Ikoi Sushi — Restaurant in British Columbia

This is definitely a hidden gem in New West! The best in town and it may be even better than a lot of Japanese restaurants in other cities. When I rate a restaurant, I always look at the quality of food first. Pricing, presentation of the dishes, ambiance and customer service are secondary.

Oh man! The food was so good that I would love to eat more and always want to visit the restaurant again. This restaurant is owned and run by Japanese people. I know some Japanese restaurants in Lower Mainland are running by Korean, Chinese or even other ethnicities. This Japanese restaurant is located in New West. I was surprised that Japanese customers would come out here and eat at this restaurant at this location.

We ordered a house roll, clam miso soup, chawanmushi, beef tataki, fried oysters, and deluxe assorted sushi. Their raw fish was very fresh. The seaweed wrapping the sushi was one that I did not have to chew for a long time. Some seaweed are very chewy that my teeth could not separate it. The clam miso soup was full of clams. The restaurant was not stingy on giving out clams. I had clam miso soup elsewhere. There was only a few clams in the soup. The house roll and deluxe assorted sushi were excellent. The house roll was very big but the ingredients did not fall apart. The presentation and the quality of the deluxe assorted sushi were extraordinary that every single piece of the sushi was fresh and tasty. The chef put a little bit of wasabi in each piece of sushi, so the dish did not come with wasabi. Again I always ask people to come and try the food. Don't just read my review. :D I loved chawanmushi. Some chawanmushi at other Japanese restaurants might not be good but they charged a high price. Here they put many ingredients in chawanmushi that every single spoon of chawanmushi was delicious.

I am drooling even though I am writing about the food here. I should definitely go back to the restaurant and try other dishes soon. Two last good things I would like to mention were the customer service and parking. The servers were extremely polite and respectful to customers. There is a big parking lot right outside the restaurant that you don't need to worry about parking. If the parking lot is full, you can park on street in the...

We have been coming here for a while. The food is very good, therefore, do not let my 4 star rating fool you; in my life everything is a 9 or a 4 in the case of this review.

Kaizen is a rule that should be followed.

The food is prepared with care and is served at the appropriate temperatures, hot food is very hot, cold food. Well you get the picture. They use SHORT grain rice in all of their sushi dishes which is seasoned, as it should be.

They have traditional dishes not found at most Japanese restaurants, such as Takoyaki. A ball shaped fried dumpling with diced squid inside, a Japanese street food. Ika Sugatayaki, grilled whole squid, another street food item that is done very well. And Zarusoba, cold Buckwheat noodles with a dipping sauce. And yes, you should slurp.

They also have the expected favorites, Gyoza, Sunomomo, Tempura, Udon. This also includes the sushi/sashimi list as well. Their boats are reasonably priced and portioned well. They also have my favorite roll Futomaki. Hard to make correctly, but they do it well

The one main fact that I have not mentioned, and this is a big deal to me; it is JAPANESE operated. Not Korean, not Chinese, Japanese.

In a world of makeshift Japanese restaurants this restaurant stands out as originally Japanese. Not a restaurant trying to be Japanese.

My recommendation: try this restaurant, I am sure you will be...

We visited this Japanese restaurant and ordered the sushi and sashimi boat set for two. The presentation was beautiful, and the variety of seafood—salmon, tuna, shrimp, squid, mackerel, and octopus—was impressive. Everything tasted fresh and delicious, clearly prepared with care and good-quality ingredients.

The set also included two bowls of miso soup and a pair of salads. While the soups were warm and comforting, the salads felt more like a Western-style twist and didn’t quite reflect authentic Japanese flavors.

One small letdown was the sushi rice, which lacked the slight sweetness and balanced seasoning typically expected. Additionally, the soy sauce provided was on the salty side, which slightly overpowered the more delicate pieces.

The restaurant is spacious and decorated in a traditional Japanese style, creating a peaceful and pleasant dining atmosphere. It’s run by a Japanese chef and staffed with Japanese servers, which adds an extra layer of authenticity to the overall experience.

Overall, it was an enjoyable meal, and with a few small improvements, it could be a fantastic spot for...