Hao Sushi

Looks like Hao has been come quite popular and is now quite busy and they can’t maintain the quality… very unfortunate.

Good food although nothing special, they cut you off ice cream after 2 scoops. So I prefer somewhere with more choices and no limits.

Great sushi!!! A small restaurant but excellent quality and worth the trip! Much better than AYE sushi!!!

Love the sushi. We call for take-​out often and the sushi tastes great.

They have an extensive menu. However the foods are way too salty and they put a lot of MSG. I got very thirsty even after I finished the dinner for 20 hours. The sashimi is not fresh as well. Not very good quality overall.

I really like this place. I usually order ahead and then pick up, my order is always ready and always accurate. When I’ve eaten in, service was quick, polite and helpful. Prices are reasonable.

This is not the typical AYCE sushi restaurant. It is more of a boutique sushi restaurant, very close to SAWA sushi in Orleans. IPad ordering is also very cool. Staff is friendly and responsive and seating is very comfortable especially the booths. I like it a lot and it’s great if you are looking for a more intimate experience. However the quality of Asian items aside from the sushi and Maki rolls, isn’t quite there. General Tao or other chicken entrees are VERY different from any other place. Not very tasty and somewhat too watery.
It’s good to have an alternative to the «franchising» places though…

one of the worst sushi places I’ve been there. Food is greasy and tasteless. The sushi is all rice. The sashimi pieces are microscopic. Very poor value for the money!
Did not enjoy and left hungry as we couldn’t eat some of the food. It’s pretty bad sushi.

For an all you can eat sushi place, their sushi is fresh and tastes good! The service is also fast and they’re friendly.

I went there with my friends. It took us an hour to get there.(we departed from downtown). We had lunch. After I was back home, I threw out until my stomach got empty. :(((

Not bad for AYCE. iPad ordering is really great, and super easy to use. Fish was fresh, only roll that I had a problem with was the eel cucumber. Eel was extremely chewy, I had to spit it out.
There is enough variety here that you’ll find something you like.
Staff are very nice and attentive. Price is good for AYCE. If you are in the area and looking for AYCE sushi this is the place to go.

4 star because the sashimi is über fresh, other things are alright. It’s not the best, especially the rolls are super laced with mayo and various mystery dressing that taste like mystery. But it’s so close by, I always go when I am in a sashimi craving, the owner is über nice. The hot food are okay too.
I don’t really care about décor, but don’t expect anything.

This was one of the best experience I had went in a sushi buffet foe the time and I had a blast no cut but the food completed it and omg the menu tablet just awesome o would say the same thing without alcohol in my system that’s for sure ill be back like arnold would say

Well, it looks like I am going against the grain here with my review since, I have to say, I was quite disappointed with my experience.
Five of us ate here last night after reading the positive reviews on Unilocal and that it was noted as being better than Sushi 168 (which, while not perfect, isn’t that bad for what it is). So, we decide to try it out.
Location:
Probably easy to find but to make it easier, it is in a strip mall across the street from where the Target will be (where Zellers used to be). Essentially the mall north west of Meadowlands and Merivale.
Style/​Ambience:
The best way to describe this restaurant is dated, with one exception which I’ll get to. I think it could use a coat of paint and some new tables/​chairs. It it nowhere near as nice looking as nearby Sushi 168 (which granted is newer).
Ordering by Tech:
What was a surprise was they have iPads which you can use for ordering. We all thought that was pretty cool but when you have 5 people, it isn’t the most efficient at ordering as there is only one iPad. I basically held it up for all to see and we scrolled through the items and added as we went.
There are downsides to this as we ended up ordering more than we wanted and had to stuff ourselves. Yes, this can happen the ‘old fashion way’ with paper and pen but it is easier to go overboard on the iPad.
While it is probably meant as a ‘plus’ by seeing photos of all the items, which admittedly look pretty good, we couldn’t help but feel like we had a fast one pulled on us as I don’t think anything came that looked like the photos.
Food:
So, as you already have guessed we weren’t impressed with the food. Yes, it doesn’t look like it does in the menu (sorry I should have taken some shots but the missus hates when people take pictures of food!), but it’s much more than that.
The easiest way to explain it might be thinking about the type of sushi you get at Loblaw’s or probably any grocery store. It tastes a little bland and the rice is… cold and compact/​gummy?. The sushi here tastes pretty much the same. In none of the rolls we tried was the rice tasting fresh or fluffy.
The toppings themselves weren’t of the best quality either and there was often an off taste to what we ate. Take for example a ‘spicy’ roll which is topped with what can only be described as cheap spicy mayo.
In general we probably ordered 10 different sushi rolls and none were well received.
These were the only exceptions:
— the seaweed salad was nice
— the sashimi tasted good (though the pieces were unbelievably small, some smaller than the nail of my pinky finger).
— the flavoured ice cream desserts seemed to be a hit.
Service:
Service was so-​so. We found they were very slow to remove dishes but they were good with keeping the tea stocked.
Price:
The dinner buffet I think was about $ 24 p/​person with tax.
Overall:
So, the main issue we had was of course the food. It just wasn’t good overall and none of us would want to go back. I may rate them a bit higher than Sushi Khan or Thousand Islands Sushi (both of which I would never go back to either) but it isn’t as good as Sushi 168 or Fuji Sushi in Gloucester. (And I’m not saying these are ‘amazing places’ either, just good for what Ottawa has to offer).
Now, maybe we just had an off night but it doesn’t seem like it.
If anything, eating sushi here just makes me want to treat myself and go to a real Japanese restaurant. Sure, they aren’t cheap but they are a treat to the taste buds.

One of my fav sushi places in Ottawa even if its not as fancy looking. The food here just tastes much better than other sushi buffets situated nearby on Merivale. Definitely recommend. Service here is great too!

Amongst the best in Ottawa. You would be a fool to eat across the street at 168.
It doesnt look as fancy… the décor is classic, and homely. The service was by far the best we have ever received at any of the other sushi buffets, and we’ve tried them all.
Be sure to try the Dragon veggie roll.

We had all you can eat here for the first time. Very impressed with the quality of food and the variety! I absolutely love the takoyaki (squid balls). Would definitely come back in the future.

I’ve now ordered take-​out from Hao twice. We were previously fond of Sakura (which was in the same space before closing), and Hao is actually a better replacement. Their selection is better as is their price. It’s still not the best sushi in the world (or even at the level of some Toronto restaurants), but by Ottawa standards, it’s pretty good.
As with other Ottawa sushi places, the service is pretty slow. Add 10 – 15 minutes minimum to whatever time they quote you on the phone! Friendly servers, though!

This review is based on a takeout order which was ordered on Saturday evening. Sushi was ready for pickup within 20 minutes after ordering over the telephone; ordering was quick and painless.
Ordered HOAS TRAY A which included 42 pieces of yummi-​ness!
12 PCS Sushi:
–salmon, shrimp, crab, & red snapper
6 PCS ROLLS of each:
–california, spicy salmon, spicy white tuna, shrimp tempura, & grilled salmon
Rolls were fresh, rice was room temperature. It was not «melt in your mouth» sushi, but it was better than grocery store sushi.
They did not put the spicy sauce on the spicy salmon rolls, which was a dissapointment, because I love that sauce! It is not the same without it.
For 20.00, I thought the tray was well worth it. Probably would skip the AYCE and just do takeout. Atleast that way you will recieve all of your food upon order! :)

Hi,
I have eaten at a lot of AYCE sushi places in Ottawa but this place sounded good. The food was amazing, the fish was fresh, and had great presentation. Sadly the service wasn’t very good, it took a long time to get anything, some things never showed up and we were hurried out as there was a large group waiting. I really enjoyed the food and will try it again in a few weeks, hopefully things will be better.