Tetsu Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Vancouver

Tetsu is a small eatery – just five tables for two and three bar spots – with shabby walls and old furniture. In Japan, you can find a place like that on every corner of every city, so I would call the atmosphere quite authentic. The menu features a wide selection of fresh Japanese fish and seafood with a few attractive options from the kitchen.

Although the menu features five-course omakase, we decided to go with a la carte options. We started our dinner with a BBQ eel wrapped in the omelette. It arrived in four sizzling-hot pieces that melt in your mouth and immediately bring the memories of 100-yen omelettes from Tokyo's Tsukiji market.

Then, we went for chef's choice sashimi and premium sushi. The sashimi were amazingly fresh and equally impressed us with quality and presentation. The premium sushi set was stunning, simple and delicious, as the sushi should be. The itamae maintained the delicate balance between rice, fish and seasoning. The taste reminded us of Harukoma Honten in Osaka, where we had to wait for an hour in line to try some of the best sushi in Japan. With the abundance of sushi options in Vancouver, we have a new favourite!

We finished our dinner with cold Inaniwa udon, thin noodles from northern Japan. The tender and chewy texture of the noodles was radically different from the regular udon, and the simplicity of serving helped us focus on the taste. The Inaniwa udon, cold or hot, is a must-try when you visit Tetsu.

The top quality fish, masterful sushi preparation and delightful dishes from the back kitchen have a rather steep price tag at Tetsu, especially given the unpretentious interior. The prices are on par with Miku, a high-end sushi restaurant on the Waterfront, and undoubtedly higher than in some other great sushi places in Vancouver. Despite the disconnect between prices and restaurant level, we can recommend Tetsu for the...

Never fails to please!! One of the better omakase experiences one can find in the city...despite chef and owner, Satoshi Makise, not being behind the bar (attended a wedding reception last night of one of the city's OG food bloggers), the chef behind the bar was equal to the task!!

Physical surroundings:

A cozy establishment, with a 3-person sushi bar, and a few tables spaced an appropriate distance. Clean, nicely appointed, and reminiscent of many Japanese restaurants in our fair city.

Food:

The rice was perfect in texture, temperature, taste...each dish served was wonderfully, and lovingly, prepared...novel experience with the ebi marinated in Shaoxing wine... uncertain that it was to my liking, but, then again, I did not dislike it...found it distracted from the natural sweetness of the spot prawn (learned from the chef that it is the usual way it is prepared in Japan)...each piece/serving was selected and prepared with deftness, adherence and attention to an aesthetic, and provided my taste buds with a very enjoyable work-out...the first course had a subtle hint of smokiness, which was from a light sear of just the skin of the fish, another dish, with the addition of a shiso leaf, meant to be at the fore, prominent, but complementary to the inherent flavour of the fish. My only criticism relates to the order of dishes, as my preference would have been to move, in ascending order, from fish with more subtle, delicate favours to those with stronger flavours.

Service:

Efficient, attentive and non-intrusive wait staff. Sushi chef was efficient, seemingly effortlessly preparing our dishes, with his focus appropriately on each dish...only engaged with us following completion of the menu set.

Verdict:

Definitely worth many return trips...and deserving of its...

I am always on the hunt for a good quality sushi bar in Vancouver. Finding this sushi bar which shares the same name as me I decided to try it out.

I find it rare to find japanese cuisine which balances uncompromising detail and quality in their dish without charging their customers so exoberantly that any perceived value is lost on the diner. At Tetsu's sushi bar, while not cheap you're getting your money's worth which to me is high praise.

We were recommended the omakase (chefs choice) menu at either $80 or $67 per person. The only difference being some more premium sushi available in the more expensive option (kama Toro and Uni being stand outs.) My table of 4 decided to get 2 of each to try. The menu started with a set of 4 appetizers with the seabream in nanban sauce and the tamago(egg) with eel standing out. The sushi for both the 67 and 80 dollar menu were both impressive with 7 pieces per diner. Never have I seen Toro look so red and fatty before (taken from the neck of the tuna) and the scallop in the cheaper omakase option was in one whole piece which I rarely see in sushi.

Finally the meal winds down with what is usually called a "shime". A closing meal that helps ties down any hunger you might have as the sushi and appetizers are more of a mouth pleasure experience rather than getting you full. We had thin udon in a light broth with a shrimp head (completely edible). This was a perfect way to close out the meal.

Dessert was the final course with several choices, I had the strawberry daifuku which tasted fresh, subtlety sweet and a nice send off for a wonderful meal.

Highly recommend, especially if you're looking for a good balance between quality and...