Kojima Sushi — Restaurant in British Columbia

FOOD: 3.5 / 5 SERVICE: 2 / 5

I have mixed feeling about this place and here is why...

A friend and I decided that it was long over-due that we both had sushi so she decided to introduce me to this spot. Located just a few minutes (walk) from Royal City Centre in New Westminster it's fairly accessible by all modes of transportation. But if you really want to work up an appetite take the Skytrain to New Westminster station and walk up 6th street for about 15 minutes. And when I say "walk up 6th street", I'm not playing... that's a serious hill/mountainside.

Upon entering this sushi restaurant through the dining side (there seems to be a little bar side to it too), you might be drawn to taking the booth by the window. Don't be fooled... it's not the best seat in the house. The table is awkwardly shaped and the seating at that booth by the window has no back support.

As for the food...

Between the two of use we ordered:

Deep Fried Gyozas Dynamite Rolls Tempura California Rolls Spicy Salmon Sashimi Dragon Rolls Malibu Rolls

Overall, the food was good. The first to arrive was the Spicy Salmon Sashimi which was quickly followed by the Dynamite Rolls then the Dragon Rolls, Deep Fried Gyoza & then the Malibu Roll. At this point, my guest stated, "they are saving the best for last" referring to the Tempura California Rolls. Now I've had California Rolls before however I've never had them Tempura style so she got me excited about trying them for the first time.

Anyways... time passes as we're eat, chatting & laughing enjoying each bit & slowly sipping on our Heineken & Sapporo served in with glasses. Then my guest pipes up, "They forgot about the Tempura California Rolls!". At this time we're about 1/2 through the other dishes & we've concluded that it would be too late to "re-order" there Tempura California Rolls. We had a good mixture of dishes at our table and we didn't want to be left with just the Tempura Cali Rolls by the time the made it if we reminded them of the order so we decided we'd let it go. It was very disappointing through because I really wanted to try it for the first time and to her, it seemed to be one of her favourites.

Now for the service... or should I say the lack of service. The only thing that came fast was the initial tea offering shortly after we were seated. To waited for what felt like forever (especially when hungry & the restaurant is empty) to place our orders. The kitchen was quick to prep our food and bring it out (except for the tempura cali rolls as mentioned above). Then when we were finished, I actually had to get up out of my seat and go a search for our server so that we could get our bill. What made it worst was that if we didn't look at the bill and just paid it, we would have paid for the Tempura California Rolls that we did...

Just awful. I ordered from this website, as googling Kojima Sushi Commerical Drive brings this restaurant up as the first hit. They have the exact same font in their logo, so I did not notice the URL said New West. I completed my order, after the payment goes through it redirects to a page showing the New West pick up location… I called them immediately and told them my mistake. They told me, since the payment had already gone though, they could not refund me. I say that’s fine, can you just transfer the order to the Commerical Drive location. They said they were different businesses with different owners.

I asked them not to make the order as I would not be able to retrieve it. I had the flu and was getting my husband to pick this order up for me, and couldn’t ask him to drive to New West when the location we thought we were ordering from was less than a five minute walk away. I got no sympathy from the woman on the phone.

They got a free $23. It’s not much, but I was so angry just on principle. There’s no way to cancel an order made online? That seems insane. I checked the ordering system they used, run by DI Developer, sure enough, there is no way to cancel an order once placed.

I called Kojima on Commercial Drive right after. The first thing she asks me on the phone is, “This is for Vancouver Commercial Drive right?”. I wonder how many others have made this mistake, and wonder if it’s on purpose that the website does not explicitly state the location before paying.

I’ve reached out to DI Developer and the Better Business Bureau and if I find a resolution to this issue I will take down...

Today, I visited Kojima Sushi for some take-out. It was delightful. The ingredients are fresh, although I think it helps that we don't care for fish. Sushi without fish is a much better choice, don't you think? Anyways, as always, the yam tempura rolls were delicious. My two-year-old son enjoys them so much that he even ate some of the leftover rice and yam, blackened and dirt encrusted, from in between his toes in the bath an hour later. This place has a quick turn-around time from order to pick-up, too - usually about 15 minutes. For my part this evening, I was a little late picking up the order, as an old friend called to chat about just having stepped out on his wife, so I was distracted. But for their part, like clockwork. They are friendly, but tend to try to talk me out of my "No wasabi" decision almost every time, stating that "It's separate." I'll agree that it's mostly separated by the shredded ginger, but there are always a dangerous roll or two that make me feel like I'm in the movie Jackass when I eat them. 4...