50 Best Japanese Restaurants in Vancouver

“Love the space, the food was incredible, drinks amazing…service…was very attentive and professional…I did feel at times like I was just expected to take the chef’s menu or what the waiter recommended, but it may have been a subtle misinterpretation on my part:)“

“I wish I didn’t know this place exists. How am I ever going to cope with any other sushi place?!
The dishes being served here are DEVINE! The silken tofu feels like whipped cream in your mouth. They really should sell this stuff in a spray can so you can just squeeze it into your mouth.

My daughter and I order a few things we thought would be small dishes. But we were wrong. The rolls are not only beautiful and unique, they are also generous. My vegetarian set had so many delightful aspects and I could take enough home to re-live the experience with a second light lunch.

Everything is fragrant and unique. The miso soup was so rich and not like any other. The King Salmon Sashimi is rich but light, unctuous and fresh. And I don’t usual think much of rice but it is so well done and flavourful here, I could have eaten a Ramen size bowl of it and still want more.

They also have a great array of beverages including specials not listed on the everyday menu.

I already have plans for my next visit - I can’t wait for my Huzband to order a set menu that gives a little taste of all the variety on the menu.

If you love raw seafood or Aburi style, and you want unique tastes not available elsewhere, this is a MUST TRY! And there was great vegetarian options too.

But don’t go here if you don’t want to spoil yourself. Like tasting chocolate and knowing you can never go without it again. Bib Gourmand is fully merited. Including the wonderful front of house team.“

“Every grain of rice, every slice of fish contains the weight of their dedication and respect to the food and culture.

It was an edible performance!

We tried their lunch menu first and It was such a wonderful experience.

We will definitely return for the dinner course!

Michelin well deserved!“

“I would get the volcano roll again. Came with a small spicy sashimi salad instead of chopped on top of the roll which was nice. Wouldn’t do the nigiri set although it’s fine and decent value. Takoyaki was good. Basic roll like Cali, dynamite and yam were to expectation.“

“Conveniently located in Gastown, this tight space restaurant just wins my heart. Upon seating we were notified about the two-hour dining time. Since it’s our first time, the server briefly went over the menu in quite a fast pace - we definitely feel the pressure to speed up the order and dinning experience. This is the least favourite part of the entire evening. Exceptional food - the beef tongue cold appetizer is delightfully pleasant and tasty. The premium sashimi platter is plentiful with various types of sashimi with decent thickness. Totally love it. The bluefin tuna hand roll is good. The beef tongue steak with teriyaki sauce is very juicy, soft, tender and melt in the mouth. We genuinely enjoy the food. Wish the service can be less rushed and it would be the perfect dining experience. Overall, highly recommend.“

“Recommended here by one of our Nurse friends, so we dropped by for an early lunch today w/ my 2 coworkers. Sooo yummy! First impression? Delish!!! huge servings & the use of fluffy brown rice was the determining factor of the meal NOT being gastro-heavy! Very nice presentation! Good size servings! Will definitely return on another lunchbreak! yummmmmy!“

“I’ve been coming here for years, and honestly this review is long overdue. Every time you walk in, you’re greeted with the biggest smiles everyone is so warm and genuinely welcoming. Even the chefs behind the counter always look up from what they’re doing to say hello, and they make sure to say goodbye when you leave.

It’s a small spot, but it’s big on heart.

I always order the seafood salad and the Manhattan roll, and they are absolutely spectacular every single time. The ingredients are incredibly fresh, and you can really taste the quality in every bite.

If you’re in the area, make sure you come here the sushi is outstanding.“

“A great little sushi place! There are two seats for dine in but I did take out through their online ordering. The couple who runs the shop have the best hospitality. They care very deeply about the food and service!

The fish was amazingly fresh and I really enjoyed the saba shiso roll. I'm very excited to try they their other rolls next time!“

“Great lunch deals! They also have gluten free options - you grill your own veggies, meats, and seafood, so you can just ask them to only season with salt and pepper (no sauce). They started having a gluten free ginger barbecue sauce recently which is delicious and you can use it as a dip!
Very friendly service as well.“

“Check out Itamae Tomoko at their Brentwood location. The food and service are impressive. I'm waiting to write a review of their Burnaby restaurant.“

“I wasn’t expecting much and thought it would just be an average roll, but when the food arrived, the presentation looked absolutely amazing, and it tasted even better than it looked. I was honestly impressed!
You should definitely come and try it for yourself 😭“

“I just want to give a shout out to you all for an outstanding amazing delicious feast we had. It was my 65th Birthday on April 11th and it was my choice to have Sushi. So we ordered a ton! Enough to feed 14. Let’s just say everyone said it was the best Sushi they had ever had! On time at 5:30 for pick-up fresh and displayed perfectly!!! Thank you so so much! Norm Hayes“

“This is our new favorite spot in Vancouver. The lunch sets are great value and allows you to have a taste of a lot of their dishes.

Would recommend their Fuji Gozen lunch set that comes with the truffle Wagyu cream udon. Absolutely delicious and full of creamy goodness. The battera sushi is also extremely tasty and the rice is very good quality.

The decor and atmosphere is very cozy and retro. Would definitely recommend a visit to this cute restaurant.“

“The fried chicken and mogu salad is very good! The macaroni salad is meh.

The chicken miso katsu is a little dry and the miso katsu sauce was served cold. When I had miso katsu in Japan, the sauce doesn't usually come cold.

Overall, the service is very good. They gave us water refills frequently and the servers were all very nice. Great value for price, you come out very full!“

“Yummy good, 服務態度非常好“

“Wonderful, attentive, and friendly service. The portions are perfectly sized. Not too much but not too little. Pricing, while note cheap, is extremely reasonable for the quality of the food that you're getting. A wonderful gem hidden in Kits. I highly recommend this to anyone. My bet is that you'll be left wanting to come back again.“

“We ordered some food for the Mother's day family get together, the service was fantastic, the order was ready on time, every single item was so delicious! Extreme good quality, a lot of varieties to choose from, excellent service, would highly recommend.“

“The food was absolutely fantastic! Complex and satisfying. Everything we tried was delicious!“

“My fave sushi spot!💗 I really love their spam roll, yam tempura roll and chicken katsu roll! Also their beef teriyaki is soo good too and good value. The staff here are also so kind- they already remember my order/me as a customer after only ordering a few times and they are so thoughtful and kind! Makes you feel happy and welcome:) definitely try them out!“

“One day you will eat at Pizza Coming Soon“

“Had an amazing time coming to Motonobu! The food has always been delicious, one of the better spots to bring people out of town to eat! Been here multiple times and every visit has been pleasent! Only downside is the waiters/waitresses can be inattentive at times. Overall though, Motonobu is a great spot to celebrate milestones at!“

“Such an excellent experience from start to finish!!! Food was delicious, plentiful and unique. Chef Tom was so friendly and guided us through each dish very well. My new favourite spot in Vancouver, I recommend to all looking for a thoughtful experience.“

“The Chef’s Table tasting menu is an absolute triumph and worth every penny. With the chef’s background rooted in Japan, the dishes showcase a masterful fusion of flavors, where refined Japanese techniques elevate the entire experience. Every sauce is thoughtfully crafted, but the highlight was undoubtedly the Wagyu steak—it was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth. A truly memorable dining experience“

“Going here for a second time. Food and atmosphere is still good. Parking is expensive though, $10/hr. Their chawamushi is so smooth and tasty. Prawn tempura just ok. Nigiri are good. Beef yakiudon is good. Udon is tender. Dessert pear ginger mousse is too sweet.“

“Came here a few times already and very happy with the food and service . It’s a tiny little place and is always busy with take out orders. I also noticed lots of regulars as the owner ( I think ) they all seem familiar with who the customers are.“

“Great food with fresh fish! Highly recommended.“

“I dine here at least 3 times a week as I’m close to here everyday. Friendly, super fast service and always there to answer questions about food/allergens. One of the best poke/ramen places in downtown Vancouver“

“Great customer service from actual Japanese staff and excellent onigiri. The food was so home-y and nostalgic but also something I couldn’t make at home on my own. My onigiri came with miso soup and that also tasted like a step above your average Japanese restaurant, somehow. Highly recommend for a lunch that is perfectly filling in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling greasy afterwards“

“Great hidden gem in the mall. The main attraction is the onigiri. They have a nice variety to chose from. We had ours made fresh in front of us.

Great deal on 2 + miso soup.

The udon was also nice and hit the spot with the kakiagi. Definitely a can't miss choice in the mall.

Excellent prices too. Highly recommend“

“Good food and amazing service!“

“The Hire Katsu was so tasty and tender, very friendly staff too.“

“Tried this place on a Saturday night & it was a fantastic experience! I got the basic set with 4 hand rolls. Everything tasted unbelievably fresh & high quality. The bluefin & yellowtail were my personal favourites. Truly delicious fish! Additionally the service was excellent. Very friendly staff & they were all eager to help, which you don’t see everywhere. I wouldn’t say it’s expensive, but it’s definitely on the higher end as far as sushi goes.“

“This restaurant is phenomenal. You get Miku/Minami quality Japanese food for much cheaper.

We used to rotate between sushi restaurants around the area, but since it opened we only go here.

Service is very attentive and knowledgeable of the menu. They're really friendly and accommodating.“

“Omakase at very reasonable (if not the lowest) price point. You still get high quality experience and food. The experience takes around 2 hours. They did not offer to order additional dishes at the end of the experience. Overall great experience.“

“After some time of seeing the restaurant while on the bus, I finally decided to give them a try, and it was very good!

I ordered their Deluxe Sushi Combo with their Pikachu Roll, as well as a Salmon Nigiri and Salmon Maki.

The fish was very fresh, the wasabi seemed of at least a bit better quality than the average wasabi in other restaurants of sushi, and the quality of the rice was also good. Additionally, the food was flavourful.

Regarding the service, it was pretty quick. As for the atmosphere, it was comfortable, and the restaurant looked clean overall.

To be honest, other items of their menu also seem interesting, so I would love to try more of the food the restaurant has to offer.“

“Family had a craving for Japanese food so we tried this place out. Ordered online and it was efficient and the service was friendly. The restaurant in a Tuesday was very busy which is great to see. We ordered mainly sushi with a beef udon and a tofu donburi. Seafood was fresh and the sushi was well prepared. It’s not totally authentic food but it’s pretty tasty food.“

“A lot of the time, the restaurant is only as good as the server. Hapa is a superior restaurant and my server was Shione! She recommended the Chipotle. I went with that and it was real tasty! How a server interacts with the customer is the most important part of the experience. She reacted as though she was rewarding me for going out to enjoy my food. Her mannerisms told me that my presence was important instead of someone who was just making her work. Thank you!🙂“

“Absolutely amazing!! Akira Sushi was an accidental find for me close to where I was staying downtown. I am delighted to have found it. The sushi was delicious and fresh. The salmon was so soft and tasty! I recommend trying this place out 150%!!“

“wonderful atmosphere, very polite and kind staffing, wonderful food, awesome song selection for Kareoke. Definitely coming back tomorrow for more!“

“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Food was excellent and incredibly fresh. We ordered sashimi, bonito, and uni — all top quality.
The service was amazing, and the chef was super fun and engaging.
Great atmosphere and a memorable dining experience. Highly recommend!“

“Reasonable prices and vast selection of food! It was very good and prepared quickly“

“It was an amazing restaurant close to the water and nice for a really nice evening walk at the sea wall. Food was delicious and good.“

“Came with a vegan friend and we tried the veggie ramen, veggie gyoza and veggie katsu set. Everything was delicious and fresh. I think they made all the components in house including make the salad dressing and pickles. They also served free ice cream for dessert. Will definitely be back to try non veg options.
FYI they have stool seating which can be uncomfortable if you have back issues.“

“I ordered via Skip the dishes since I was at work.
Wanted something relatively healthy and not too big of a portion since I'm trying to shed some weight.
I've ordered this type of combo from other Japanese restaurants and was pleasantly surprised at the portion size that I received; other places usually serve a small portion...
Normally I'd eat the whole thing but saving the rest for dinner.
If you want real value for your $$, I definitely recommend thisplace.
It's my first time trying this restaurant and will be ordering again!“

“We came in mid-afternoon to pick up a few ready-to-eat meals and bought way too many things! Love your selection of food items, drinks, raw meats, treats etc. Your prices for the ready-to-eat food items are fair; thanks for making things affordable. Our baby enjoyed looking around in the carrier as we shopped. I really enjoyed the Spicy Ebi Mayo donburi and ate it before I could take photos. 😂 Mom brought over yummy meals from you when we were in hospital last year as well.“

“Words cannot describe how awesome the food are, just go and try it out. My recommendations: okonomiyaki, yakisoba, nebeyaki udon (on a rainy, cold day) and king roll!“

“I went there (this past Xmas season) with my son & had a delightful lunch. The menu selection was varied & I enjoyed my choice. Atmosphere is very small to accommodate surprisingly so many tables. Parking is limited...I went there by Skytrain...public transit is so efficient in Vancouver. Yes I would go there again & try the other items. I took an umbrella & the cafe had a stand ti inswrt your rainy protection device. Just remember, other patrons also use it too...I had to sift through the lot of many crowding the stand.“

“Best sushi restaurant in the Joyce collingwood area. Friendly staff and always quick with their orders!“

“First time to go there for Christmas dinner with family, and got very surprised on their food. Sushi and sashimi are so so good and fresh, also, the food presentation is very nice and attractive. Desserts are delicious too. Price is a little high but worth based on food quality and service.“