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Fish On Rice
Categories: Restaurants Sushi Bars Restaurants Japanese Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
4361 KingswayBurnaby, BC V5H 1Z9
Neighbourhood: Metrotown
(604) 439-8882
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
25 reviews for Fish On Rice
25 reviews in English
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Review from Nikolai P.
12/6/2011
Fish on Rice is a great AYCE location in the Burnaby Area. When you arrive in the location I have always been promptly seated and my order taken! This location has some of the best California Rolls and Calamari.
The positive items are:
High Quality Sushi
Prompt Acknowledgement upon entry
They provide low sodium Soy Sauce (rare at AYCE in Burnaby)
The negative items are:
Salmon Sashimi has always tasted a little 'off' at different times and days
Servers are slow when it comes to delivering the food or taking the additional order(s).
I would recommend this location to all who are looking for a great AYCE at an affordable price! Lunch price is alot better @ $13+hst as opposed to dinner @ $29+hst
Be cautious with the Salmon Sashimi. -
Review from Folland O.
Vancouver, BC
4/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Wow... this was so disappointing. Everything we ate was sub-par. I honestly felt like they used all the left over crap from the good sushi as the ingredients for the AYCE crowd. Every bite of chicken teriyaki we had was filled with extra fat and cartilage. Yuck.
The beef skewers were mushy and way too peppery. I'm not entirely confident of which part of the cow (?) they used. The oyster motoyaki came in a metal dish shaped like an oyster shell. I'm thinking there was a jar of oysters involved in this process. I know they USED to have amazing BBQ spare ribs at this location but they're gone now. Only to be replaced with something called a "Cheese Dog"... a peice of fish deepfried and stuffed with Cheez Whiz.
Ugh I am grossed out just talking about their food now... What a disappointment. Especially with Saffron and their AYCE Indian Buffet right across the street. Why anyone would go here is beyond me. -
Review from Peter N.
Burnaby, BC
4/3/2012
My co-workers and I usually go here when we want alot of food, but don't care too much about the quality. Since over the years, the sashimi has gotten smaller in size but they do have some tasty items on the all you can eat. Price is decent, and the service is good.
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Review from Russty N.
Vancouver, BC
11/27/2011
The family and grandparents went to Fish on Rice in Burnaby on a recommendation from a friend. As a party of 6 we were given a tatami room which was quite nice as we appreciated the privacy. However it was a little disgusting to see pieces of garbage and food on the floor where we rest our feet with no shoes !!
As we all have varied taste, we were hoping to order a large boat. No such luck, they don't have large boats. The AYCE was a little too much for some of us with smaller appetites so we ordered ala carte. The sushi and sashimi were ok. Proportionately more rice than filling but not oversized like some places. Sashimi was not as thin as it should be. Freshness was OK.
The service is terrible. Those who ordered dinner boxes received them at different times. Three of us ordered ala carte and were 3/4 finished our meals before the dinner boxes started arriving. My sons dinner box never came so we decided to cancel it. Not only did we have to flag down a waitress to get the bill, we had to go up to the bar to pay it because nobody came around to settle the transaction. -
Review from Jasmine T.
Burnaby, BC
11/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
So, we tried to go to another AYCE sushi place first, but they wanted us to wait like hour. I couldn't wait an hour. Me hungy now!
There were 10 of us wanting all you can eat. We googled their number and made a reservation while at the other AYCE. I like this place. They have all you can drink pop! Once I got a coke and it was a weird lightish brown. I thought, "Oh, I guess this is what AYCDrink pop is like." It was watered down grossness that I drank and when I got a refill, it was dark and good. Totally what coke should be like.
We over ordered which is par for the course at Fish on Rice. We always think they are going to give us less than what we asked for... we also know they secretly judge us for ordering way too many plates of beef tataki. Now, they make a good beef tataki. It's slightly seared outside... it's soaked in a salty sour sauce. It's worth busting a gut for. Which we do. Everything else is regular ol' AYCE regulars.
We take forever, but I think that's because we slow down after eating so much raw meat. I never feel rushed or that I have to leave. And I always get a mango pudding, or two (or three, no judging!) to end the night. -
Review from reyz a.
9/5/2011
There's an all-u-can eat menu which I hear is not bad, but we prefered having some of the sushi rolls. Tako, Ikurai, Iwabi, Uni, California roll wa totemo oshi deshita. It's above Earl's, so if the wait is too long downstairs, why not Nihon no tabemoto.
The rolls were quite reasonably priced. In the States, rolls are about $8-$10 depending, here it was about $4-$5. I thought it was a bargain.
Wash all of the above down with some Sapporro. Biiru was nomimashita. -
Review from Brittany W.
North Vancouver, BC
6/30/2011 13 photos
An all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant with good menu selection along Kingsway at Willingdon in Burnaby - good for large groups.
Growing up, we used to come here with my family a lot and we adored it. This is first time I've been back in about 2-3 years, and I found it quite disappointing: Spicy scallop temaki - tasted fishy; Black cod - salty this time, but usually good; Spicy salmon sashimi - chewy
Recommendations:
What's good and consistent is their cooked food: anything grilled (Beef/Chicken Teriyaki) and deep fried (Chicken Karaage, Ika Karaage,Yam Tempura, Tonkatsu). The mango pudding is always refreshing too!
- The service, Japanese private booths and food are very mediocre
- $21/adult for dinner OR $14/adult for early dinner (4:30PM - 6:30PM)Listed in: Restaurants: Good for Groups
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Review from Polly C.
Vancouver, BC
9/12/2010
I attended two friends' birthday bash here for All You Can Eat Sushi yesterday. I've been to Fish On Rice before and it wasn't bad that time but yesterday was a different story.
Some of the food included spider roll, shark fin (not real) sushi, dynamite, alaska, sashimi, scallop roll, deep-fried scallops, etc. It was alright but nothing spectacular. In terms of the service, it wasn't efficient or quickly met - maybe because we were a large group?
Because we were a large group, it was hard to communicate with people on the other end of the table since it was long. We also had to remove our shoes before hopping over onto the wooden seat and might I add, the floors weren't that clean. Minus 2 stars for this.
If someone asked me which sushi restaurant I want to eat at, Fish On Rice would not exist in my evoked set (a marketing term for alternatives actively considered during a consumer's choice process). -
Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
4/13/2010 1 photo
My friends and I used to adore 'Fish On Rice' so much that we actually made a 'I (love) Fish on Rice' group on Facebook in 2007. My officer title was and still is 'Ika Karaage'. No joke.
Unfortunately, the days of huge, quality sashimi and quick service are gone. I still fondly remember the time a bunch of us marked 40 salmon sashimi on the order sheet and they brought us FOURTY fuckin' pieces along with the 20 prawn tempuras without questioning us (why we didn't take a picture, I will never understand) - I challenge you to name another place that does that.
For some reason, all the hot food (usually more filling items) were served near instantly while all the cold items (i.e. sashimi) were brought over well after. Probably a ploy, like the free pop, to fill you up on cheap items.
Servers now move without any apparent purpose and try their damnedest to walk by your table without stopping. We repeatedly asked for more beef tataki and it took 3 tries and 20 minutes before we were brought one after we kept asking for 3 more plates. When we ordered dessert, they scooped all the mango pudding into one bowl and gave us spoons and bowls for everyone. Can you get any lazier?
Quality is still passable, but far worse than before. The (unlimited dinner) sashimi is far smaller and mushier than before. My tako (octopus) sashimi was really chalky and chewy and the mirugai (geoduck) tasted funky. All the rolls were okay, but you can clearly see were thickly packed with rice to fill you up. And the 'sharkfin' cones are clearly fake - but this may be a good thing for anyone that has seen 'Sharkwater'. Unsure if quality slide is due to a significant management change or just the AYCE sushi effect (everyplace starts off good and then slides downhill).
So if the place is that bad, why do they still get 3/5 stars? Well, it's still one of the better AYCE sushi joints in the area despite that the glory days have passed (far better than Kingsway Sushi or Sui Sha Ya and Top Gun Sushi in New West has closed). All the deep-fried and robata items are hot and fresh when brought over (again, before the cold items). The tempura prawns are huge and fresh and the ika karaage (my title namesake) is crispy and not chewy and reheated like most AYCE sushi joints.
Dinner menu is more expensive than I remember, but at $22/adult for a good selection and unlimited sashimi it's the same price or cheaper than most AYCE joints. There's no late night option as they close at 10PM and lunch AYCE is cheaper. Noticed a bunch of people doing a la carte as I was leaving (which is normally a questionable move) - then I noticed on the sandwich board that pitchers of beer were only $11 for the Monday special.
I prefer Ebei Sushi or BC Sushi, but Fish on Rice is probably best AYCE joint east of Main. Just keep your quality expectations reasonable for a AYCE sushi joint and just be patient and persistent with the lazy servers - refrain from kicking them in their slow-moving asses. -
Review from HELEN C.
Vancouver, BC
3/27/2010 80 photos
This used to be my favorite place for AYCE. The quality and quantity were awesome 4 years ago (2006). I went there at least once a month with friends or family. However, I haven't gotten a chance to go back since last year................ until this month.
Everything seems the same except the price has gone up, but that's normal i guess. Oh and the size of sashimi is smaller now.
This is before (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...)
This is after, i mean now (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...)
Overall, I think this place is still good for lunch during the regular days. Meaning? Not worth it if u need to pay $13 +
================================================== ====
lunch hour (http://www.fishonricej...)
dinner hour (http://www.fishonricej...)
happy hour (http://www.fishonricej...)
*Fri-Sun & Holiday Add $1.00 -
Review from Hannah U.
12/6/2008
OK all you can eat sushi place, not the best. I liked the Japanese-style seats where you have to take off your shoes, and the seats are like benches and you sit on pillows, and it's in rooms...know what I mean?
The food was not nasty at all, but not spectacular either. The spicy tuna rolls weren't that spicy (I'm 1/4 Indian so I love spicy food). The baked oysters with motoyaki was wayyyy too creamy for my liking. And the service was pretty darn slow. If you want a REALLY yummy all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, go to Top Gun in New Westminster. -
Review from Claudia L.
Burnaby, BC
11/30/2008
Quality fell into the negatives. There are better all-you-can-eat sushi places.
Food: Not great to say the least although the all-you-can-eat includes sashimi.
Atmosphere & Service: Sticky floors and unhappy servers.
P.S. I feel guilty each time I write a bad review for Chinese-owned restaurants, just because I know they have no idea what Yelp is. -
Review from Vannessa S.
Burnaby, BC
9/5/2011
People seem to be pretty hard on this place and all right, I too have been to better places. The quality is on par with most sushi places, the service sucks, the atmosphere is awesome, the all-you-can-eat is pretty cheap. It has it's hits and misses. I didn't go there 5 years ago so i can't say I know if the place has gone downhill. However, I think that's why it's being reviewed so harshly now.
Listed in: Sushi!
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Review from Lauren N.
11/6/2008
My aunt and I used to come here all the time to get our sushi fix, but I gotta say, the quality has gone down since then. I'm not sure why, but it's kinda sad. It used to be one of the best, what happened?
They have ample seating, a combination of private low-seating rooms, separate tables, and seating at the sushi bar where you can watch the chefs at work. The quality of the food can be touch-and-go, it really depends on your luck. Sometimes it's good and fresh, other times you can taste that they just took it out of the freezer after some time.
I used to love their beef sashimi and agedashi tofu, but it doesn't seem like they can make it the same way every time. The tofu tends to be mushy before I even eat it, and the sashimi doesn't have as much punch to its flavour. My aunt usually orders the spicy tuna and salmon sashimi, and she said it's not that fresh anymore, more than once.
The price is average for all-you-can-eat, although it's gone up over the years. If you can make it for their lunch happy hour, it's a little cheaper, but of course the selection available will be more limited. -
Review from samuel a.
Vancouver, BC
7/12/2010
I'll keep this short and sweet. Fish on Rice USED to be better.
Just went there and experienced the ultimate meh, meh, mehs.
We walked in and had to keep walking in to have someone notice us to seat us. Then we filled out our order form and I had to do my usual, shameless arm waving to flag a server down.
Quality is down. Still down a total down and out place but it's pretty close. Sashimi is limited to six pieces per person during lunch, and they are teeny, tiny pieces. Everything else is very non-descript. -
Review from MnM M.
11/24/2009
Pros: Includes soda and sashimi
decent amount of items on their all you can eat lunch or dinner
Cons: Service can lack -
Review from Christine R.
New Westminster, BC
9/20/2008
I was with an enormous group of people, which Fish on Rice seats comfortably, so I'm willing to give a little leeway. But let's face it: service was awful. They assigned a couple of servers to the party of at least 40, took forever getting the drinks out, and to order, we all had to write down what we wanted on little pieces of paper. I've never experienced this at any restaurant before, even with a big group.
For all that paperwork involved in getting the danged sushi, they then consistently delivered the wrong items to the wrong people. It was just a very stressful and disorganized experience. And the food, well, they're hardly the only sushi bar in town. -
Review from Megan S.
1/22/2009 1 photo
I'm not such a fan of the all you can eat places. Even though the price here isn't bad- I always feel that I can't eat enough to make it worthwhile. And who wants to eat lots and lots of this stuff anyways?
Let me be clear- this is far far better than many of the AYCE places. But it's still the idea of quantity over quality that bothers me.
Servers seem unhappy with their jobs- not many smiles around this place. -
Review from Lisa N.
Vancouver, BC
3/24/2010
Usually whenever I come here it's with a larger group of friends. The place is pretty clean and they normally give us a room to ourselves that looks over Kingsway area, which I really like.
Normally we do AYCE whenever we come here, and it's alright. One of my friends is a vegetarian, as am I. The food is okay, not great though. I like their agedashi tofu. The tempura is good too. They don't try to slice the sashimi too thin I've noticed.. but I have no idea how it tastes. I have a feeling their miso soup has a lot of msg.. cause I always chug water after I drink it. Also their salad.. don't bother. It's like prepackaged salad mix dumped in there with a sauce on top, though I do like the sauce a fair bit.
The service really depends on how busy the place is. We normally don't have a problem with it, sometimes you may need to ask the waiter/waitress to refill tea or water, but no biggie.
It's affordable and has alright sushi. I'll go back, it's better than some overpriced AYCE places. -
Review from Chris C.
7/14/2009
Pros: All you can eat sashimi, including octopus and other stuff
Cons: Some questionable menu items don't taste as nice; Poor service
First of all, I don't have too much sushi eating experience outside of Shabusen (read my other review). However, it was a pleasant surprise to find a place near Metrotown that I haven't been to before.
A friend and I went for dinner (he's been there before). Their first impression wasn't so great for us. The waitress didn't key in our order for some reason, and we were left at the table with no clue for about 30 minutes before another waiter took the initiative to ask whether we have ordered or not. Otherwise, the staff is Cantonese and your typical high school/teenager who all seem to be quite apathetic.
Our food arrived and it was decent tasting. My friend warned me against the gyoza, so I didn't get to try it. The other reviews on Yelp say to avoid it too, so maybe it was for the best. The sashimi was unspectacular, but it was nice to have the option of different items. The sushi is on par, and they give you free soft drinks. The deep fried food was done well and not too greasy.
Overall, this was a decent restaurant that I might go to a few times a year. The food is decent for the price, and it'll be a good treat once in awhile if I don't want to drive all the way downtown. -
Review from Emily C.
2/27/2010
perfect example of quantity over quality.
i came here for lunch couple times and it's sooo standard all-you-can-eat. standard as in, the quality is ... you get what you pay for. the items are sparse. and the service is crap.
i think i've reached that pinnacle where i'd rather have just a TINY BIT of quality sushi than heaps of garbage. fish on rice is definitely on the lower end of quality. -
Review from Jenni B.
2/2/2009
Fish on Rice is a good place to go for a cheap all you can eat sushi lunch. The service is relatively fast, and its good sushi. I only have two negative things to say: they do not keep seafood and non-seafood rolls and sushami seperate - this is a problem for me because i have a seafood allergy type thing. Additionally, if you have a large group they always omit half you order - so say there is 8 of you, and everyone orders gyoza, they will bring 4 (this is problematic only when you go with people who don't believe in sharing, and don't have time to wait for a second order). Other than that, I would recommend, you will at least leave full.
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Review from Kelley R.
Vancouver, BC
8/18/2009
Not the best sushi around, but it will do in a pinch. Fish on Rice offers a pretty large selection of items on their AYCE menu. I especially like all of the noodle options, which many places seem to skimp on. The rolls are obviously pre-made and have been sitting around for awhile, so skip those and save room for the sashimi which has always been nice and fresh. The tuna tataki is delicious and the BBQ squid is something I haven't seen much of on an AYCE menu. All in all, this place is a decent choice for a filling meal. You won't be blown away, but you won't leave hungry.
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Review from Jennifer B.
Winfield, BC
2/27/2010 1 Check-in Here
Very, very, very full. Super yummy!!!! Definitely do the all-you-can-eat. Great value, especially for lunch. Love that it includes a pop too. Great selection of warm Japanese foods as well as sushi and sashimi.
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Review from John D.
Burnaby, BC
12/8/2010
Like most of the recent posting, Fish on Rice used to be a place to go; but no more. Here is my take why this place suddenly became a total dive; "Manager/Owner".
My family visited Fish on Rice last night during their "Happy Hour"; my girl is still 9 years (be turning 10 next month). Didn't have any problems during ordering, the server asked how old my girl was, and I told him 9. Just as the food arrived, the manager showed up, and said in broken English "children rate 4 to 8, charge her adult rate" and just walked away. In all fairness, my girl is tall and skinny, so she does look older than 9, (she wears size 12 clothes). Paying the extra $5 didn't bother me too much, since in a month I will be paying adult rate for her; but it's how manager said it, was really insulting.
Service was little slower than normal, but near the end of our meal, the manager came by and noticed my wife reading a textbook. He asked a few questions (in very good complete sentence in English), and then found out my wife was a Pharmacist, the manager eyes lit up and said "ooh, you make a lots of money". Next thing you know it, the serviced picked up quick and fast.
Here is the best part, paying the bill. I went to the cashier to pay for dinner. The person behind the counter handed over the bill to me which was $46.xx, I gave him $50. Next thing, the manager comes over, and told the cashier that he got this. He looked at me, and said "Tip", I just stared at him and said nothing. The manager then told a server, to quickly go to our table to see if there is a tip on the table (in Chinese). During this wait, the manager kept asking me `Tip`; I was so pissed by this time, I was considering getting my change back and walk out the door. After a few minutes the girl came back and headed straight for the kitchen, and while doing so; she said no tip in Chinese to the manager. When the manager finally gave me back by my $3 in change back, I said keep it and walked out the door. The thing was, I wanted my change back so that I can give them $5 tip which is about 10 - 15% (tip before tax); no way I was going to give them $8+ in tip. The experience is nothing short of than a person panhandling for money, the manager asked me for tip over 10 times during the whole ordeal; this is how low Fish on rice has come to.
Moral to the story, if you want good service at Fish on Rice; pretend to be a doctor (i.e. print out some fake business cards, wear scrubs, carry a doctor bag). Bring a smart phone with you and calculate the total bill including HST, and tip hand the money over and walk out. Better yet, just avoid this place all together.
