7(0) Minutes in Heaven

Heaven Sushi Sake Bar

1175 Rogers Way

(236) 425-0050

heavenkamloops.com

So you’ve heard of the Seven Stages of Grief… but have you heard of the Seven Stages of the Pink Elephant sushi roll? One piece of this roll will take you on a whole rollercoaster of flavours. Heaven’s menu is so extensive, it would be hard for anyone to narrow down what they’d like to try… Which is exactly how we (two of us) ended up with enough food to feed a village. But hey, you won’t hear us complaining. Let me introduce you to this amazing restaurant, and then I’ll tell you more about these delicious rolls that we tried. 

Located right next door and attached to the Best Western Premier Hotel, stepping into this Asian-fusion restaurant feels like stepping into straight-up elegance. The perfect spot for an elevated date night, business meetings, cocktails with friends, or even just a fancy little treat for your taste buds, this spot will be a hit.

The entrance to the restaurant has some stairs, but those with accessibility concerns can enter through the main hotel entrance which has a ramp.

To start, they have a great appetizer and tapas selection, and this visit we went with the Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice. This was a truly outstanding combination of textures and flavours, with layers of mouthwatering tuna, spicy jalapeno, a duo of sauces, and a crunch so satisfying you’ll be dreaming of it. For $19 this one appy could have easily fed 4 of us. When this first selection got brought out, we knew that we’d made a grave error by ordering this in combination with 3 other specialty rolls… but again, zero regrets. (And to pair with our lack of regrets… we had great leftovers!). If you want to step outside of your comfort zone and try something a little more traditional, the Takoyaki are delicious – juicy morsels of breaded octopus.

We return to the aforementioned Pink Elephant Roll. This one here is for my vegetarian friends, and it truly takes you on a journey. The green that looks like guac on top is actually avocado spread bursting with Yuzu flavour. You’re immediately hit with citrus, then the creaminess of the roll, along with the freshness of the veg, sweetness from the mango, and finishing with a savoury, salty finish. I don’t usually go into such detail about a roll, but the way that the flavour kept shifting as you ate was such a delightful foodie experience!

Heaven’s menu offers a handful of vegetarian choices, as well as gluten-free options, with easily identifiable logos on the menu to make things nice and simple. A breakfast menu, kids menu, and extensive options ensure that there's something for everyone.

Don’t worry, fellow carnivores, do I ever have a roll for you; The Poke-Mon Roll absolutely MUST BE MENTIONED. I’d heard so much about this particular roll, through the foodie grapevine, that I knew it was a must-try. Trust me, it did not disappoint. I could not believe how many huge, tender pieces of fish this roll was topped with; Seared tuna and salmon so decadent it melts in your mouth. You really have to work through so many pieces just to reach the main roll, and once you do, you’re in for a delicious treat. 

An honourable mention is the Aburi-cious Roll. For those who aren’t familiar, Aburi is a style of sushi where the tops are seared or scorched with a torch to bring out the natural oils of the fish and create a decadent umami flavour. Rather than serving the fish nigiri style, they have layered 4 different kinds of sashimi on top of a roll and drizzled it with 4 different sauces. (If you don’t know me yet, you will soon learn that a quick way to my heart is through a good sauce). The best part about the sushi rolls at Heaven, is that if any of the rolls use a “California roll base,” you know darn-tootin’ it’ll be a Real Crab California Roll. For those unaware, most California Rolls are made using imitation crab containing various types of white fish, to use real crab is a great indication of their dedication to quality at Heaven.

Lastly, we would be remiss to neglect the Sake Bar aspect of their name. Heaven not only serves delicious and high-quality flavourful food, but also boasts a sake menu with options of hot or cold sake, sake highballs, as well as an assortment of other wines and cocktails.

If you are considering checking this place out, Thursdays are a great day to explore the menu, as they have great Daily Deals, with Thursdays being 20% off all specialty rolls. Another great time to check things out would be Mondays, when appies/tapas are on for 20% off. You can check out their social media pages for updated specials/promotions, as they seem to keep their platforms updated often.