Hello Sunshine: Inside Banff's spot for sushi and karaoke

Hello Sunshine is one of the best places to eat in Banff.

This restaurant offers a really intriguing vibe of modern Japanese dishes and fun drinks in one of the most interesting rooms in Alberta. There’s a street-side patio with mountain views, a cozy booth and table seating, an open kitchen concept, a large fireplace table, and the most unique, distinctive rooms in the back for a wild night of karaoke.

The atmosphere is retro and groovy, and the menu features shareable appetizers, sushi, sashimi, maki rolls, bao buns, and crispy fried favourites.

Dished recently had the opportunity to check out the modern Japanese concept and try out many of the most popular dishes, while also checking out the intimate karaoke rooms (that are free to reserve).

The first thing to decide on is if you want to go for a sake tasting, which is never a bad choice, or a beer, glass of wine, or house cocktail. If you can’t decide, we can’t recommend enough the Watermelon Sake Slush or the Matcha Colada complete with the locally made Jolene’s Tea House matcha and PARK glacier rye. It also has coconut and pineapple liqueurs, coconut milk, and some more pineapple tropical ingredients.

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Dished Calgary

We started with the crispy nori chips with dill crema, the seaweed salad (edamame, medley tomato, mixed greens, yuzu vinaigrette), chicken karaage (fried chicken thigh, signature leek sauce, kewpie mayo), and the tempura shrimp (chili vinegar, Thai basil).

Dished Calgary

This menu offers a difficult decision to make when it comes to handheld options at lunch. There is a street beef dog loaded with nori mayo, Bulldog BBQ sauce, pickled ginger, and crispy onion, but we went with the katsu fried chicken burger topped with cabbage, pickle, kewpie mayo, and Bulldog BBQ sauce. On the side, we went for the Tokyo-style sweet potato fries with Kewpie mayo, Bulldog BBQ sauce, nori, and green onion.

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There are seven different kinds of maki rolls on the lunch menu here, and we had three of them: the Chef’s Roll, the Spicy Tuna Roll, and the Maui Wowie.

They were all colourful, fresh, and vibrant, but our favourite was the Chef’s option, rolled with yellowtail, yuzu-kosho, jalapeno, lime, cucumber, and avocado.

Dished Calgary

There are also options for many different kinds of ramen and delicious rice bowls, like the green rice bowl made with fried tofu, shiitake, edamame, avocado, mixed greens, sesame dressing, and nori mayo.

It’s a restaurant that feels modern and retro at the same time. So whether you come for the patio views, the incredible happy hour (50% off sushi rolls), or the amateur singing, this is a spot you need to check off your Banff bucket list.

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Hello Sunshine

Address: 208 Wolf Street #101, Banff

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