YuaBistro — Restaurant in Victoria

Quick read/ update amazing ,clean ,fresh fish with great staff and best presentation by far in Victoria. But the size has gone down and the price has gone up tot he point that the value isn't there anymore.

The food is still good tasting but you don't get nearly the same amount as before and the cost is higher. So if you loved their sushi before you might be in for a shock when you go back . You are able to see the huge difference between all the initial pictures in my review vs the last visit on the white plate , which was 4 of the sampler plates

Full review If you are tired of Victoria sushi then this place is for you. Although you might expect outrageous prices for the quality of food you get here it actually is cheaper and much more satisfying than the former best sushi places in Victoria. If you don't like raw fish because it's too fishy, the truth is because it isn't good quality or prepared right... This is not the case here. I've stayed away from tuna and many fish but ordered the Aburi Premium Nigiri , which has :Wagyu, Foie Gras, Maguro, Hamachi, Salmon, Bincho, Hotate, BotaEbi and I was thinking I like half of the stuff and the other half I'll share..

Turns out everything was amazing , and in fact I ordered two of these plates ( the long ones in the pictures )

I also love toro, but have given up eating it in Victoria as it is never great. Here they have o toro and chu toro... Which are simply amazing. The Tito sashimi was easily the best quality I've had and have included several pictures to show the presentation as well as marbling.

I can't even think of another place in Victoria that has fresh wasabi , let alone custom crafter sauces for every piece in the Nigiri plate.

The uni was also amazing and the only bad part of it was that we got the last two pieces... But they had sold out so quickly that it was so fresh.

The octopus wasabi dish was also amazing and had clear flavors, with an amazing consistency. Which can't be said about the other places on Victoria.

At the risk of everyone finding out how great this place is I debated leaving a review or not... But this is one of those places where you want it to succeed not only because of how great the staff and food is but because you truly want others to get to taste what good...

Unfortunately, Yua misses the mark for me. It’s very unfortunate, because the atmosphere is quite beautiful and charming, and has very nice natural and minimal decor, a clear homage to Japan. However, I find some things odd about this restaurant.

Between the hours of 2-5:30, you are forced to order off their “Happy Hour” menu. This is incredibly strange to me. Nowhere else in my life have I gone to a restaurant and been told I can ONLY order off their happy hour menu. For some people this may not be a reason to fret, but just know the happy hour menu pricing is the exact same pricing as their regular menu.. I checked. I don’t know why it is even called a happy hour menu, when you are paying the same price. It’s more like sad hour. Clearly, the truth is that their staff between these hours are limited and so this menu is put in place. Furthermore, I don’t know if the dinner folks get the same level of poor service, but I’ve been here twice in 2024 so far, and both times I was displeased with their service. Today, however, was especially not good. Not once did our server ask us how our food was, my empty plate was sitting at the table for far too long, our waters were not refilled, (eventually she did ask at the end of our meal if we would like more water.) After finishing the food on my plate, I was waiting 10-15 minutes to order a yam roll, but our server too concerned with “happy hour” coming to an end and getting ready for dinner service. I decided to ask for the bill instead, as I was getting frustrated with the lack of quality service. On top of it all, I believe their sushi is just average in taste. They also served and charged me for wild salmon sashimi even though I just asked for salmon, and did not specify wild. They automatically put wasabi in their maki rolls. The cuts of sashimi are measly. The seafood tasted just ok. I will not be returning. Go to Toro on View Street for a quality sushi experience, you...

Do you live or are you visiting Victoria, BC? Do you want some really good Japanese food? You should highly consider coming here. The food was fresh, nicely presented, and the service was wonderful.

Here are some of my recommendations; the yaki soba (best I have had as far as I can remember). The udon was a delight - the seafood was great, the noodles were Al dente, and the soup base was just right. Next, the aburi; my fav was the eggplant! It was perfectly made and wowed my palate. Then the salmon was second and the ebi third. Another dish that stood out was the agedashi tofu - the sauce was on point, the tofu was crispy on the outside and firm, yet soft, on the inside, which makes it a fav of mine there. Last,but not least, the beef tenderloin box was really good! The sushi was made with real crab (so good), and the nigiri was superb (both were really really good!). The beef tenderloin was just right, and the sashimi was really fresh! The chefs and kitchen know what they are doing and take great care in their work.

As for service, the serving team were appropriately there to cater to our needs. They were polite and asked if we required anything. They also did it with a smile, which is always important. 🤙🏽

Thank you, Yua Bistro. When I am in Victoria, and want Japanese food, I know where straight to go! I give this a solid A grade, in my books!

Also, for the price point, the quality is amazing. If you had something like this in Vancouver it would probably be...