There are three Sushi Trains in Winnipeg; this review is for the Sushi Train at the Forks. All three restaurants are similar, with their individual quirks. (For example, the service at the Pembina Sushi Train has historically been a bit frazzled and disorganized, but as we haven’t been there for a long time I can’t comment on what it’s like now.)
Winnipeg is about as far as you can get from the ocean in Canada, so it may be surprising that there are a number of sushi places here. They run the gamut from fantastic to not worth your time or money.
Sushi Train is not fantastic sushi. It’s not even great sushi. It is, however, satisfying and reasonably priced sushi, and is good for filling your sushi needs when you get that sushi craving. If you have a friend who has never tried sushi, this would be a good place to get them started, especially since they have a nice selection of non-sushi menu items as well.
Located in the Forks Market (on the side closest to the CN rail tracks), the restaurant is well-lit and has a nice, informal atmosphere. One downside is that it does not have a restroom inside; you’ll have to run to the other end of the Forks Market to use the public washrooms there. There is seating at both high tables (with barstools), or low booths, or at the bar.
Almost everything on the menu is ala carte, with full inclusive meals only being served for lunch. Good starters would be the miso soup, edamame, or sunomomu salad, the latter of which comes with large quantities of noodles, cucumbers and seafood.
I’m a little embarrassed to say that we’re almost regulars here, although that gives us the luxury of having tried almost everything on the menu. My husband is fond of the ma po tofu, a dish of breaded, deep-fried tofu blocks covered with ground beef and hot sauce. (This item has been on their “special board” for over a year. I’m wondering if they’re just waiting to get their menus reprinted before finally adding it to the menu permanently.) The tempura is also a good dish, especially if your party includes sushi virgins. I would stick with the vegetable tempura basket, as the assorted only contains a token shrimp or two for an extra $2; it doesn’t seem worth it.
As far as the sushi goes, it is almost always perfect. Occasionally the sushi chef on duty gets carried away with the wasabi; this seems to happen most often on the nigiri sushi and in the simple rolls such as the tuna and salmon rolls. If you’re sensitive to wasabi, I would recommend asking for no wasabi on your sushi, or ask them to go light on it. All of the rolls are maki sushi, either regular or inside-out; temakisushi (hand rolls, also known as cones) are available on request.
Sushi Train does not have a lot in the way of custom rolls, although their beach roll (crab, tempura and hot sauce) is a personal favorite. The deep burn of the hot sauce is a lot different from the bright, cool heat of wasabi, so I like to follow the beach roll with anything containing wasabi for the contrast. The chopped surf clam roll is very tasty, as are the California roll and the teriyaki chicken roll. I’ll occasionally order the fatty salmon or fatty tuna nigiri sushi as well, since the pieces of fish in these dishes tend to be thick and generous.
Service is generally attentive and responsive. Be prepared to wait when the restaurant is very busy, however; their service doesn’t seem to scale well when they have many customers to attend to.
There is nothing here particularly earth-shatteringly good, but I can’t recall a single menu item which I would not order again. It’s a great place to meet after work, and a good place to get your sushi feed bag on.
What’s that? Oh yes, the titular train. If you sit at the bar, there is an O-gauge train running all the way around where the sushi chefs are working. The train has several flatbed cars, on which the chefs place various kinds of sushi. If the restaurant is busy, look sharp! The best stuff will get snatched off the train as soon as it goes by. (If there’s something you’re looking for and it’s never on the train, you can ask the chef to make it for you when she gets a minute.) A guide to the prices hangs over the bar: beige plates are $1.75, black plates are $2.75, and so on. You keep your dishes stacked up next to you while you eat, and when you’re done the server will total up what you’ve consumed. (No fair slipping your teal plate ($4.75) into your neighbor’s stack!)
If you’re looking for the best sushi Winnipeg has to offer, this is not the place to go. If, however, you just feel a craving for marinated river eel rolls, be sure to stop by.
*Actually, the subtitle should have been “Sushi just like Mom used to make, had my Mom ever made sushi in her life,” but that seemed a bit too long.
**edit: I’m a bit surprised at the negative comments that this restaurant has been getting. As I said above, this isn’t awesome sushi; this is sushi for the “Did you want sushi?” “Sure.” “Where do you want to go?” “I dunno. I don’t have much cash on me.” “Um, how about Sushi Train?” “Sure, that works.” conversation.
In comparing this restaurant to other sushi restaurants in Winnipeg – yeah, Sushi Train is going to fall short. But I wonder at the commenters who said that the service was rude, or the sushi tasted terrible – did you complain? We’ve had problems a few times at Sushi Train, and it was always corrected after bringing it to the attention of management. The tempura was cold once (yuck) – it was quickly replaced. Another time there was so much wasabi on my nigiri sushi I couldn’t even taste the fish. I explained that while I liked wasabi, this was a bit too much of a good thing! It turns out they were training a new sushi chef, and I received new sushi with an apology.
Anyway, I stand by my original assessment that if you’re looking for great sushi, this is not the place for you. But if you’ve got $5 and a craving for fatty tuna, this is a nice, quick place to scratch your itch. :)
13 Comments
December 20, 2007 at 2:03 am
I thought their service was horrible! This one waitress was rude both times I went there. There is another waitress, however, but she is much more enthusiastic about serving.
February 5, 2008 at 10:55 am
This is some of the worst sushi I’ve ever had and the tempura was definitely the worst I’ve ever had. This is not a place to take sushi novices when you’re trying to convince them that sushi is actually good. The fish in the sushi is flavourless. The tempura vegetables are mushy and the batter is really oily.
This is a relatively cheap sushi restaurant and I can see why. I still wouldn’t recommend it, even at that price.
March 22, 2008 at 11:24 pm
The sushi at this place is really bad. The rice used there is long grain, not sticky, lacked moisture, and basically fell apart. I’ve been to Wasabi Sushi Bistro, Mooshiro, Asahi, Sushi Train, Hanabi, Sushi 101, and none of those can top the sushi that is available at the Superstore on Sargeant.
I’m damn serious about this too. The sushi at Superstore is just plain yummier. The cut of salmon on the nigiri is bigger and more fresh. The sushi rice is godly. The maki they make is damn good also except for the tempura ones which is kinda wonky. I’ve heard that Edohei is the best in Winnipeg so I gotta try that one out before I can declare Superstore Sushi as #1 in Winnipeg :)
April 19, 2008 at 1:34 am
Just like what the saying goes, ” you get what you paid for.” Sushi Train is reasonably priced, so if you’re hungry and craving for Sushi, you can always fill yourself up and not worry about paying “an arm and a leg” for it. Quality is not the same though. In the last yr or so, I have noticed that the workmanship, presentation and quantity are going downhill, as evidenced by the previous comments on this page. It used to be that Sushi Train is a cozy neighborhood affordable Sushi place with some quality…not anymore.
I have been to every one of the Sushi places in Winnipeg. If price is not an option, I still think Wasabi is the place to go. You want to go fancier, then Shogun on Kenaston is great. Reasonably-priced, meticulous and quality, I recommend MOMO on Pembina Hwy/Ft. Richmond.
I guess you’ll never know the difference if you haven’t visited other Sushi places to compare Sushi Train to.
July 6, 2008 at 7:27 pm
You should get out and try the sushi at UMI Sushi in the Kenaston mall (right beside PayLess on the Walmart side) The service is excellent, the sushi is quality–nice tight rolls.
Excellent.
Now MY question is where is the best place to try a variety of sushi? A buffet would be good–but I read that Miso charges you for uneaten. I stick to my usual rolls–so I would like to try somewhere that lets me try all sorts.
I eagerly await your responses!
October 30, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I’ve never seen a “buffet” of sushi (although wouldn’t that be nice), probably because of freshness and sanitation issues.
Miso and Mooshiro are the two “all-you-can-eat” sushi places I’ve both tried several times in Winnipeg. They charge you $1 per piece that’s not eaten, although I find that if you order slowly and only the amount you would normally eat, it’s not hard at all to leave with empty plates. It really works well with a bunch of people if you are looking to experiment with new rolls, so that everyone can pick one or two off of each roll. Even if a certain roll is not very popular, it’s unlikely that no one of the group would enjoy it.
The thing I don’t like about all-you-can-eat places is that I find the quality in the sushi plummets. Because you’re paying a flat rate, they try to fill you up sooner so you order less. I’ve been to both places several times, and I find that Mooshiro is the worst for that. I’ve had too many rolls to count that have been 95% rice with an itty bitty piece of cucumber and tuna in the middle. It’s really unfortunate.
I on the other hand DO enjoy sushi train at the forks for some cheap to-go sushi if I’m at home watching a movie alone, etc. I’ve learnt what I like from them, and what I don’t, so I’m usually never disappointed. I just know what to expect. I find the rice DID used to be too dry and would fall apart, but in recent visits I have not had this problem.
I went to Edohei once, and even though it was nearly empty inside, they claimed to be bogged down with take-out orders. For just two people, it took us over an hour to be served, and unfortunately I was not impressed with the sushi. I’ll stick to Sushi Bistro on Osborne anyday. (I find that the one on Broadway charges more for smaller quantities–plus the service on Osborne is always fantastic.) I’ve heard good things about Bluefish, in the Exchange, but have not gone there yet.
It’s horrible that I forget the name, but twice I’ve gone to a sushi place on Corydon and it has been fantastic. I don’t think it was “Kenko”.. the restaurant was located in the corner of a little strip mall, and there was a coffee shop (Second Cup I believe) that was attached. It was great–my boyfriend and I ordered an assortment that was only $40 and we got a HUGE platter or sushi that we, even when very hunger, couldn’t finish. It may take a little research or a drive to find, but it was fantastic and is worth looking for. It was across from a restaurant with an outside patio (which are everywhere in that area) that MAY have been bar Italia. Not too sure. Happy hunting!
November 7, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Guys! You need to try Yuki Sushi, in the McLaren Hotel on Main St. YES, I know… the McLaren. The food is fantastic, and we always get great service. They really aren’t much more than Sushi Train (.50 per roll difference, maybe, on avg.), and their attention to detail is phenomenal. Better selection and quality than Sushi Train. However, I find that their sushi is their strong point: the hot appetizers (gyoza, tempura) weren’t the best. Great Sunomono that comes with shrimp AND octopus! Very friendly staff. Neat little spot that is busy weekdays at lunch, but pretty quiet most otherwise. I think their hours are 11-8 Monday to Saturday. Order the Gold Dragon Roll for sure!
November 7, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Sharon, I completely agree. We ate there for the first time last week and were really happy with the food and the service.
May 27, 2009 at 6:32 pm
I used to like Sushi Train but the service at the one on Pembina is absolutely attrocious. It just got worse and worse over the last couple of years. The rolls aren’t always tight and can fall apart, etc. etc. I wouldn’t care that much (I enjoy great sushi, but am not a snob) but when paired with the service I just can’t hack it anymore. Justine was referring to Hanabi, which is quite nice but insane on half-off day (Tuesday I think).
For the price (of Sushi Train) I would much rather go to Sushi Ya (also on Corydon) which I believe has comparable prices, tastes better, has nicer atmosphere, good service and free edamame beans.
It’s sad that I will not be going to Sushi Train (pembina anyway) anymore. Mabes the one at the Forks still does the trick.
June 2, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I have never been impressed with Sushi Train. I tend to frequent Wasabi on Broadway (much to the chagrin of my wallet!), which I think has ruined me for most other places in town. I tried Blu Fish in the Exchange District recently, and thought it was quite good, and half the price of Wasabi. But still, I could tell the quality of the fish wasn’t quite as good. I have heard great things about Hanabi, but haven’t tried it. Meiji in the village isn’t too shabby either. I’m always looking for new and not too expensive places to offset my splurges at Wasabi though!
June 21, 2009 at 5:45 pm
sushi train madison square is my holy place, i love it, i am cheap, and it is exactly what i want for the money i pay…it is super consistent, and they know us by what we order…we are treated with respect and kindness…sushi train pembina was an effing joke, laughable, wanted to walk out, but i am polite to a fault, edamame was dirty and nuked, and the waitress argues with me about sending it back, and the chefs yelled and freaked out when we complained, we r smart, dont yell in front of me in japanese, how rude!!
October 14, 2009 at 9:41 am
Justine the place you are thinking about is Asahi, they have the best sushi in the city as far as I’m concerned!
October 31, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Ate there once and never came back. The service was terrible, the food ordinary and lackluster, and they charge extra even for hot sauce in a teensy plate … check your bill for “open foods.” Doubt that I’ll ever come back with such a bad first impression.