El’s Japanese Fusion

After reading Unilocal reviews on this place, we decided to try it. It was very good. Exceptionally fresh sashimi. The Rainbow roll was fantastic wrapped with very fresh salmon, scallop and snapper which is a unique way to prepare it. We will definitely come back. The downside; not licensed. I love a beer with my sushi.

Finally had the chance to come here as I heard so many good things about this place and it didn’t disappoint. Probably my favorite sushi place in Calgary. Came here with a group of 4 and instead of going through their big menu, we simply ordered the Love Dish which included 4 Miso Soups, various sashimi, and 6 special rolls ($ 100) which was enough for us.
We loved everything we ate. Sashimi was soft and not too cold. Loved the scallop sashimi. Sushi had just the right amount of rice and sauce. The rice was prepared well as it was still soft. The sauce that they used on the W-​Spicy Roll was flavorful and spicy. The Rock & Roll, which had eel in it, was my favorite out of the 6 rolls; the Crunch Dynamite was my least favorite only because I’m not a fan of warm sushi although it still tasted good. Even the Miso Soup was more flavorful and less salty than other sushi places I’ve been to.
A bit on the pricier side, but definitely worth it if you’re in Calgary. Can’t compare the price vs quality to Vancouver though.

Great spot! Delicious and fresh rolls etc. And they are so nice!
We usually do takeout — it’s always so fast.

We ordered Hot night Maki and two other Maki rolls along with some Sashimi. The rolls were well made and tasty. However, the portions were really small and the sashimi was not too interesting. Not to mention, everything was extremely over-​priced compared to what I’m used to in Vancouver.

The food is fresh and great quality, the selection of rolls is awesome, and the prices are average. A great local spot.

The four star rating I saw when I looked this place up allowed me to feel incorrectly reassured that the sushi here would be at least decent. It was not. There was way to much rice in the rolls and the flavor profiles were as dynamic as the mountains of Saskatchewan. Save your self a bad Sushi experience and go somewhere else.

The husband and I went to El’s Japanese Fusion for early dinner last Wednesday, we were the only ones in the restaurant but I account that to the time of day as our sushi did not disappoint. The ingredients were fresh and the rice was flavorful as well. We had the Roll Combo (tempura in sushi is a favorite of mine) and an order of gyoza. Both were very well made, well priced, and met our expectations. It wasn’t «off the wall amazing best sushi I’ve ever had» sushi, but the quality of food combined with pleasant décor and friendly service makes this a place I will definitely be returning to. Rather than making your way to the Globefish right across the street, I would encourage anyone to give El’s a try instead.

Excellent sushi. Much better than globe fish across the street. They need to do a better job of marketing themselves.

Nice little sushi place in the heart of Marda Loop. If you blink you’ll definitely miss this place, but it’s easy to find being only two spaces away from Fergus & Bix. Will have to try their special rolls and update my review.
California Roll…3.5 stars. Small but tightly rolled sushi and evenly sliced. It’s not spectacular but put together as well as expected (and for the price).
Spicy Tuna Roll…3.5 stars. Small, tightly rolled sushi and evenly sliced. Given the size, there’s a nice portion of fresh tuna and a dash of hot sauce to give it a lttle kick.
Tempura Soft Shell Crab…3 stars. Deep-​fried panko crusted soft shell crab. Perfectly fried to a nice golden brown. Unfortunately, when you cut through the middle of the crab there’s just too much juice. Some of you may like this but I didn’t care for it… I would’ve preferred the crab to be chopped in quarters (and reconstructed after frying for those of you who care for presentation).

Luckily Globefish across the street was closed because I got to try El’s.
Being a bit chilly outside, spicy food and soup was a must. I ordered the spicy agedashi tofu, crispy hot tuna rolls and tempura udon.
The tofu was crispy and they definitely didn’t skimp on the spicy sauce (same applies to the tuna rolls). The udon broth was flavoured a bit different than I used to, but I liked it (salty with more of a vegetable base) and the tempura that accompanied the udon was great. You got full sized prawns and veggies, battered and fried to perfection.
Parking is a bit hard (it’s right on 33^rd Ave so you have to park in residential) and space is a bit limited, but they do offer free wifi (always a plus!)

Solid everything from El’s. Always pleasant service and consistently good sushi. Their spicy tofu is quite nice and spicy also. This place has kept me loyal and kept me from even trying Globefish across the street. Sushi sashimi and rolls all get full marks from me.

Great sushi, very fresh.
Family owned.
I really enjoyed the torched toro (fatty tuna) sushi and w-​spicy roll (tuna, salmon and cucumber roll topped off with their delicious spicy tuna.
I will definitely be going back soon.

Loved the beef tataki, tempura, and chicken karaage. Its a small place that looks to be family run.

Awesome rolls, we will definitely come again. I’m not that into rolls, but the food here is unique and delicious.

Love this place. Small, so it fills up fast but this place is a gem in Marda Loop. Mom & Pop shop, so yes service is maybe a bit slower if it is busy because there is only one of her. Also things are ACTUALLY made fresh. Tempura shrimp in the dynamite rolls are still warm because they were done seconds before not premade as in some places.
Prices seem high but rolls are HUGE and the owner/​server is very helpful and accurate as to what amounts you should order. We spend $ 20 each for dinner there and are stuffed. Lovely plating as well, not just hunks of fish on a plate thrown in front of you.
I have tried the other sushi places and they’re not even close to the quality that El’s has. Go here. Now.

I had a terrific meal at El’s last night.
We shared the assorted tempura — perfectly hot and crispy to the last bite. Then I had the new spicy tuna crunch roll and I’d say it’s the spiciest spicy tuna I’ve ever had! In a good way, I love spicy. There was no need for wasabi ;)
My friend shared her assortment of sashimi on rice (the dish had a tough name to say and remember, sorry, but you’ll know it when you see it) — it comes with a bbq-​like chili sauce. It was very fresh and tasty and I’m definitely getting that next time! Or one of the rolls with kiwi, they sound pretty cool.

The sever treated us like crap when I told him that my boyfriend and I are interested in doing the all you can eat. He kept asking what we wanted and seemed annoyed when I had questions on the roll quantity. He gave me a menu and told me to look at it. I finally had enough and told him that I didn’t know what he wanted me to do since this is our first time there and we needed the all you can eat process explained to us. He took off and came back with a detailed menu on all you can eat and became nicer to us the whole night.
What I like about this place is that the menu for all you can eat is all the best items they had. Unlike others all you can eat sushi places they serve you small quantities and meager tasting items. At Els Japanese Fusion whatever you order which ever menu they serve it to you on a full on dish plate with creative accents not a small saucer with one piece of roll. The items are a good size and quantity. I was surprised how large the sashimi slices were.
There items are really good. Its ironic how Globe fish is right across the street. I would go to Els again for sure. Come early because they only have 4 person tables and a sushi bar for seating. This place is not good for bigger groups than 4 because you will not have room to seat.

Oh El’s, how I’ve missed you!
There are some places in town that you go to — not for the service, not for the ambience, and certainly not for the prices. You go there in spite of everything because the food is consistently SO good. El’s is definitely one of those places.
When you’ve actually made it to El’s, get their makis. Makis, makis, makis. It’s a little bit on the greasier side, true (mostly fried/​tempura-​based); but trust me when I say that these makis are filling and absolutely delicious. My favorite is the Unagi Cheese. El’s prides itself as a «fusion» place, so you’ll have a lot of creative items on the menu to choose from. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised.
The best time to go is between noon-​5. You’ll have to call beforehand, though, to make sure they’re open (skip the reservations, it probably won’t be kept). I’ve seated 8 – 10 people at El’s before (so it’s not impossible), but it was for lunch, and as you can imagine, we took up half the space. The good thing is since we were the only customers at that time, we didn’t have to wait, and we had great service to boot. It’s all about the timing, see.
(They also have meal cards! I lost mine, but I imagine I would’ve had two free meals already had I not lost it.)
There was actually a time when my friends and I would handpick the people that we recommended El’s to (we had to show them the place personally, and we fondly referred to it as «Secret Sushi»). We did it because we didn’t want it to get too well-​known or too busy. A little selfish of us, I know. Anyway, I’ve since brought a Vancouverite foodie, a Japanese national, and a former not-​sushi-​fan to this place (among others). You’d be happy to know that all of them love the food (and vow to come back).
I should really get commission for every person that I refer to this place. Seriously.

So — finally checked this place out — each time I’ve attempted to eat here it’s closed.
Sashimi — tuna, salmon and toro is just so fresh — delicious. Great quality stuff.
Dynamite roll — tasty — not too large, good amount of filling. The tempura was just made for us. Scallop maki was okay, but a bit plain. The tuna and avocado maki roll was delicious — perfect balance of flavours — it barely needed soy sauce. Next time I think I’ll try their larger specialty rolls
The superstar roll is our new favourite. Generous amount of spicy scallop on the top. We also ordered the deluxe dynamite roll. I didn’t really like how the rolls were deep-​fried — thought it was a bit heavy. Next time I’ll try the house roll and alaska roll.
I think the fish is fresher at El’s than Towa’s. But Towa does an awesome black and white roll and dynamite roll.

I really REALLY wanted to like you El =(
Food ok… service needs improvement.
1) Service! — poor waiter dude… he was all alone and was super frantic — y’know you can be frantic on the inside, but if you’re dealing with customers and being around customers, you should be cool as a cucumber on the outside! Otherwise, it affects people’s dining experience. PLEASE you need to hire at least one more staff!!! Long wait for food… but that’s cuz (of staff again) but also that all the rolls and sushi you order come out on ONE plate… so basically sushi chef only handles one order at a time and only serves one table at a time. If they served some food to each table then all tables would be eating, instead of only one table and the rest waiting for their order.
2) Food, water, green tea — So… had water first… and it tasted like plastic… ewww… so we ordered green tea — which came at the end of our meal… but yes we gave the waiter some slack b/​c he was all alone… again poor waiter dude! I feel for you. Started w/​Agedashi tofu, interesting different presentation and it tasted ok. Sushi Rolls were not bad either, we also got the toro sashimi plater — 7 pieces $ 15. Some thought it was ok… I thought it was not that great — could tell it was frozen… but anyways. After dinner, 2 of us had stomach aches…
and my stomach is still gurgly…
Overall, I thought it was pricey for the whole experience. I may come back and give them a 2^nd chance. Next time, i would order salmon sashimi (that looked good on another table) and again more rolls!