last night, and even though the old promotion (with a minimum purchase of one drink, you can get a select number of meals for $5) was still available, the meals had gotten smaller. Each platter used to have 8 pieces in it previously and now they have shrunk to 6 pieces per platter. I completely understand and relate to the fact that Alberta economy is not at its best right now, but to raise the prices by 33% is a bit too much. And I think it unlikely that these prices will go back to normal with our economy improving in the future.

Aside from the prices, last night for the very first time in all of our visits, four of our sushi rolls completely fell apart at the touch of the chopsticks. This tells me that not only has the prices increased, but the quality seem to have declined quite a bit. And to be honest, I could completely sense the difference in overall taste of the sushi rolls.

I have always enjoyed my time at Zen 8 Grill and I feel like I was a bit harsh in my review, but unfortunately it is the truth. Even though things have certainly changed, I can see myself going back to Zen 8 Grill maybe once every couple of months to reminiscence the good old days. At the same time, if things don't change, I will probably start looking for another sushi hangout.

Had the JFC (Japanese fried chicken) and scattered sashimi bowl from there and it was soo good! Definitely recommend these two items if anyone goes. Atmosphere and servers were nice too.

Not exaggerating when I say worst experience ever. First they contiplated if they could even seat us. Then we waited an hour to order a water. The only reason someone came to us was because I went to to the front clerk to complain. Only to get the excuse that someone called in sick. Regardless as the consumer, I could give a fu$k and it's the responsibility of the restaurant to give a pleasant experience. This was definitely not the case. I will say the food itself would be 5 Stars but overall experience 1

Friendly staff, however, we were served after many other people that were sat after us (forgotten about). No one followed up after I asked where our meals were. Then, the cook confirmed our order however, the steaks were all well done. Our orders were for rare & med rare. We saw them being cooked in front of us.. brought to the grill from the other, already cooked to a medium. The meal was expensive for the small portion and had veggies and steak only, no starch offered. Our server served us only one drink and then we did not see her till we stood up to leave.
All around very disappointing.

Food and drinks were decent. Good enough we would have gladly had more, eating and drinking our night away - if only the server cared as much about her tables as she did chatting with her coworkers and what we could only assume were her friends. Food, not worth the awful service.

Great food, atmosphere & service, we hang out here weekly for our #Bitcoin Investments.ca VIP private club night and will be coming back often because we are treated so good! Best place for large business groups, japanese grill is available.

Perhaps the best sushi restaurant in Calgary. Chef Takao is a master chef, highly trained in his native Kyoto, artfully blending quality, presentation, tradition and flavour in every dish.

Very accommodating with large parties on busy nights. Specials are always great! Especially their dollar sushi days. Our server Linda was really great!

Love coming to this place! Great 5$ menu on the weekend and a fun atmosphere!

I LOVE Zen 8. I can't stop coming here at some point in the night to get takoyaki and beef tataki while my friends are in the club, haha!! Seriously. My favorite dishes. The Beef Tataki is literally perfection. Servers are always so nice! Area is clean and chic. Lots of liquor options. Great appetizer menu.

Gyoza was cold and small and roll was very small not worth the price

Always a great experience. Love the food, service and staff!! Highly recommended for good eats, friendly service and atmosphere.