unkan may not be the most pleasant name for a restaurant, but get past the unfortunate moniker and you’ll discover yet another sushi bar providing Calgary natives with the raw fish goods. One meal here and you’ll start to wonder why people started to cook things in the first place (silly cavemen).

The actual definition of Gunkan is sushi that is wrapped in nori and topped with roe (see much more appetizing than it initially appeared). But that’s not to say that this place specializes in that lone form of sushi. Far from it, there are also avocado rolls, Rainbow Rolls, Dynamite Rolls, Kamakachi Rolls each play a part in surprising and delighting the diner from one bite to the next.

Udon needs a bit of fine-tuning. But sloppy bowls of red-orange shrimp tempura, deep green seaweed, stark white udon noodles are inexpensive, and – if you're not anticipating fancy fare – is serviceable at best

Standbys include the California Roll (made with imitation crab, cucumber and avocado); Shrimp Tempura Roll (shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber and avocado); Salmon Skin Roll (salmon skin, cucumber, gobo roots, radish sprouts and dried fish), and the tuna roll with raw tuna.

Frankly, if you can think of a Japanese dish with fish that isn’t cooked, chances are they’ll serve it up here. If you’re looking for traditional and well-prepared sushi, look no further. Gunkan is owned and operated by the Chu family of six who have recently moved to Calgary from Hong Kong. You can actually taste the care and effort that the Chu’s put into each sushi roll. As for the space, don't get excited. In a space that was an abandoned bar, simple, polished wood tables and chairs are pretty much it.