Zen 8 Grill - Calgary

Located in Cowboys Casino, Zen8 Grill is a fun place. If you’ve never before had the pleasure of experiencing the teppan grill, you really should do so in order to fully immerse yourself in one of life’s great foodie adventures. It’s entertaining; it’s a treat for the senses; and, hey, the food is pretty darn good, too! Dinner AND a show? Count me in! Feeling a bit peckish, I strolled into Zen8 for a light bite after a bit of gambling (I didn 't win). What immediately struck me about the place was its relaxed yet hip, modern vibe. In many ways, the look and feel of this establishment reminded me a lot of Japanese Village – from the dim lighting to the culinary expertise of the teppanyaki chef as he sliced and diced various steaks, shrimps and veggies in an entertaining way and manner. There was even a bit of slight of hand involved as the food slid effortlessly around the teppanyaki grill in curious and entertaining ways. Once seated, I looked through the menu and decided to order the JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken), Aburi Salmon Roll and the 8 ounce Kobe Ribeye. The food came in good time and was, on the whole, quite nice for casino fare. The JFC, cooked in a sous vide fashion, was juicy and full of flavour. In my opinion, the accompanying wasabi sauce wasn 't even necessary. The aburi salmon roll, I thought, was less successful. It certainly looked the part – with a nice light sear kissing the salmon and rice but it felt lacking. Perhaps it was the somewhat uneven nature of the sushi roll cuts? I can 't quite put my finger on it, but I was just left feeling underwhelmed by this roll after previously eating one similar in Vancouver. Finally, the kobe steak teppanyaki was nice, but the ratio of steak to veggies was off. In past instances whenever I 've eaten kobe or wagyu steak, it 's always come with a fairly small amount of vegetables – just enough to complement the rich, natural flavours of the steak – but here the grilled veggies almost took over. On the bright side, the steak was cooked nicely, with the marbled fat giving that wonderful melt in your mouth feel. The accompanying sauces were not needed, as they 're an unnecessary crutch for this kind of steak. While the food was decent, service was definitely lacking. The server appeared disinterested – almost bored – and only showed up to take my order and then, close to an hour later, present the bill. They attempted to force a 15% tip, so I hit no on the keypad. After all, tips should be reserved for good to exceptional service – they are by no means required. FOOD: 3/5 SERVICE: 2/5 VALUE: 3/5 RECOMMENDATION: In the end, I found Zen8 to be a bit of a mixed bag. Watching the action on the teppanyaki flat top was great; the JFC was nice, as was the kobe steak; however, the sushi was pretty average and the service even less so. I would probably visit this establishment again if patronizing Cowboys, but I wouldn 't go out of my way. Mild recommendation.

Stopped in while gambling for dinner. I had the chicken bowl on rice with cashews. The flavour was wonderful and rich, the veggies cooked perfectly, the chicken was tender. I requested extra cashews as not many included but no issue for more cashews and no additional charge. Great place to take a break and have some delicious food. Good for us non sushi types.

A great evening with friends. Server took wonderful care of us. Wagyu beef. The grill chef was very friendly and demonstrated his craft before our eyes. We totally enjoyed sharing beef takaki, wagyu beef takaki, spicy salmon roll, etayname beans, stir fried vegetables. A new experience for me was the Sake boom, where a shot of saki is balanced above a small beer and with drum rolls we clap the table to have the saki drop into the beer. Delightful food and great time.

There should be a zero rating for this restaurant. It was 4:45pm on a Saturday when I received a call from this restaurant regarding my 6:15pm reservation that night. They said they would not honor my reservation because they had a party. My reservation was made early in the week. So I was left to make changes to my plans in a very short notice The restaurant offered nothing for my inconvenience. I will not be using this restaurant in the future and will be sure to advise my family and friends to avoid this restaurant with absolutely no customer service commitment.

Food cooked in front of us, great atmosphere, chef was a star, very entertaining. Food was lovely, hot and tasty. Would definitely recommend and return.