Okini Restaurant & Bar

1864 W 57th Ave, Vancouver
(604) 263-0155

Recent Reviews

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Michael DiPietro

One of the best meals I’ve had in the city in a while. All unique dishes, great service, and a really nice setting. Will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Salmon Soba

arvin

Service could be improved, from the servers perspective. The chef and owner I presume ran the food himself and his service was fine. This is a great spot for date night.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3

Guenola Oliviero

Everything was fantastic! We tried the "Tainted Love" and "Accidental Eye Contact" cocktails, and both were absolutely delicious. The truffle mushroom yaki udon was a wonderful surprise—it exceeded our expectations! While the service was a bit slower than usual, I completely understand given that it was New Year's Eve.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Truffle Mushroom Yaki Udon, Unagi Risotto, King Salmon Tartare

Monica Yau

I made a reservation rather last minute, and requested a table outdoor, as we have our dog with us. The front of house greeted me promptly, but told me their heated covered outdoor seating can only accommodate small dog that is up to 25 pounds, and that is a regulation set by health authority. She is kind enough to ask the manager, and I saw the manager talking to the owner, and they were willing to accommodate us, which I am grateful. But I want to say I’m pretty certain Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has no such regulation like that, as my partner is the regional manager taking care of the food and food safety portfolio at this said organization. If it’s the restaurant’s policy/ owner’s decision, I wish they would just say so instead of blaming to another organization.

We ordered the leafy green and herb salad, which I find is too bland and not enough dressing. The braised beef cheek and unagi alla vodka pasta were lovely with the perfect amount of seasoning and flavors. We ordered the black sesame chocolate brownie to end our meal. I think if it would have been better if it’s a black sesame chocolate lava cake instead of brownie. The salted kinako flavor is quite unique, but don’t think the berry coulis does anything to the dish. I wonder if a miso caramel sauce would have been a better match.

Service is attentive, and food came out pretty quickly. Over all, it’s a decent restaurant, I wouldn’t mind coming again to try other dishes.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 5

lili zeng

The food was served very, very slowly, and there was no service the whole time. The waiter at our table was playing with his mobile phone at the bar. He couldn't even see the wave and didn't come over... The food was very average. There was too much garlic in the pasta, which made my stomach feel uncomfortable after eating it.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 1

My Ng

We came at 9:15pm. Waitress is OK but the kitchen isnt happy LOL.
I saw their eyes looking at our group. You know you have open kitchen right guys?

No one seated us, the whole team looked at us weirdly. Then the bartender had to come out and brought us to our table.

However, FOOD WAS SO GOOD. We enjoyed all the meals.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 5

Service: 3

Paul Chan

Great food, great service, love it!
Will definitely go again next time! 👍

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Evelyn Liu

Expensive but it is well worth a visit! Items on the menu are unique, a comfortable combination between Japanese and Italian/western food. Everything tastes very delicious! Portions of food are not big, but after two to three courses meal, will feel full enough.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Penny Rusty Sophie

Been meaning to try Land & Sea for a while and finally got treated here for dinner by my sweetie.

The location is a bit out of the way for us but plenty of nearby parking. It was quite busy on this night and the din from festive patrons was probably the only downside we had here. Still, service was quite good and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

Started with their signature ora king salmon soba. The salmon is perfectly cooked and wish this came as an entree size.

Next up were the wagyu beef carpacchio with 63 degree egg, black garlic miso, pickled wasabi, crispy shallots and topped with parmigiano reggiano. This literally melts in your mouth.

The miso glazed sablefish was tender with large flakes and swimming in a delicious dashi broth.

They had a special holiday menu available so we opted for the mini "turkey" - which is actually a roasted Cornish hen stuffed with truffles, sausage and milk bread, holiday roasted vegetables, and truffle yakiniku gravy. Well worth the price and we couldn't finish the whole thing. The gravy was unbelievably tasty and the hen was so succulent and flavorful. The stuffing just paired so well with this.

We ended with the black sesame chocolate brownie with shiratama (mochi ball), and kinako gelato. I actually enjoyed the complimentary scoop of pistachio ice cream that they gave me for my birthday.

Overall, wouldn't hesitate to come back. Prices can add up here but the flavours of all the dishes were well executed.

Update: Returned in Dec 2023 mainly for their "mini turkey". This year's version uses sticky rice for the stuffing. I think i still liked last year's version with sausage and milk bread stuffing with holiday roasted veggies better.

Update Jun 2024 - A revisit to try their happy hour. A good time to order the wagyu beef carpaccio - still the same great dish but at a more affordable cost. Worth the visit by itself.

We also tried the pork tomahawk finally. The pork was so tender and juicy (loved biting the meat off the bone). The gindara saikyoyaki had succulent sablefish with egg tofu and a killer sauce. Rounded out our meal with the Brussels sprouts Caesar, yuzu ginger spritz, hojicha iced tea, and black sesame chocolate brownie

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Alex Gouvea

Excellent place for good food. Far away from the busy areas. Easy to park, no rush, service was amazing.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Truffle Mushroom Yaki Udon, Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, Black Sesame Chocolate Brownie, Pork Tomahawk

K Y

I’ve been a recurring customer since 2021 when it was still called Land & Sea YVR and although the portion sizes are getting slightly smaller by the year and the place doesn’t have great lighting at night, the food quality more than makes up for it.

Would personally recommend the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio as a must get and also the Risotto (used to be Unagi Risotto but is now sadly replaced with something else). The Pork Tomahawk is also an all time favourite even though the portion size is smaller than it was 3 years ago (inflation). The Uni Toast which used to be on the secret menu ($80) is now on the official menu for $8 more, but it is also quite delectable if you are willing to pay $88 for it. The cocktails are also pretty amazing. The only thing I would avoid getting is the salad, as the portion size is ridiculously small.

All in all 9.5/10!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, Unagi Risotto

Gabriela Ferraz

Really good food and they have a dogs menu, so smart!

Hein Hamers

Great place to eat amazing food. Especially if you want your dog not to miss out on the fun!

The food is elevated yet simplistic, great flavors, great ingredients, no fluff.

Next time I’ll go during happy hour since they have sides during happy hour but not during dinner.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Wagyu Bolognese, Pork Tomahawk

Glendon Inkster

Great food and a cosy atmosphere!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Julia Lin

I’ve been coming to Okini since they first opened, and it’s always a treat! So much umami and depth of flavours in every dish, and cocktails are great too. Salmon soba is a personal favorite, and on our most recent visit, the pork tomahawk and soft shell crab risotto were outstanding. Tucked away in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver with lots of free parking, highly recommend making this your next destination, as so many already do.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

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