Tojo's Restaurant — Restaurant in Vancouver

Fabulous experience. Have tried 95% of the most famous/well known Japanese restaurants in town; dine at some of those restaurants frequently in different seasons. Tojo’s still brought me some wonderful memories among all those experiences.

The cooked fish at the beginning are just as good as other famous Japanese restaurants in the town; they are tasty, but didn’t exceed my expectations, although the smoked sablefish is quite special on its smoky taste and source.

Baked salmon itself is normal, but the mushroom source is Sooooo creamy.

Sashimi, the selection and fish choices are not as good as what we expected(was hoping if there would be some Japanese uni or other Hokkaido crabs); however, the fish are exactly what I had in Japan. I’m not a big fan of Salmon since there are too many special types of fish which are better than salmon, but the salmon at Tojo’s brought me the same memory of my first sashimi in Japan———I went to Japan another two times since my first visit, but couldn’t find that taste again, thanks Tojo’s! The bluefin is amazing———I had toro all the time, but this bluefin is extremely tender and juicy———just had toros multiple times in the last few weeks, but this toro shocked me and my wife.

Wagyu is a huge surprise. I had different types of A5 Kobe or Miyazaki wagyu before in the town and in other countries; used to think the Kobe steak I had in Monaco to be the best, but this wagyu is extreamllllly juicy(my wife and kid had the same comment). Was later told by the manager that besides the normal A5 grading system, its marbling is also ranked to be the top. Well deserved.

The sushi is a bless. I had some very good sushi in Japan before, and I liked the sushi rice of multiple well known big brands in the town and two private owned expensive special Japanese restaurants in the area. When I saw the fish itself on the sushi, I was a bit disappointed becuz the fish selection didn’t meet my expectations. Nevertheless, the overall grading for this sushi must be the best I had in Vancouver as soon as I tried the first one———fish is super tender and juicy, the rice is an amazing combination with the type of fish. Furthermore, the amount of wasabi put into the sushi matches my taste almost 100%(a lot of good Japanese restaurants put wasabi into sushi, but Tojo’s amount, at least for me, is Sooooo accurate). Yes again, I really wish the fish selection can be more luxurious(crab, uni, etc), but I can’t blame the amazing sushi like this.

Finally, I couldn’t understand why “California roll” is sold for close to $100 when it’s sold for $5-$10 across North America at the beginning. Still, gave it a try since I knew in advanced that it’s invented by chef Tojo ——It’s amazing. Again, cucumber is cucumber; shrimp tempera is shrimp tempera. For sure, they are made to be better than average at Tojo’s, but it didn’t worth $100 if that’s the only traits. Same as before, besides the amazing sushi rice, the scallop is amazing———I had Hokkaido scallops in town all the time in different restaurants, and this one is still great. Also, the caviar, I know it’s imported from France but I couldn’t remember it’s name. It’s soooooooooo amazing to combine all of these together. Other Pros: super kids friendly; easy to find parking spot. Tempera uses great ingredients, and the source is different with all the other good tempera source I’ve ever had.

Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Foods: 4.9( again, wagyu, sushi are 5.1, but was hoping to have better sashimi selections).

Portion: 2———I spent this amount of money/above this price all the time on foods. It’s true that some of the foods here brought me unforgettable experience, but the portion is really smaller than smaller😂. We didn’t get ourselves stuffed. That’s probably why I put 4 stars when service/food are both 5😄. Again I love some of your foods, but just trying to be “picky” 😄. Thanks for the...

There is only one that has consistently been number one on the list of Vancouver Magazines "Best Japanese Award" every year since 1988.

That award, goes to Tojo's.

Chef Tojo has been actively involved in Japanese cooking for a total of 45 years having started at the age of 18 in Osaka Japan.

After a fast 3 years of apprenticeship in Osaka, Tojo took his art over-seas to the City of Vancouver, where his journeys in Canadian Sushi began.

His work has taken him to places like The Martha Stewart Cooking Show in 2004, NBC's "The Today Show" with Katie Couric, The Fairmont Dubai grand opening (where he was the Guest Chef in "Tojo on One") and L.A where he has been a guest chef.

When I meet Tojo in person, I could instantly tell that the excitement he may have had at the age of 18, is still in his blood.

His art, is his passion.

For a lot of people, sushi is a quick healthy way to satisfy a craving, or take a date for that new sense of excitement.

But what many people may not realize, is that there is certainly an art that comes with sushi making. Those that have eaten at Tojo's will tell you, that his work is certainly art, and Tojo is the creative artist.

While there, I had a chance to trust Tojo to Omakase.

And I was not disappointed.

Omakase in Japanese culture means one entrusts the Chef to arrange a meal for his guests.

At Tojo's, Omakase features a combination of both hot and cold dishes which:

"embodies the essence of Tojo's culinary, and reflects the blessed environment of the region that bestows us with some of the finest ingredients in the world". - Tojo's Menu.

My meal started off with, Tojo's Tuna, which was probably the freshest of the popular appetizer I have ever had. Most likely because it was served in Canada's seafood capital, British Columbia.

It was presented beautifully on ice.

Chilled, smooth, sprinkled with green onions and a matching green leaf to compliment the dish, my meal was off to a great start.

I was wondering how something so delicious could be beat.

I was then presented with a beautiful order of crab, presented in it's bright and colourful pink and orange shell.

It was detailed with bright yellow flower petals, and made to perfection. The colour combination matched with the refreshing taste of the fresh sea crab was certainly pleasing to the taste buds.

Next, a sampling of what I believe was shiitake mushrooms.

To be honest, I was pleasantly distracted by Chef Tojo presenting the dish to me that I forgot what the exact name of it was.

Rest, assured. This tantalizing treat was fully appreciated. It was also new to me. I'm glad I tried it.

While enjoying our meal, I had to chance to see Chef Tojo present his Northern Light Roll.

This roll was artistic in itself and upon review it is understood where the name came from.

This specialty roll, is filled nicely with wild prawn tempura, avacado, seasonal fruit and rolled in a cucumber crepe.

This dish was inspired by the Canadian Northern Lights, and yes. It shows.

The next item was a treat for me, as Chef Tojo surprised me with a form of BBQ dish that was presented and wrapped gift-like in a form of cooking paper.

I almost ate the paper...

When I unwrapped the serving and sampled the barbecued roll, I was once again impressed with Chef Tojos recommendation and his personal creativity. The roll was paired with asparagus and what appeared to be mushrooms.

The taste was superb!

My final sampling was personally presented and made for the occasion as well.

It was a Temakizushi roll which consisted of tempura prawn, avocado, and glazed with Chef Tojo's special sauce. I made a point to tell Chef Tojo that it was certainly delicious.

So the next time you are in Vancouver, and you are looking for just the right place to satisfy that sushi craving...why not head down to 1133 W. Broadway and visit Chef...

Prior to visiting Vancouver, my husband and I researched extensively, in search of “don’t miss” dining and culinary experiences. Tojo’s appeared repetitively in our search and was touted as a Canadian sushi master, and the inventor of the California Roll. We called the restaurant to make a reservation for the omakase experience ( priced at $220 a person). The restaurant informed us that they were completely booked to capacity. They did, however, claim that they found just one opening for their most exclusive dining option, including a “bespoke” omakase experience at the sushi bar with Chef Tojo himself, who would be preparing our meal in front of us and privying us to his masterful Japanese cooking techniques (priced at $330 a person). They required a credit card to secure the reservation and promised us not only superior cuisine, but an immersive and personal experience with Chef Tojo. Although this reservation came with a high price tag, we were willing to pay for it, feeling as if we were gaining access to a unique experience. We arrived at the restaurant to find it completely empty at prime dinner hour (around 7:30 pm). Clearly, the restaurant had highly exaggerated, even completely fabricated, its exclusivity and popularity. Clearly, the less expensive option would have been available, had the reservation desk been honest with us. In fact, we wouldn’t have needed a reservation at all, and could have walked in off the street to be seated immediately, with almost every single table in the restaurant open. We were ushered to the sushi bar, where we were the only 2 patrons sitting. They handed us a pre-printed menu, once again promoting the incredible interactive culinary journey we were about to embark upon. Even though we were amongst the only 6 or 7 diners in the entire restaurant, and we were promised an extremely exclusive, unforgettable experience, we found the staff to be inattentive and downright dismissive. Chef Tojo never made an appearance as originally stipulated. Instead, one of his apprentices worked behind the sushi bar. This sushi chef barely engaged with us at all. There was absolutely no part of our dining experience that was immersive, bespoke, or interactive. The ambiance in the restaurant was pathetically sparse and non-existent. Our sushi courses from the omakase menu were prepared at the sushi bar by the non-interactive Tojo replacement, and the rest of our food came directly from the kitchen. The servers/ sushi chef provided us little to no explanation of each dish, other than to instruct us not to dip any of the sushi in soy sauce. Due to the frosted glass on the back of the sushi bar obstructing our view, we were completely unable to watch the sushi making process in action. Although fresh and pleasant, the food absolutely did not blow us away. There was nothing about the menu that was particularly unique or extraordinary. In fact, both my husband and I have enjoyed equivalent sushi experiences at our local neighborhood spots in our home city of Chicago for a small fraction of the cost. Our bill for our disappointing meal came to nearly $1000. Our omakase experience did not include drinks or wine pairings. My husband and I enjoyed 2 drinks a piece, adding to our already exorbitant bill. Overall, we feel bamboozled by the staff at Tojo’s. They were dishonest about the difficulty of acquiring reservations. They promised us an unparalleled culinary experience with Chef Tojo himself, and didn’t come close to delivering on any of their promises. We could have enjoyed 5 good meals for the price of this one dissatisfying and upsetting experience. DON”T GO TO TOJO”S! He may have earned certain accolades decades ago, but this spot is WELL PAST ITS PRIME and there are certainly other far superior choices in Vancouver to get...