For the past 15 years, I've been dying to try this legendary Vancouver institution. Not sure why it took me so long to make it happen! As a self-proclaimed foodie who's been fortunate enough to travel the world and dine at some of the best restaurants out there, Tojo's absolutely lived up to the hype. It did not disappoint in the slightest. I'll be back regularly—and often.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert Almeida
Tojo’s was very good quality food and beautifully presented. The ingredients were fresh and the service was solid. You can tell there is care in the preparation and attention to detail.
However, the $700 Valentine’s set menu felt significantly overpriced for what was served. That total included just one bottle of beer and a $45 bottle of sake, which makes the overall cost even harder to justify. While I understand premium pricing for special occasions, this felt excessive relative to the experience.
There are many other restaurants offering the same or better quality for $300 plus. I would not go back at that price, and I would not return just to pay for a name.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Lee Kyuah
I had one of the worst restaurant experiences here.
We visited for a Valentine’s Day omakase. It was a pre-set course menu, not à la carte, so everything should have been prepared and timed accordingly. I honestly cannot believe they charge $300 per person for this level of food and service.
In an hour and a half, we were served only three dishes. Meanwhile, four other tables that arrived 20 minutes to an hour after us finished their meals, paid, and left — and we still had not received all of our courses. They even skipped one of the courses and served the next dish without it.
The food was not terrible, but it certainly was not impressive. The steak was served somewhere between lukewarm and cold, clearly losing heat before it reached the table. If I had to say what was the best part of the entire meal, it would honestly be the whipped cream on the dessert.
We went in with very high expectations after hearing that this restaurant was opened 39 years ago by the creator of the California roll. That history made us even more excited to experience it. I even tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, wondering if perhaps the server was new and still learning. However, if a restaurant has been operating for 39 years, proper training of new staff should absolutely be part of their responsibility.
Overall, this was a deeply disappointing experience. We went to celebrate a special day with someone special, hoping to create happy memories, but instead we left feeling upset.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Virginia Reid
We just spent $700 on valentines dinner omakase and man was it rough. People literally laughed how bad it was. Not only was it rocket science for the food to end up at the correct table but it wasn’t even good! The fish quality was not even amazing. Also, two dishes would show up within 5 minutes and then nothing for 40 minutes+. The server was very nice but so confused. We tipped her well, some of it was not her fault and she seemed nice but also it was a set menu and couldn’t figure out where any of the dishes were going. One table complained so they just brought them 4 different dishes at once. Restaurant is tired looking, no music and honestly not a lot of positives. If I paid $200 I wouldn’t care but $700 is a different story. Sorry for the negative review, but there’s a lot of better options.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Ma Yan
The food is top-notch! The omakase was simply amazing Each course was expertly designed ，highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Paul
We had the Omakase experience. We had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed ourselves. What a treat.
hugh
This is a classic. Food such a flavour adventure. Service remarkable. Very memorable! Thank you Chef Tojo and Tomo too!
John Salto
A good place to go. Worth the experience to eat at. A bit expensive but the price reflects the food and service which is great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
Kim CJP
This was hands down one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. My boyfriend took me here for a nice surprise date, got dressed up, arrived and no one greeted us at the door. The lighting is all bright LED white light, no candles or soft lighting to set the mood. It felt like I was at White Spot. The food was overpriced, AWFUL, bland and tiny portions. The service was terrible, our server barely spoke English. We asked questions about the food and cocktails and she didn’t understand a single thing we said so we just said forget it. I ordered the Milk Punch cocktail, it was so disappointing. No one checked on us our entire meal lol no quality check, nothing. We paid and didn’t tip. Don’t waste your money here. This place is overhyped.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Alan Tsai
Over priced... There are many other choices in town
I ordered the CHEF'S CHOICE. I WAS UNDERWHELMED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE FISH. I EAT A FAIR AMOUNT OF SUSHI AND IT DID NOT SEEM AS FLAVORFUL OR FRESH AS I HAD EXPECTED GIVEN THE HIGHER PRICES. SERVICE WAS VERY GOOD THOUGH THE RESTAURANT WAS NEARLY EMPTY WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CLUE.
Joyen Liu Ng
Very nice staff, attentive. Had a chance to take a look how the sushi was made/served. The chefs also very nice ppl and very approachable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joyen
Very good experience. We didn't chose the omakase, but one can pass by the omakase bar and see. The chef, Tojo, very friendly.
Douglas
We had another wonderful dinner at Tojo's. The service was efficient yet unobtrusive. Food was excellent and the cocktails are fun and well made. We tried a few new dishes and they were at the same high standards as our usual selections. The Tojo's Tuna is a long time favorite. The Gyu Sashi was a new find, as was the Misu Karaage. The salmon sashimi was excellent as were the making rolls. Our server helped us with a sake tasting which was a really nice experience- learned a lot.
Kelvin A. Coles
I am dearly thankful to the friend that introduced our family to Tojo's!
For the past 15 years, I've been dying to try this legendary Vancouver institution. Not sure why it took me so long to make it happen! As a self-proclaimed foodie who's been fortunate enough to travel the world and dine at some of the best restaurants out there, Tojo's absolutely lived up to the hype. It did not disappoint in the slightest. I'll be back regularly—and often.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tojo’s was very good quality food and beautifully presented. The ingredients were fresh and the service was solid. You can tell there is care in the preparation and attention to detail.
However, the $700 Valentine’s set menu felt significantly overpriced for what was served. That total included just one bottle of beer and a $45 bottle of sake, which makes the overall cost even harder to justify. While I understand premium pricing for special occasions, this felt excessive relative to the experience.
There are many other restaurants offering the same or better quality for $300 plus. I would not go back at that price, and I would not return just to pay for a name.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
I had one of the worst restaurant experiences here.
We visited for a Valentine’s Day omakase. It was a pre-set course menu, not à la carte, so everything should have been prepared and timed accordingly. I honestly cannot believe they charge $300 per person for this level of food and service.
In an hour and a half, we were served only three dishes. Meanwhile, four other tables that arrived 20 minutes to an hour after us finished their meals, paid, and left — and we still had not received all of our courses.
They even skipped one of the courses and served the next dish without it.
The food was not terrible, but it certainly was not impressive. The steak was served somewhere between lukewarm and cold, clearly losing heat before it reached the table. If I had to say what was the best part of the entire meal, it would honestly be the whipped cream on the dessert.
We went in with very high expectations after hearing that this restaurant was opened 39 years ago by the creator of the California roll. That history made us even more excited to experience it. I even tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, wondering if perhaps the server was new and still learning. However, if a restaurant has been operating for 39 years, proper training of new staff should absolutely be part of their responsibility.
Overall, this was a deeply disappointing experience. We went to celebrate a special day with someone special, hoping to create happy memories, but instead we left feeling upset.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
We just spent $700 on valentines dinner omakase and man was it rough. People literally laughed how bad it was. Not only was it rocket science for the food to end up at the correct table but it wasn’t even good! The fish quality was not even amazing. Also, two dishes would show up within 5 minutes and then nothing for 40 minutes+. The server was very nice but so confused. We tipped her well, some of it was not her fault and she seemed nice but also it was a set menu and couldn’t figure out where any of the dishes were going. One table complained so they just brought them 4 different dishes at once. Restaurant is tired looking, no music and honestly not a lot of positives. If I paid $200 I wouldn’t care but $700 is a different story. Sorry for the negative review, but there’s a lot of better options.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
The food is top-notch! The omakase was simply amazing Each course was expertly designed ，highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
We had the Omakase experience. We had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed ourselves. What a treat.
This is a classic. Food such a flavour adventure. Service remarkable. Very memorable! Thank you Chef Tojo and Tomo too!
A good place to go. Worth the experience to eat at. A bit expensive but the price reflects the food and service which is great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
This was hands down one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. My boyfriend took me here for a nice surprise date, got dressed up, arrived and no one greeted us at the door. The lighting is all bright LED white light, no candles or soft lighting to set the mood. It felt like I was at White Spot. The food was overpriced, AWFUL, bland and tiny portions. The service was terrible, our server barely spoke English. We asked questions about the food and cocktails and she didn’t understand a single thing we said so we just said forget it. I ordered the Milk Punch cocktail, it was so disappointing. No one checked on us our entire meal lol no quality check, nothing. We paid and didn’t tip. Don’t waste your money here. This place is overhyped.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Over priced...
There are many other choices in town
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
I ordered the CHEF'S CHOICE. I WAS UNDERWHELMED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE FISH. I EAT A FAIR AMOUNT OF SUSHI AND IT DID NOT SEEM AS FLAVORFUL OR FRESH AS I HAD EXPECTED GIVEN THE HIGHER PRICES. SERVICE WAS VERY GOOD THOUGH THE RESTAURANT WAS NEARLY EMPTY WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CLUE.
Very nice staff, attentive. Had a chance to take a look how the sushi was made/served. The chefs also very nice ppl and very approachable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good experience. We didn't chose the omakase, but one can pass by the omakase bar and see. The chef, Tojo, very friendly.
We had another wonderful dinner at Tojo's. The service was efficient yet unobtrusive. Food was excellent and the cocktails are fun and well made. We tried a few new dishes and they were at the same high standards as our usual selections. The Tojo's Tuna is a long time favorite. The Gyu Sashi was a new find, as was the Misu Karaage. The salmon sashimi was excellent as were the making rolls. Our server helped us with a sake tasting which was a really nice experience- learned a lot.
I am dearly thankful to the friend that introduced our family to Tojo's!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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