Where to eat sushi in Metro Vancouver? A summary of restaurant reviews

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When it comes to bragging about food, Vancouverites love bragging about sushi.

Sure, Vancouver has plenty of food options, but when visitors ask what the city’s most iconic cuisine might be, sushi is always one of the top answers.

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What couldn’t be loved? Vancouver has some of the best sushi chefs outside of Japan and some of the freshest seafood around, whether sourced locally or from famous fish markets across the sea.

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Vancouver Sun restaurant writer Mia Stainsby has visited some of the city’s best sushi restaurants and the reviews prove it.

That’s why we’ve compiled a selection of their reviews to help you decide where to go next time you’re craving sushi.

This roundup includes several years of sushi posts from our resident restaurant expert. Information such as hours and menu items may not be current, so please check with individual restaurants for additional details.

We also include the original publication date of each review, along with the original link, so you can read the full article.

To get an idea of ​​how Mia chooses, read her article on finding the best sushi and her travel blog from 2010, when she visited Tokyo.

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Mahana Sushi

Where: 175 Third St. West, North Vancouver

Sushi Mahana recently took home Silver at Vancouver Magazine’s Restaurant Awards and it’s obvious why. This is not a takeaway sushi tray; It’s a top-to-bottom experience, with kitchen staff who have served some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Read the full review of Sushi Mahana, originally published on February 22, 2023.

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Sushi Hill

Where: 3330 Main Street, Vancouver

Sushi Hil is a bright and welcoming space in Mount Pleasant that will please anyone. “The sashimi, nigiri and rolled sushi I tried did not disappoint – the seafood is fresh, clean and oceanic,” says Mia.

Read the full Sushi Hil review, originally published December 14, 2022.

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Okaya Kyujiro

Where: 1038 Mainland St/, Vancouver

Dining at Okeya Kyujiro is more like enjoying a live performance than visiting a restaurant. “You enter at the agreed time through a very discreet entrance and sit in a dark room next to a U-shaped counter. The music generates anticipation, like a Cirque du Soleil performance about to begin. Dark figures are seen behind the black screens. Then Matsuda begins a guttural musical incantation in Japanese,” Mia writes.

Read Okeya Kyujiro’s full review, originally published on March 14, 2023.

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Sushi Bar Tetsu

Where: 775 Denman St., Vancouver

At the time of Mia’s visit, the drink menu was nothing to write home about, but she called Tetsu Sushi Bar “a gem in the sushi department.” The restaurant sources its seafood from the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, for dishes like Aburi prawn sushi (fire-baked) and a BBQ unagi maki roll that Mia said was delicious.

Read the full review of Tetsu Sushi Bar, originally published on October 11, 2017.

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Sushi Bar Shu

Where: 8099 Granville St., Vancouver

This is the place for “sushi purists,” according to Mia. The signature omakase restaurant offers two seats, and Mia recommends a seat at the bar “where you can witness the chefs’ reverence for the fish and their ballet of hands as they prepare onigiri sushi.”

Read the full review of Sushi Bar Shu, originally published on September 17, 2019.

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Itosugi Kappo Kitchen

Where: 3648 West Broadway, Vancouver

At Itosugi, “the sushi changes constantly, depending on what’s available, and the cooked dishes change monthly. The restaurant uses local seafood rather than Japanese imports as it keeps food costs down and (owner Alfred) Chan scours farmers markets for local ingredients to buy in smaller quantities.”

Read the full review of Itosugi Kappo Cuisine, originally published on October 18, 2022.

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Sushi Bar Maumi

Where: 1668 Robson St., Vancouver

Chef and owner Maumi Ozaki is “a sushi whisperer with hands flying in balletic movements, cutting, scoring with a long-bladed knife, scooping rice, shaping rice, placing fish on rice, lightly spreading sauce, sprinkling come out and clap your hands before moving.” Let’s go back to rice. If she stops to think, her fingers drum on the counter.”

Read the full review of Itosugi Sushi Bar Maumi, originally published on May 25, 2016.

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Masayoshi

Where: 4376 Fraser St., Vancouver

At the time of Mia’s 2016 review, she found that there was a growing buzz around Masayoshi, despite the problems that had dogged him during his first year. “You can’t deny the quality of the food and the artful presentation of it,” he wrote. But it seems things have changed, as the restaurant now boasts a Michelin-starred Omakase experience.

Read Masayoshi’s full review, originally published August 31, 2016.

What’s your favorite sushi place in Metro Vancouver? Let us know in the comments!

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