KEN Sushi House Phillip Square in Waterloo

I was here several times and every time was great, very tasty food and good service, also it is almost no free tables, so I recommend to book before or take out. I took chirashi lunch, it was very tasty and comes with miso soup, really recommend to try it and this place in general!

Got the deluxe platter for pick up. Quality was great. As good as dine in. Thanks!

The best non-AYCE sushi place in KW. Prices are reasonable and the quality is fantastic.

Nothing fancy, just very good Sushi Vegetarian options: Great Yam roll Parking: Park behind the building

Great sushi restaurant with friendly servers and delicious food. Everyone always greets you when you come in the door, and the restaurant is clean.

Food is okay, service is bad. Our server was very pushy and kept rushing our order and to get us out. Also would ask us to order extras constantly - every single visit (eg. Miso soup or appetizers). Wasn t a nice experience and wouldn t recommend for anyone trying to have a good meal.

Friendly staff, delicious fish and decent prices.

The stuff was excellent smiling all the time and very friendly and generous The food was very tasty, we ordered lots of different kinds of food and all of them were amazing and yummy Food

This place has the atmosphere of a cool little diner. The servers HUSTLE and do so with a smile. Loved the sushi and the green tea was endless.

Amazing Sushi place in KW. Their fried sushi was orgasmic!

Worse than grocery store sushi

Have gone for lunch a couple of times and the food and service are excellent. Today we had a bento box and tempura lunch. Everything was delicious and reasonably priced. Tempura was very crispy. Service is friendly. I will definitely be back.

A lovely and welcoming place with a good variety of food. Everything was delicious, fresh and fast. The service was amazing.

Food is consistently excellent

The best place to enjoy a dinner, sushi here, was one of my best options, I did love it. People are really friendly, amazing service, definitely I will definitely go back!

Best sushi! I have been eating here for a few years now, and I eat here very frequently. It has honestly ruined all other sushi for me, because no other sushi compares. I can attest that both eating in restaurant and ordering delivery from them, it is always good. Their service is friendly as well. It is by far my favourite restaurant and it will continue to be my go to sushi spot for years to come. Thank you for all the wonderful meals I have enjoyed here!

Sushi is not fresh, looks made it long time ago. Very disappointed with it. Food

Really fresh sushi, better than most places in the region. I would say its tied for my top spot in KW. Tried the Salmon Bento, Wagyu special and some miso soup. All were stellar.

Very good sushi place near UW. Definitely, Kens special is a safe and delicious choice. Great price for good portion if you are eating lunch there. Might be crowded and need in advance reservation. Better to give a call before going.

This place has such a cute authentic vibe! I came here for my boyfriend s birthday first and loved it! I ve come back with my kids a few times. The food is amazing, the price is good and service is the best!

Wonderful

Visited recently with friends, they completely forgot one of our orders. Food is pricey and quality is mediocre. Food

Just ok on the food quality, service was slow but they were busy

Several menu items not available. Sushi was good, bulgogi was meh. Food

Supper friendly place, 5+ stars for hospitality & the quality Sushi. I would rank this number 1 in Waterloo.

This used to be the best sushi in town. Tonight, the rice tasted as if it had sat out for a bit and the fish wasn t as fresh as it usually is. Service was also non existent - the server didn t share any specials, took our order and then never came back to check on us for the hour+ we sat there. When I raised my concerns, the other server (who genuinely is welcoming and who has served me before) didn t believe my concerns and implied that my opinion was wrong because I had some soju. I go to Ken s at least 4 times a year, but probably will not be back.

Best sushi around, worth the drive from Guelph!

Favourite place to visit for sushi every time we are in town.

We have been looking for a great sushi restaurant for quite a while now and weve finally found it. The food was fantastic and came out quickly. We felt welcomed and cared for as soon as we stepped through the door, and the service was attentive and prompt. I I highly recommend KEN Sushi House!

The food always tastes very fresh. Best sushi in town, in my opinion.

I ordered a hae dup bup for takeout and although I know that it is typically made with scrap pieces of fish, the size of the fish and the amount you actually get, its basically ordering a salad. However, the main issue is that some of the lettuce was rotting! Not sure if its clear in the images but the lettuce was turning black and mushy (leaving behind murky liquid on the sides of the container where I took the pieces out from). Disappointing that the quality is decreasing while prices remain high.

Really nice tasty sushi ! Try it !

Ive been here too many times in my undergrad

Best sushi , awesome people. Go to take out, dine in spot in KW

Really good fresh sushi, but quite expensive. Great for a special occasion or treating yourself. Food

Dry andsmall slices sashimi and salty rice. Would not return.

Very friendly staff. Expensive but the quality of food is not worth the money.

It s not expensive if you are only going to eat rolls.

This place has amazing quality and fresh taste in sushi and other food. The restaurant is cute and the service is good too. Ive had the love boat, waterloo boat, and chicken teriyaki dinner which were all amazing. Will come back here every time and continue to try new things.

Food is good.

First time eating here and I can really say it was so gooood!

Ken s is my favourite sushi restaurant in Kitchener Waterloo! The fish is very fresh!

Great spot for a sushi date night or outing! They have quite a variety of options - and everything we got was incredibly fresh and tasty! Will definitely come back for more! Vegetarian options: Some vegetarian sushi options

When I come in for pick up. The owner says it s packing up but then another server told me it will take another 30mins. Really rude when I ask them to speed up the order as I am already there in store. If I were a dine in customer would they let me wait 40 mins? Will never come back again

Best sushi for a good price I ve had

Freshest raw fish in town

Very very good! A little busy thought.

Unfortunately, the quality of the food and freshness of the sashimi has really taken a hit in last year or two. I don t know if something changed about the management, but the difference is massive. It s not like the price is going down with the quality of the food so this place will be a pass for me. Service is always excellent, however.

Best sushi place. Very fresh sashimi and best miso soup Ive ever had.

Fresh ingredients, fast service.. well be back!!

This is the best sushi I have ever had. The workers were extremely kind and friendly. 100% would recommend. Vegetarian options: Deep fried tofu was yummy, and we enjoyed all the veggie rolls we ordered.

A little expensive, but top quality food and service, and generous portion sizes. Thank you! Parking: Small signage, and extra confusing in winter with lots of the actually free spots covered by snow. First you have to see the sign to go to the upper parking lot, then ALL of the visible spots are all actually for residents with passes only, but we didnt notice those signs until later,. There are no signs around back of the farthest buildings, so thats a long walk, but probably the only safe place to park.

Amazing service and sushi. My whole family love this place . We will be back

High quality, reasonable price. Updating review in 2024: been coming here for 5+ years and its still solid. Highly recommend for quality sushi in KW

Our favourite sushi place in Waterloo

Tasty food and delicate service! Servers greeted with smile, kept coming to check if we needed any, and made us feel so comfortable. Definitely will recommend and visit again.

My favourite sushi spot! Not only does Ken s have the best, most high quality sushi but it has the kindest staff! I look forward to every time I get to go here and can t wait for many more trips back!

incredible sushi, great presentation

The service was probably the best I have had in a while. Reminded me of how things were and used to be. Havent had such attentive staff in ages. Dirty dishes taken away promptly. Our tea cups never got low and When we tried to get a group photo came in and took a picture of the table for us.

Great food. Wonderful staff...loved the Japanese pancake.. will be going back for more.

We have ordered from here a couple of times. Sushi and Sashimi are excellent. Each time time we have visited the service has been amazing. Plenty of GF options and the staff were right on top of making sure there was no cross contamination. Great experience.

Pretty average experience in my opinion. Ive had better sushi.

Always great sushi and sashimi. One of the best places to get sushi in Waterloo. Our first choice for takeout and a great in person dining experience too.

Top notch - best weve had in the region. Will be back again!

Overpriced teriyaki, ordered beef for CAD 26 , it was a really small portion in a tiny iron plate, for 26 I expected it to be tender, and generous, and but it was not. Sushi is regular quality. Waitress was very insistent on selling us fancy drinks, and extra appetizers. Dont order teriyaki, go for the regular sushi, and dont let the waitress sell you stuff you didnt want initially

Best Sushi Bar ever...

Great sushi and sashimi, always fresh and friendly service.

Always a great place and the sushi is one of the best in the city

Food and atmosphere is great. 1. Service from the waitresss requires an upgrade and staff should be trained better to provide service without showing their frusturation or anger to customers and giving an attitude whenever you call them to order or ask about something in the menu. 2. This job requires a waitress who has patience and active listening to commit with customers needs and not having a waitress who is always grumpy and does not want to listen or take an order and this applies to more than one waitress in this restaurant. Also, the waitress always shows a surprised face and ask how much have I and my felows have EATEN!. This is not appropriate and makes people go away even if your food is good. Please improve the service.

The food here is consistently great quality and tastes very good - but wait time is inconsistent and I ve had issues of slow service. Great food though, best sushi in the city

Always a recommendation for great sushi

The beat sushi in Waterloo. Beautiful presentation, high quality, and great service.

The servers are always super nice. I loved all the specialty rolls I ve gotten from here. The mushroom scallop roll is very good. The salmon lover combo is also worth it.

Amazing quality. A bit of a wait in the evenings but absolutely worth it

Go to place in town for sushi

Ive been looking for some really amazing sushi in the area. I think I finally found it.

Best sushi place in town ! This isn t an all you can eat sushi restaurant ! Definitely try the oysters!

Nice Spot for sushi in University town! I went with my family and a baby. They gave us a nice quiet private little dinning area which was nice. It was a little hard to get a hold of the staff but overall it was a good experience. We had people in the group with various diet restrictions and we were able to order off the menu with something for everyone. The price value and sushi quality were good! Parking: The parking is up in the back, we had a stroller so it was a little walk the ramp is one side and stairs on the other.

Best sushi in the whole world

Al la carte, no all you can eat. Better for balanced eating. Wheelchair accessibility: Fully accessible Food : 5/5 |

sushi always tastes fresh, I always come here for my sushi cravings ! service is usually fast but there were some times where it was quite slow when it was full Food

We went for an early dinner and had a very positive experience. The food, service and restaurant noise level was perfect. We ordered the Big Boss special roll combination and it fed 3 people. Overall a very good experience and will definitely go back.

I got take out today and I think they just just have been having an off day, but the food was not great. The chicken terriyaki was very dry with almost no sauce (it was also cold but I got delivery so thats not necessarily on them), and the tempura was quite soggy. The miso soup was tasty though. For the price, I was kind of disappointed.

Sushi is an art form here. I recommend the red and green dragon rolls, and the salmon sushi.

KENs is expensive but worth it. No AYCE. Very delicious rolls and entrees. Ive eaten here many times before. Always great atmosphere, attentive kind service. If you like sushi worth trying at least once Food

- One of the best sushi spots in Waterloo/Kitchener. - Youll need to park (for free) in front of the Fresh Burrito across the street. - The best service Ive experienced at any sushi spot in Waterloo. The staff is incredibly nice. :) - Their scallop island roll was okay (it comes in a bowl with the mushroom and scallops scattered). I recommend their other suchi rolls (the basics like salmon roll and spicy tuna roll). Parking: Youll need to park in the plaza full of restaurants, across the street.

Good food but expensive

I like this place for the galbi dinner and miso soup. Service today was not good - waited 30 minutes for the server to come get our order, even though there were not too many customers. Maybe busy time, but I d give 2 star for service because of this experience.

Ive been here a few times and loved the food each time. You cant go wrong with any of the bento boxes, but the dinner options like the bulgogi and the chicken katsu donburi are delicious too. The bluefin tuna tataki is so fresh and flavourful; it is a must-try. The servers are always so friendly and the food comes out quickly. The only thing that needs improvement is getting the food out in the right order and time. There were two of us the last time I went and one main course was served well before the other, and the food started getting cold before the appetizer arrived. Ill definitely be back, but next time, I will order the appetizer first and only order the main course after it is served.

Delicious sashimi and excellent service.

Absolutely one of the best places Ive ever been for sushi. Food was excellent, prices reasonable, service helpful and friendly. Had a truly amazing time and tried all sorts of wonderful dishes!

Have to update my review. KENS was a 5/5 but lately the price has gone up but quality has decreased. My favourite roll was snow white roll which was made perfectly and torched on top. Now its just a mayo mess for $20 a roll. I ordered last week and had massive stomach pains after which I normally only get if excess MSG is used. Needless to say, I cant eat here anymore.

DO NOT GO. Sushi is overpriced the host was pushing us to pay for more food the entire time. And the biggest grievance was that they were selling a wagyu sushi roll. $25 mind you per roll. IT WAS PASTRAMI. (Look at the picture as reference)It was so obviously pastrami in the way it tasted, the uniform coloring through the whole piece of meat. Even the ends were black and seasoned like a pastrami. There is not a doubt in my mind that we were played for a fool. The roll was advertised as torched wagyu. It was literally cold pastrami. I don t even know how little you must care to not even try to pass it off as actual meat. Other than that, the other rolls were alright and were the correct type of fish at the very least. Reader I urge you to reconsider choosing this restaurant.

Short answer, I have ALWAYS loved eating at Kens. The food is fresh, the service is brilliant, fast and considerate, the atmosphere strangely relaxing when you consider how busy they are! Im a frequent flyer and have converted a few colleagues too to this wonderful restaurant. The only downside (if I have to share one) is parking. This is limited and can sometimes be challenging to find close by. The long answer: This venue can be emotional for me. This was my sons favourite place to eat. He passed away 2 years ago. Each March, for his birthday we coordinate a celebration with his closest friends, all convening to remember him, leaving a chair open for him to join us. This is a difficult time for all. But without hesitation, without judgement or pity, the staff are always, respectful. Proactively identifying how they can alleviate the pressure of such an event, helping us order food, helping to ensure this is as positive an experience as possible. Thank you Kens Sushi. Thank you for your hospitality and for helping to keep my Daniels spirit alive.

Edit: recently the servers have gotten so pushy trying to get you to buy miso soup, or special sushi, or appetizers. One upsell offer was okay but now when you say no they offer 4-5 more things. Last 3 times have had such pushy clear forced upselling, I will not be returning for a while. There s a lot of new sushi places in Waterloo I would recommend visiting somewhere else that respects you as a client. I will delete this from my review when I go back and the service has improved. 3 star rating cause the food is still amazing, but there s other great places in Waterloo Delicious always fresh sushi with constantly changing specials, most recently sea urchin and Wagyu. I ve never been disappointed, and the owners/servers will often come to your table to offer anecdotes or information about the sushi creating really enjoyable service (excluding really busy times of course).

They never miss. And Im vegetarian. Delicious and affordable.

The reviews amongst other Waterloo sushi were top and I see why! Excellent quality sushi! Generous portions of salmon sashimi, very delightful meal!

tooooo loud sooooo slow. stranded there 10min to be seated, there is empty table

I had a great experience eating here w my wife for date night. Food was excellent, service was good and the decor was very nice. The menu is quite extensive so well definitely be heading back to try more food from the menu

Easily the best tasting sushi in Waterloo!

Extremely slow service. They don t take out food together so one person will be done while the other just gets their food

This sushi place was great! We had a group of 8 to celebrate a birthday and reserved the party room. This was a great option because we were secluded and it felt more intimate. The miso soup and edamame as apps were great, and went well with the soju that had been recommended to us. The boats are great value for sharing and we got the waterloo boat and the waterloo rolls combo which together provided a great variety of sushi. With dinner we had a dry sauv blanc which went very well. After dinner we had their mochi which was soooo good. The green tea and red been were highlights. Definitely worth a stop! Already trying to think of an excuse to go again

Server we had tonight was very pushy and aggressive to us. Left a really bad taste in my mouth. It made my 10 year old feel uncomfortable. Weve been there many times now and its made us rethink going back again

Great food, the sushi is yummy and service is good

Good sushi here!

Ken s has been our go-to in the region since they opened. Their sashimi is always so fresh and delicious and their presentation and quality of ingredients is the best in the city. The service is always friendly and attentive. Tonight we had a large order through Uber Eats for my son s 10th birthday celebration and the second bag was left behind which led to half of the order being missed. I contacted them directly and they arranged for it to be delivered to us. To our surprise when we opened the door to the delivery there was Ken himself, his warm, smiling face was standing outside with our food! He gave my son a big birthday hug and apologized for the mixup. I can t think of another restaurant in the city that would go to that length to ensure they made things right for their customer. Thank you for a memorable birthday meal Ken and team.

I used to really love Ken s but the quality has since dropped. A few times the yam in my sushi has been very old (rock hard) and on one occasion there were bits of plastic in the food.

Ken Sushi is my go-to sushi place! Love all the rolls I ve tried (especially the angry salmon roll), the bento boxes, and the yaki udon. Nice atmosphere, I always enjoy coming here.

Best sushi place I ve been to. Absolutely wonderful staff and amazing food! We were lucky to get there when they weren t busy and got seated immediately. Other than a bit of a wait for some forks and the bill at the end, it was very fast.

We were impressed with the decorations. And the lady who took our order spoiled the whole night ! She pushed us to order in 1 go as she said it s busy time now . We literally don t know yet ! We gave her 4 dishes and said that we would order more later . But she said no . Then we had to go with 4. Then she said this much of 4 things is just enough for 1 person ! :o other staff is nice when we looked around . We re just not lucky today

We had a fantastic lunch at Ken Sushi House. The service & food were top notch. Highly recommend.

Best sushi in kw hands down. Worth every penny

amazing food and staff will definitely come again!

Its a Korean run sushi spot, so lots of fun options! Their tempura prawns and fried squid were so yummy, and every single roll we ordered was fresh and delicious!!! They also have a wide selection of fresh oysters. Highly recommend!

We always have a great experience at Ken Sushi. We discovered Ken during covid and its been our go-to since. We usually order salmon sashimi appetizers, edamame, and a squid dish. We are always happy with the food quality and service here. Vegetarian options: They have many veggie options available for the rice pizzas, veggies rolls, udon dishes, and teriyaki. Dietary restrictions: We have gone keto and often default to salmon sashimi appetizers, edamame, and will continue to try other options!

This is a good Korean restaurant where Waterloo students can taste delicious sushi at a reasonable price. (This Korean restaurant is very nice to eat sushi and the price is not too expensive that I imaged.)

waterloo classic, fresh rolls. salmon rolls are a mixture if you re not a fan of that texture

Hands down my favourite sushi place in Waterloo! Everything is so delicious & fresh. Their service is also amazing. I haven t tried anything I dislike from here. It is on the more expensive side, but I would highly recommend checking them out.

I love to meet with friends at Ken Sushi. Lunch dish is always wonderful. Food

First & Last time coming, our waitress was polite but the whole service was very unorganized she had to ask what we ordered multiple times, gave us separate orders on same plates, missed multiple orders gave a service charge of 15% to our table even though half the table were children under 10, expensive prices and then wrongfully charging me an extra app and when I returned for a refund was not given the correct amount back...Anyways your experience might be different but this was mine and I was truly unsatisfied...stick to all you can eat!

Top notch and most definitely in the running for best sushi spot in the tri-cities. Everything was well made, fresh, and above all delicious. If they DO have the wagyu sushi special on, I definitely suggest swinging the extra to try - was a standout of the meal! Will be back.

Really great quality and delicious dishes

The best sushi restaurant in the tri-cities. This is our go to sushi spot and we have never been disappointed! I usually get the beef teriyaki dinner which is a full sized steak (cooked to your liking) with a couple veggies and potatoes on a hot cast iron skillet. Comes with a side of rice and miso soup as well. Sooooo good!! I also get a Go Train roll and Gyoza but I can never finish everything no matter how hungry I feel when I get there lol. The teriyaki dinner is extremely filling!

Wonderful food and vegetarian options. service is exceptional. Will definitely be going back. Vegetarian options: A lovely selection of options for whatever you want to eat

First time dining at Kens Sushi House, and it was amazing! The servers were all so friendly and made us feel welcome. We ordered oysters with our meal, and Ken himself shucked and served them to us. He spent time chatting with us and other families in the restaurant. You can tell he is passionate about his work. Everything tasted delicious. We cant wait to go back again.

Love their sushi . Best in the city. Yummy in my tummy! Wow!!!

Food didnt taste as fresh as previous visits. There was an insect in my beer.

The food is delicious, however, the price is expensive.

Best sushi in KW. The menu has something for everyone, even non-sushi eaters. Always a good vibe with excellent service. Favorite rolls are the dynamite, angry tuna & mega veggie (pictured below)! Kid-friendliness: My daughter loves the ramune Japanese sodas, edamame & udon noodles :)

Best sushi, every damn time. Super nice service and excellent quality, we wont go anywhere else! We love you Ken!

Solid sushi restaurant. However, since it is not AYCE, it can get expensive for smaller portions.

The staff was friendly, but I waited for 20 minutes seated, and despite ringing the bell twice on the table, no one came, forcing me to go to the front to call a server. As a family of four, we wanted tempura as appetizers, ordered the Waterloo Boat, and intended to finish with seafood udon and beef udon, placing our order according The tempura and udon were served together initially, and the cold winter, with an outside temperature of -15 degrees, Udon was lukewarm. Just as we finished them, the Waterloo Boat was served, and it wasnt a particularly special experience considering the high price.

I always order the black dragon roll there for take out. It tastes really good, but wow, its quite pricey for one roll!

Second time trying this place as sushi lovers because the food here is decent, although pricey I must say. But the service this time is really what convinced me to never eat at this place ever again. During dine-in while I was chatting with my friends, one of the waitresses was constantly pushing recommendations to the point it became borderline harassment. At first, we thought she was trying to be considerate, then after frequent (like every 10 mins) and forceful visits at our tables, it became less like attentive service, and more like persistently disrupting our talk and wanting us to gtfo (even though there are still several empty tables nearby). Whats worse, this feeling was confirmed after she rudely demanded that we pay the bill when we were in the middle of a conversation. Personally, the food is not enough to justify the high price and the aggressive and unprofessional service in this restaurant. Overall, a really unpleasant experience that ruined the night for us.

One of the best sushi spots in the tri cities. Friendly attentive staff with great service. The food was terrific.

The food was literally awful We ordered different sushi rolls and barely can find any fish inside them Food

Wow, I thought I ve had good sashimi until I came here. I had s birthday dinner with my partner and we were both in love with the sashimi platter. The sashimi is so rich and fresh, I ve never had anything like it before. The salmon was just so buttery and smooth. Normally i could binge eat but the quality so high, you feel satisfied. Miso soup here is really good, the yam tempura is battered lightly and very well. The tea was lovely too. We had uni for the first time for 16$ 2pc, interesting ill say but if you don t like the taste of chemically oyster, it may not be for you I recommend it for sushi enthusiasts! The highest quality i ve tried so far.

The staff are extremely friendly! The atmosphere is nice and the food is good :)

This was easily one of the best sushi places I ve been to. The food was fresh and came out very fast. The flavours were amazing on everything we had. My mouth is watering writing this review haha definitely going back for more!

Kens sushi house is my familys favourite place to eat. Our kids 5-10 yrs old ask to come here as a special treat. First, the restaurant has a great atmosphere that we love. Service is so friendly. And the kids love the Ramune Japanese soda. All the food is so fresh and delicious, we literally love everything we order. Most other places dont even come in as a close second, we love it here. Kid-friendliness: super kid friendly and servers are awesome with them.

Best in town by far. Ate here way too many times to count. Always consistent and friendly service. We are lucky to have this spot in KW!!

Best sushi in town. Such friendly service.