Kiyo Sushi — Restaurant in Richmond

Kiyo Sushi is tucked away in the Cambie Plaza mini mall in Richmond. We came for a visit in early November because I was intrigued by their menu (I’m tired of “Japanese” restaurants that only serve sushi rolls).

The interior is somewhat small with various nooks and crannies and the restaurant filled up with diners by the time we left. We started out with an order of Ebi Sunomono ($4.75) with a plentiful helping of baby shrimp in the rice vinegar.

Their sashimi offerings look good so I picked the Goshoku Mori ($20) which consisted of the following assorted sashimi: salmon, tuna, hamachi, madai (red snapper), and amaebi. The sashimi here is very fresh and one of the highlights of our meal here… especially the buttery hamachi.

Their menu said that it was the season for matsutake (pine mushrooms), so we ordered the Matsutake Dobin Mushi ($9.50) which is served in this cute little kettle and consists of dashi broth, ginko, honewort, mitsuba, chicken, and shrimp.

Usually when we order BBQ Salmon Belly ($8), we don’t expect to get such large pieces. I liked the crisp skin and the fatty salmon pieces but I almost felt like the pieces were too thick.

Next up was the Oyster Motoyaki ($5.50) served in-shell. Call me old-fashioned, but I still prefer places (such as Kiyo) which serve oyster motoyaki in an oyster shell (as compared with some places that serve it in a small tin baking shell).

Last up was the Assorted Tempura ($13.50). I was a bit surprised at how large this dish was and it contained a good assortment of items: 4 pieces of shrimp, 2 pieces each of zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, yam, lotus root, green bean, squash, and another type of yam/sweet potato. Not only was there quite a number of pieces of tempura, they were perfectly prepared with a light and crisp batter and served with grated radish (something that we only see at select Japanese restaurants)

Overall, the food here is quite good with the standouts being the fresh sashimi and the tempura. Love that their menu has a lot of different options that you don’t find at basic Japanese...

First time experience, so I cannot say for everyone. Had to park street side because the plaza was packed. The restaurant had a nice ambiance.

Service was good and staff was friendly. I'm not sure if it was due to it being near closing time (we ordered at around 7:30PM), but unfortunately the food was only okay.

Some of the sashimi in the chirashi don was irregularly shaped (half a piece or end piece maybe), and it did not feel fresh (was kind of dry). The nigiri was also a bit dry, and they put wasabi under the pieces (understandable if it was real wasabi, but it was just imitation and they put quite a bit). The beef teriyaki wasn't really sauced/grilled (it was more like boiled, similar to what you would get if you tried thawing frozen strips of meat in a pan). The tempura/karaage were decent. I liked that they had grated daikon for the soba and tempura.

For 2 people, it was around $70 after tip. We ordered 2 dinner sets and a separate roll. Would go again for the atmosphere/service if the food could be a bit better in terms of quality (and parking wasn't that hard to find).

As an aside, I saw vomit outside that had udon noodles in it after leaving the premises. After getting home, my partner felt unwell and had a stomach ache, but I cannot say these events are related since I was fine (though I have a cast...

I've been going to Kiyo for years. I've worked down the street on Cambie for the last 16 years and have been here a few times for lunch...many hundred more times for dinner - generally when I'm too lazy to cook. I stopped going for a bit when my daughter was born but have now started going back because it's a great place for kids - well...they don't seem to mind the kids.

Sushi is fresh. Though I've had better quality. I've had marginally better value but oddly, all outside of Richmond and I'm not willing to drive that far for a spur-of-the-moment-don't-feel-like-cooking meal. This is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Richmond.

They are authentic Japanese here. Which is a must - thus no all you can eat garbage quality. One thing I've noticed over the years is their price and how it's gone up steadily. I can't see them going much higher...check that...I guess they can but value right now is right on the cusp of being not worth it. You can get more bang for your buck at Gyoza King right now but GK has no sushi.

Anyway, the service, the food, the atmosphere (for kids), keeps my coming back. If you plan to go on a prime night, make a res. If you go on a Saturday night, the Chinese restaurant next door tends to have weddings or something...and parking becomes impossible so be...