5 Best North Vancouver Sushi Restaurants

North Vancouver Sushi Restaurants Sansho Sushi and Japanese Dining Chirashi

I have loved sushi since I first tried it when I was seven years old. Today, I am revealing my top 5 favourite North Vancouver sushi restaurants. Mama Izumi, my foodie cohort took me to my first sushi restaurant, Aki in the historical Japan Town. Otherwise known as Paueru Gai, it is where the Annual Powell Street Festival is held. Back then, my favourite was tuna. It still is, but my taste buds are more adventurous and my favourites now include Uni (sea urchin).

North Vancouver Sushi Restaurants Number 5 – Sushi 5

Starting with number five, Sushi 5 is located in Lynn Valley Centre, close to Highway 1 and Central Lonsdale. It is easy to get to, whether you are living on the North Shore or in Metro Vancouver. They are one of my favourite sushi restaurants because they have yummy Mix and Match combos that are reasonably priced and include miso soup (soup is not shown in the photo).

Sushi 5 North Vancouver Sushi Restaurant
Sushi 5 Mix and Match Lunch Specials

Number 4 – Sushi Kumo

Sushi Kumo is conveniently located at 180 East 2nd Street. It is in Lower Lonsdale, a few blocks up from the Quay and the seabus station. Little known fact, when I was in high school, my first job was as a dishwasher at this location–it was a different Japanese sushi restaurant called Manyo. Mama and I have been to Kumo twice and both times we enjoyed their Sushi & Sashimi and Sushi Boxes and also received wonderful customer service from Candy.

Kumo Sushi Japanese Restaurant
Kumo Sushi far photo Sushi & Sashimi Box and near photo Sushi Box

North Vancouver Sushi Restaurants Number 3 – Sansho Sushi & Japanese Dining

I have been a long time customer at Sansho. It was first introduced to me by Mama, my foodie mentor. This North Vancouver sushi restaurant is located at 707 Queensbury Avenue kitty corner from S’wich Cafe. Our favourites are their Makunouchi Bento (shown below) and Chirashi Sushi (featured photo above my blog).

North Vancouver Sushi Restaurant Sansho
Sansho Makunouchi Bento

Number 2 – Hamaei Japanese Restaurant

Hamaei is one of my favourite sushi restaurants because they serve an amazing lunch special. It includes miso soup and a little bit of everything we love about bentos! They are located at 1601 Westview Drive at Westview Shopping Centre which is right above Highway 1 and close to Delbrook Community Recreation Centre.

Hamaei North Vancouver Sushi Restaurant
Hamaei Lunch Special

North Vancouver Sushi Restaurants 1 – Momji Japanese Cuisine

The number one best North Vancouver Sushi Restaurant is Momji. It is located in the Blueridge Area at 3720 Mount Seymour Parkway. They offer authentic Japanese cuisine (one of the last restaurants on the North Shore to do so). A former colleague introduced me to them and I loved it! My stomach was ready to burst after our meal. Their dishes were over flowing with umami and I ate too much because of it. Mama and I ordered ika karage (Japanese calamari), miso soup, katsu curry and agedashi tofu. A wonderful meal and restaurant that we enjoyed immensely and look forward to going back.

North Vancouver Sushi Restaurants Momji Japanese Cuisine
Momji Japanese Cuisine’s Ika Karage

All photos are my own and I relished every moment of taking them, but especially when I was able to devour the dishes! Please ask for permission to use them or credit me in your publication. If you enjoyed this article, share it!

Local Restaurant Feature — Raisu Authentic Japanese Cuisine

Raisu Restaurant Interior

Mama Izumi and I went on a Foodie Adventure recently and had the pleasure of dining at Raisu Restaurant in the heart of Kitsilano, where all of our foodie desires were satiated with their authentic Japanese cuisine.

I have been eating sushi since I was I was a little girl and they have the freshest, most delicious sashimi I’ve ever had. We shared the Raisu Lunch Meal Special.

You can choose 2 out of these 4 items:

Chef’s choice of sashimi (3 kinds), deep fried dishes (2 kinds), today’s meat dish, and today’s grilled fish.

Their lunch special also includes rice, miso soup, small dish, homemade pickles and salad.

We also feasted on their Bluefin Tuna Deluxe Seafood Bowl. And although we were stuffed full of yuminess we ordered their Yuzu Parfiat and Souffle Cheesecake for dessert.

Mama and I highly recommend Raisu to fans of sushi, sashimi, and Japanese food!

Raisu Restaurant BLUEFIN TUNA DELUXE SEAFOOD BOWL
The Bluefin Tuna Deluxe Seafood Bowl is just as yummy as it looks!
Raisu's Desserts
Yuzu Parfait & Souffle Cheesecake

I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about the people behind Raisu. I had the opportunity to interview their Assistant Manager, Yumi Takeshita.

Exclusive Interview with Raisu’s Assistant Manager

M: When did Raisu first open for business? Who is the founder?

Y: Raisu opened on July 2, 2016 as a sister restaurant to Kingyo Izukaya, Suika Snackbar, and Rajio Public House. All 4 restaurants are under the Tamaru Shoten Marketing Corp umbrella.

Minoru Tamaru began Kingyo about 10 years ago because he wanted to introduce people in Vancouver to Izakaya culture and provide authentic Japanese meals.

Raisu Restaurant Japanese Cuisine
Raisu is located at 2340 W 4th in Kitsilano

Inspiration for Opening Raisu and Providing Authentic Japanese Cuisine

M: What was Minoru’s inspiration for Raisu?  Is he the sole owner or does he have business partners?

Y: Yes, he is doing this business by himself. Raisu’s concept is 80’s Japanese culture and Teishoku (balanced meal set).

Raisu Lunch Meal Special
Raisu Lunch Meal Special

M: Yumi, where are you originally from? If you moved to Vancouver, why did you move here?

Y: I am from Japan and I hoped to live abroad when I there. I had heard Vancouver is the best city to live and I was interested what the Japanese culture was like here too.

M: What did you do prior to working at Raisu?

Y: I worked for 8 years at Coca-Cola bottlers in Fukuoka prefecture, in Japan. I was sales person, sales office administrator and HR. When I came here in Vancouver, I worked at JAPADOG as a manager, and went to college, worked as an accountant at an agency for Japanese students who want to study in Canada.

Then now I am working at Raisu. I have been working here 3 years and I am assistant manager fortunately since April. All my job experiences are now with food.

M: If you were in a different industry, did you enjoy your former career?

Y: Yes, absolutely. I enjoyed working every occasion. There are a lot of good things to know and learn. If it does not relate between each industry, I can find relations and there is no waste time that I have experienced.

Is University Important for Future Business Owners?

M: Did you go to university?  If so, what did you study?  Which university did you attend?  Would you advise others to pursue a degree before opening their own business?

Y: Yes, I graduated Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan, and I earned a Bachelor of Law Degree.

I might recommend to pursue, but if they have clear future vision, that is no need to. However it is very worth time to pursue something and make friends before doing business. I think it is very important at that term.

M: Do you have any interest to own your own business?

Y: Yes I do, but I need to learn about business more, so I start working at Raisu.

Yumi’s Philosophy

M: Do you have a philosophy in life or famous quote you would like to share with everyone?

Y: Live everyday happily, that makes your future happy!

This is my philosophy to live but I am not sure there is similar quote in English.

MILESTONES

Raisu just celebrated it’s 5 Year Anniversary July 2nd 2021.

Go in to congratulate them in person at 2340 West 4th Street or learn more about Raisu visit their website. You also have the option to order online and follow them on Instagram.