Shiro — Restaurant in Vancouver

I hadn't come here for dinner in ages. I knew the sushi or food at Shiro was great in the past. I came back here again after many years. The quality of food was great that it did not disappoint me. The restaurant is always busy. It is always full that people have to line up and wait at the entrance.

My friend and I ordered a lot of food such as tuna and salmon sashimi, curry tuna croquettes, eggplants and deep fried "tofu skin" (as appetizers), shiro maki, negitoro maki, and special scallop roll. All the raw fish were fresh and tasty. All the sushi were having the right size. Some Japanese chefs put a lot of rice on the sushi that is not proportional between rice and sashimi.

Customer service was great here that servers always checked on our table or others and made sure they took care of all customers' needs. A couple of things that my friend and I did not like was that the size of the restaurant was small and it was packed with many tables and chairs. All customers were sitting very close together. It was kind of uncomfortable. One of the servers was very impressive that he was not a Japanese but he could speak Japanese fluently; however, he was very loud talking and doing bigger gestures that Japanese servers don't normally do them. Native Japanese servers are very polite and talk respectfully to customers or anyone.

There is a tiny parking lot in front of the restaurant but it is always full, so if you come here for meals, either walking or parking on the street...

Shiro Japanese Restaurant has been around forever. I ate here for the first time 20 years ago. Back then when you would first walk in they would all yell out in an authentic Japanese greeting. It was so special. They still do this of course, but it's toned down and has a sense of being protocol more than being authentic. On my most recent visit here I experienced that sentiment throughout the visit. It's ok, but it's just ok.

The food was good and came to my table quickly although I did order only a few simple rolls. The flavors were harmonious as were the varying textures of the individual rolls. There was plenty of ginger on my plate as can be seen in the photo and I had an overall sense of satisfaction after eating.

The atmosphere was alright as I did enjoy the Japanese pop music, yet the place has aged over the years. I also noticed the floor was dirty despite the restaurant having closed for a time after the lunch shift. The table legs appeared to not have been cleaned in a very long time which has me considering what else isn't clean. As far as parking goes they do have free parking outside but the spots are very narrow so if you have a phobia of door dings perhaps street parking is the safer option.

In closing I'm not sure if this place is under new ownership, but the food is good. Sadly, you wont get a Pocky after you pay for your meal as in the past, nor will you get a warm scented towel when your first sit...

There's a review below which mentions that service is going downhill, and I cannot agree more. I live nearby and visited this place many times. Food tends to be consistently good (although scallop was not fresh today) but staff are indifferent and inattentive. We arrived when things were slowing down (8:05 pm) and there was one table for 4 available. We waited for 15 minutes in the narrow hallway hoping to get their attention. They all ignored us. Finally a little corner of the bar became available and they tried to make us sit there. It was barely a space for one person. We asked for a table, and was told that they were keeping it for 4 people. Completely understandable during busy hours but not when it's been just sitting there and there was nobody behind us. We nearly turned around to leave and finally it was offered to us with no apologies, and there was no attentive service afterwards either. I was so displeased, I could not enjoy the food. The neighbouring table had a tough time ordering a simple box sushi, the same server initially said out of the material...out of salmon? They persisted and eventually got what they wanted. I...