Where to eat sushi in Metro Vancouver? A restaurant review roundup

Vancouverites love to boast about the city’s sushi. Sure, Vancouver has plentiful options for food, but when visitors ask what the city’s most iconic cuisine might be, sushi is always one of the top answers.

What’s not to love? Vancouver has some of the top sushi chefs outside of Japan and some of the freshest seafood around, whether sourced locally or from famous fish markets across the sea.

So we’ve compiled a selection of her reviews to help you decide where to go next time you’re craving sushi. This roundup includes several years of sushi-containing posts from our resident restaurant expert. Information such as hours and menu items may not be up to date, so please check with individual eateries for additional details.

We’ve also included the original publication date of each review, along with the original link, so you can read the full article. Where: 175 Third St.

West, North Vancouver Sushi Mahana recently took home the Silver in Vancouver Magazine’s Restaurant Awards and it’s obvious why.

This isn’t your grab-to-go sushi tray meal; it’s an experience from top to bottom, with kitchen staff that have served some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Where: 1086 West Broadway, Vancouver

Chef and owner Leon Yukawa worked in Omakase-style sushi restaurants in Seattle before honing his skills further in Japan, and finally setting up shop in B.C. “I’ve been a sushi chef for 22 years,” says Yukawa. “I’ve worked with many great chefs in very high-end sushi restaurants serving all sushi styles.” Where: 3330 Main St., Vancouver Sushi Hil is a bright, welcoming space in Mount Pleasant that will please anyone. “The sashimi, nigiri and rolled sushi that I tried didn’t disappoint — the seafood is fresh, clean and oceany,” says Mia.

Where: 1038 Mainland St/, Vancouver Dining at Okeya Kyujiro is more like enjoying a live performance than it is visiting a restaurant. “You enter at the appointed time through a very discreet entrance and are seated in a darkened room at a U-shaped counter.

The music builds anticipation, like a Cirque du Soleil performance about to begin. Behind black screens, you see shadowy figures. Then Matsuda begins a throaty, musical incantation in Japanese,” writes Mia.

Where: 775 Denman St., Vancouver At the time of Mia’s visit, the drinks menu was nothing to sing 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 such as Aburi (flame-torched) prawn sushi and a BBQ unagi maki roll that Mia said was delicious.

Where: 8099 Granville St., Vancouver This is the place for “sushi purists,” according to Mia.

The omakase-only restaurant offers two seatings, with Mia recommending a seat at the bar “where you can witness the chefs’ reverence for fish and their hand ballet as they assemble onigiri sushi.” Where: 3648 West Broadway, Vancouver

At Itosugi, “the sushi changes constantly, depending on what’s available, and cooked dishes change monthly. The restaurant uses local seafood rather than importing Japanese as it keeps food costs down and (owner Alfred) Chan haunts farmers markets for local ingredients to buy in smaller quantities.” Where: 1668 Robson St., Vancouver

Chef and owner Maumi Ozaki is “a sushi whisperer with hands flying in balletic moves, slicing, scoring with a long-blade knife, scooping rice, shaping rice, placing fish on rice, lightly brushing on sauce, sprinkling salt and clapping hands before moving back to the rice. If he stops to think, fingers drum on the counter.”

Where: 4376 Fraser St., Vancouver At the time of Mia’s 2016 review, she found that there was a growing buzz around Masayoshi, despite issues that had dogged it during its first year. “There’s no denying the food quality and its artful presentation,” she wrote.

But it appears things have changed, as the restaurant now boasts a Michelin-starred Omakase experience.