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Sui Sha Ya Japanese Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
5300 No 3 RdRichmond, BC V6X 2X9
Neighbourhood: Golden Village
(604) 279-8708
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- 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:
- Late Night, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Sui Sha Ya Japanese Restaurant
13 reviews in English
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Review from Jando S.
Updated - 3/8/2011 23 photos
Things didn't appear to be different even after many years of not coming here. The sign, the decor, the wait, even the prices practically ensured nothing had changed. But this of course is just a facade as a recent visit confirmed what I had been hearing as of late - this place is disgustingly filthy.
Most if not all of my previous experiences were in the Japanese style private booths, where the only way to get in and out is to step or crawl into the seating area. This meant the bottom of our shoes collectively scuffed the seats and over years of shoe scuffage makes the booth a cesspool of nastiness. If it's hard for customers to get in and out, it only means it's even harder for the staff to get in to clean it.
Our table looked as if it was clean, shiny and practically embossed, it came as a surprise to my guests when the table was unbearably sticky. Bubble gum had nothing on the surface of this table, it was just one giant adhesive, presumably from the accumulation of grime and grease. There was no worry of items shifting around, this table provided the grip for everything from cups to napkins to plates. At one point I had draped the entire end of the table with napkins to keep my forearms from touching.
The menu looks to have the same prices from the last 10 years. It also seems to have the same stains as well. The lamination was breaking down and it seems the food had somehow snuck it's way into the plastic, almost like a makeshift scratch-n-sniff menu.
My cup had a little bit of food as well, dried out pieces of rice stuck to the side made for an interesting texture. After switching out several stained seating mats, I realized there were food crumbs, dust, and dead bugs all collected along the rims of the wall and seats. It's one thing to see it at a restaurant, it's also another to actually sit in it.
The food was nothing more than a mediocre Japanese food extravaganza. The sushi was remarkably smooth, but disturbingly warm. Gyoza was almost gummy, all stuck together like it stayed in a pan for too long. The surf clams were just a seacup of baked mayo with some sour seafood bits within. Though the fish jaw was the crowd favorite, it was merely the standout of a lackluster spread. It all felt frozen or precooked, with no hint of freshness or anything unique, the only thing missing was the crew from Kitchen Nightmares and Gordon Ramsey.
Years of popularity for some establishments sometimes translates to years of neglect. Some places are willing to cut corners to continue the high profits without maintaining the growth. The added pressure of a half hearted cleaning job and quick food preparation, while rushing customers out, is only sure to create more bad experiences along the way. And while I hope for the best, it's only a matter of time before Sui Sha Ya crashes and burns.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/13/2008 First to Review
Sui Sha Ya will always have a special place in my heart for being the first place I had ever had all… Read more »
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Review from Richard H.
Richmond, BC
Updated - 1/2/2012
Came here with a group of 8 people for dinner on a weeknight and were seated quickly.
Food:
Nothing special, I've always liked the Chicken Teriyaki. Nigiri was ok, rolls were meh, and the sashimi was an embarassment.
Ambience:
Stall was average I guess. Nothing fancy, looked a bit worn down. Wasn't exactly quiet but it's AYCE.
Service:
HOO BOY. Another bad experience. Went up to the counter to pay and asked for the bill to be divided separately. The lady said "23-something" and then said ''so each person pay 26" at which point my jaw put a dent in the floor. If only I was in a crappier mood... I cannot believe an AYCE joint would feel so entitled to a tip that they would simply TELL US how much we needed to pay in order to cover it. What an absolute joke. I mean what Japanese restaurant would have the audacity to add their own tip onto the total and hope to get away with it? Here's your answer.
NEVER, EVER eat at a Mainlander-owned Japanese restaurant. I'm embarrassed to even be associated with these people. It kinda worked out in the end though we all left before the lady could even notice that 2 of us hadn't even paid yet.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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8/13/2011
1. Servers still seem like they hate their jobs, but they do their jobs nonetheless.
2. Went for late… Read more »
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Review from Edward L.
2/16/2011
One of the awesome things about living in Vancouver is that we have some of the cheapest and most plentiful sushi in the WORLD. Yes, we even beat out Japan. AYCE sushi was and still is a large part of my life.
Sui Sha Ya has been here for a good few years at this location, and is a staple. The food is run of the mill, and service is actually pretty decent.
The reason why I give this place 3 stars instead of 4 is that their nigiri sushi fish slices are razor thin. In other words, the fish to rice ratio is lower than other places that charge the same price.
We come by here every once in a while to mix things up, but the reason stated above is why Sui Sha Ya isn't our 1st choice when we have a ayce sushi craving. -
Review from Tabatha Anne Y.
Richmond, BC
8/7/2010
I used to frequent this place for late night all you can eat with my friends. We stopped going when my boyfriend ended up in Richmond Hospital with food poisoning. That, and we realized what we were missing!
The food is bland, unexciting and low quality. The service is total crap and they aren't friendly to caucasians. Yes, I'm pulling the race card. There was a table we used to call "the dungeon" because we'd always be seated there every freaking time we went and we'd be forgotten about by staff. The price is ok, but there are much nicer, tastier sushi places that you can go to for the same amount of money. -
Review from Yunn A.
7/13/2010
We just happened to stop here after doing some shopping in Lansdowne Mall. I thought "I could eat a shameful amount of food right now...."
I thought it was weird that you can only order a max of 2 orders of sashimi per person for an extra dollar. That is a bit of a turn off if you're there to eat well...all you can eat sushi.
The selection for sushi is a bit limited (just salmon, tuna, red snapper and mackerel nigiri), and the maki isn't exactly stellar (be careful as the rolls are BIG so lots of rice to try to fill you up) but if you're looking for other things, their gyoza, karage chicken wings (mmmmmmm), yakisoba, fried oysters, and other cooked foods are really good. $11.99 per person for lunch isn't bad, and the service was quick, however not exactly warm.
Overall, I would come here if you're in the area and looking for all you can eat....Japanese food. But if you're really looking for sushi/sashimi, I'd probably try some place else. I was moderately satisfied with the quality of the food for the price and left with a full belly. Now to go to the gym, since I ate way more chicken wings than sushi. -
Review from Joe L.
Vancouver, BC
5/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
It was our mistake stumpling upon Sui Sha Ya and deciding to have lunch there in mid-afternoon while shopping at Future Shop on a Sunday when our other preferred Japanese restaurant choices were closed between lunch and dinner.
Where do I begin ...
1. Sashimi - Although it is an AYCE fare, they limit sashimi orders (3 pieces per order) to 2 orders per diner and they have only salmon and tuna. That's not AYCE, is it? However, you really don't want to eat anymore after 1 piece anyway.
2. Sushi - The machine made rice rolls with a trace amounts of fish in the middle remind me of the sushi trays at Costco. I'll let you decide whether that's a compliment.
3. Samosa / Spring Rolls - I know ... I know ... We thought we would try something non-Japanese which the restaurant may be good at. Nope. We had no idea what was the stuffing inside. We didn't want to know.
4. Ramen - I'd eat instant ramen over what they serve anytime. The texture of the noodle felt like overcooked pasta.
5. Gyoza - Think frozen gyoza from Safeway, then worse.
What really baffles me was the restaurant was packed and there were seemingly repeat customers! I had no idea that quantity is that important to that many people.
So why 2 stars and not 1? Sadly, it could be worse! -
Review from Peter W.
Vancouver, BC
10/1/2011
this place had its better days, I went there for lunch - the server was rude, menu had less choices, thin slices of fish, and when I complained the rude server to the front desk - the female staff said "what do you want!" in challenging tone instead of a "sorry" tone - sorry to say, this place is no longer my favourite restaurant . I could see why each time I see less customers there than previous visits. Close this place !
One star for relatively lower price for senior, one star for last place still give you full oyster in its shelf. better elsewhere ... -
Review from Cody S.
1/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Sui Sha Ya is a quintessential all you can eat sushi place. It is a pretty big restaurant for sushi and usually has alot of drunk younger groups being quite loud. I can get over it, so we come from time to time. Sashimi is limited to just a couple orders per person. Having said that, no matter how busy this place gets, the food comes quick and doesn't stop (if you want it to). Pricing is pretty fair and no matter what other reviewers say, some of it might be fair to say, it is worth coming to if you are in the vicinity. It is true that there are many more good sushi restaurants in Richmond....but if you are right there in the first place, why not!
Listed in: Japanese Food, My Two Cents…
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Review from Lisa N.
Vancouver, BC
3/24/2010
I think this is the worst sushi place I've been to so far. I knew this place was crappy, but I didn't realize it would be THIS bad. Other than the look of the place (kind of, not really), everything else is just HORRIBLE.
First of all, the service was just bad. We were greeted by a waiter as soon as we walked in. No wait, not greeted, he just stared at us and told us there would be no AYCE. Not even a hi. Showed us to our table and we had to wait awhile for the tea.
The prices are too high for the crap food that they give you. We had 4 people, including myself. There was a beef teriyaki rice bowl with tempura, chicken teriyake rice bowl with tempura, gomae (spinach with peanut sauce), spicy agedashi tofu (spicy deep fried tofu), yam tempura roll, and mixed vegetable green soba.
Okay. Both the rice bowls are decently portioned but didn't taste great. The gomae was in a cube shape with sauce dumped on top. The tofu looked REALLY oily. I ordered the roll and soba. The roll.. ugh. It was so poorly made. As soon as I tried to pick it up, it just fell apart. The rice wasn't packed well enough, and who the hell puts Japanese mayo in a yam tempura roll?! My mixed vegetable soba, it was so bland. For some reason they put 2 random fish cakes on my noodles, and the "mixed veggies" were zucchini, carrots, and cabbage. It was so gross I couldn't even finish it.
The service and staff was about as great as their food. The people who worked there yelled out in Chinese to each other while working. Don't expect a Japanese person working here. We had to ask for a tea refill twice before they did it. No one smiles here, and they don't come to you unless you ask them a couple of times.
I will never come back here. If you want to throw away your money.. by all means, eat at this place. -
Review from Natalia H.
3/23/2009
Went here for the All you can eat Sushi! It was YUMZZZ!!! I love love love looooooooooooove their salmon sashimi!! It was very fresh and thick. The four of us went here after 9:30pm (the all you can eat deal was only for after 9:30pm for $12.99CAD/ person) We're only allowed to order 2 orders of sashimi (salmon or tuna) per person which was too bad because the sashimi was really good! (maybe that's why?) I think I pretty much just ate the sashimi that night. The other sushi items were okay- typical sushi, you know.
The service wasn't that great though. My friend ordered coke but didn't get it after our bill came. Ridiculous! We asked for it like 4 different times! Good place to eat. I wish they have one closer to home. Oh, be sure to not over-order because they charge regular price for every thing you didn't/ can't finish so better finish it!!! Or...hide it well =) -
Review from Jenny G.
Richmond, BC
2/27/2011
I am only giving them a one-star because there isn't anything lower.
GOOD ABOUT IT: Lighting and ambiance. Stalls are quiet.
BAD ABOUT IT:
Menus were stained inside the plastic sheet and stained outside the plastic sheet with food or soy sauce (still wet).
Waiter missed one item 4 times. (left very small tip, to let them know)
Tempura was soaked in oil.
Prawn tempura was really small, covered with too much tempura batter.
Edamame was cold.
Yakotori chicken was barely edible.
All you can eat was $20 compared to the excellent ones in Vancouver for $15, like the one on West Broadway near Arbutus and the one on Granville near 49th or 41st.
My companion ended up running to the bathroom with (bad).
Waiters didn't seem to care, just dropping orders anywhere.
If you park on the other side of Lansdowne Mall and the mall closes, you will have to walk around to get to your vehicle, possibly in the rain.
Tea was really watered down, and no aroma.
Food generally was mediocre.
MY FAULT:
Not reading Yelp reviews before going there.
Not leaving when I saw the stained menu - obviously the people there don't care.
UPDATE SINCE ORIGINAL POST -
My stomach is upset, and I have a slight headache. Might not be caused by their food, but it is the most likely cause imo. Hope its not the sashimi. -
Review from David P.
Vancouver, BC
8/23/2011
We have had some good meals here when it first opened. The sushi was good and well presented.The fish was fresh for what we ordered. After a number of years at that location, the condition of the restaurant, serving plates, etc need to be updated to give it a fresh and clean feel. The food is good (in a moderate sort of way) and the service is non-inspiring. So, if your hungry and in the area, it would be a moderate choice for the money.
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Review from Flora C.
11/11/2009
Goto RIchmond Sishi for the same thing but better food
