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Real People. Real Reviews.®
Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
1133 Broadway WMon-Sat 5 pm - 9:30 pm
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Food - 9/10
Decor - 7/10
Service - 8/10
- Toro (2)
- Isaki (2)
- Ama ebi
- Great BC Roll
- Spider roll
- Wakame Salad
- $400 CAD
One of the top Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. Since they moved to this location, it's more spacious and nicely decorated with a good open kitchen. The servers are really nice and friendly.
I went with my family for my dad's birthday and we ordered the medium priced set menu. The portions for each course were small but had really good intense flavours. We finished off the meal with sushi and that made us full. We also ordered a bottle of the Tojo's sake. It went really well with the food we ordered.
It's a good place for special occasion meals.
good quality sushi and pretty delicious but not as amazing (creative) as it should be for the price.
I have gotten the "omakase" twice and they made me most of the exact same dishes.
I prefer Miku, Sushi Hachi, and Kingyo.
And considering you could have a great meal at all three for the price of a meal at Tojo's. Why not?
Reasonably priced for high-quality sushi, this is, by many reports, the best Sushi available in Vancouver. Given that I'm not from Vancouver, I can't say that I've sampled enough sushi here yet, but this place was a solid meal, with fresh sushi, and good service.
I didn't eat any of the maki, and stuck with nigiri and sashimi. Rice was well seasoned, appropriately cohesive, and very yummy.
No complaints. Especially since when I went, USD Loonie exchange rates were very favourable!
Excellent, fresh seafood and nice ambience. Despite the renowned reputation the atmosphere was very laid back and service was friendly. The nigiri was heavenly and the rolls were unique and tasty. Only downside is the exorbitant price but if prepare yourself to spend upwards of $200 you will not be disappointed.
you will not be disappointed, short, sweet,simple.
Best sushi hands down- I'd say on the planet but I've never been to Japan. But I have been to a LOT of great places in the US and Canada to judge. Sit at the sushi bar and have an orgasmic eating experience. I try to go at least a few times a year when I'm in town. My descriptive wizardry wouldn't do the food justice. The only down side is the hefty price. Wish I could go more for my set of golden chop sticks.
OMG! The Omakase is amazing and endless. Plan to spend some serious $ for some serious Sushi Creations. Tojo comes over to introduce himself and then the show begins. The experience will be unforgetable.
Wow!
There are few places ive had more fresh tasting sashimi than here. The toro was magnificent. The sake (fish) was delish. The maguro, wasnt as good, but was still very tasty.
The non sushi appetizers werent really that great. The edamame was crispy and lightly salted. The miso was slightly better than your run of the mill/package stuff.
On our final night in Vancouver, we visited Tojo's and went all out, ordering the omakase. As the menu explains, when you order this, you put your evening in the chef's hands, and let him select a menu of several courses. (You can still offer input, e.g. if there's a particular type of fish you don't like, you can ask that they not include that in your meal -- if you don't feel like octopus salad today, you might instead sample salmon smoked in-house!) Each course is brought out, you are given time to savor it and finish it, and then the next is brought out, and so on. This will take at least two hours. It was definitely an expensive evening, but it was completely worth it just to have one perfect meal. I can't recommend this highly enough; the food and the service were incredible.
And then there's Tojo! The man practically invented Western sushi. It's inspirational, and if you're not feeling inspired as you read his story, you'll be plenty inspired by the food. Frankly, it may be a religious experience. I can't even attempt to describe all of the lovely dishes we tried, so I'll post several photos and let them speak for themselves.
My wife surprised me with dinner at Tojo's for my birthday. It was such a treat. First of all, service was excellent. We had a reservation, but do to a series of unfortunate events, we were about 45 minutes late. While they weren't able to seat us right away, they were very accommodating. We sat in the bar/lounge area until they could seat us.
Once we were seated, we ordered the 6 course omakase. They ask you if you have any dietary restrictions and then bring out one amazing course after another. It was really fun to give control to the chef and try things that I might not normally choose on my own. We got way more than 6 courses. By the time they brought out the sushi, we assumed they'd made a mistake since we'd already had so many dishes. No mistake. They feed you well!
Different servers brought each course out and all provided excellent service. Our main waitress checked on us regularly too. Fortunately for me, my wife didn't tip the staff off that it was my birthday. If she had, the waiters would have come by to sing happy birthday very loudly and off key. It was quite comical to watch this happen to other folks though.
Listed in: Drool Inducing Vancouver Eats
Three words.
Expensive, Omakase, Heaven.
Best sushi in Vancouver. Yes, it is expensive, but compared to other high-end Japanese (or any other cuisine for that matter) restaurants that I've been too, it is not out of line.
The fish just melts in your mouth. Not a single piece was stringy or poorly presented. Needless to say, yummmm!
Listed in: Special Places
Went there for a sushi dinner. Everything was as fresh as it gets and presented perfectly. However, it was one of the pricier sushi places we've been to, and I don't think the sushi justifies the price.
First things first: If you read about Tojo's in the book of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (like we did), I'd point out that it's not where the book says it is and if you're handicapped by the same "OMG WE CAN'T USE OUR PHONES TO LOOK IT UP BECAUSE WE HAVE DIRTY AMERICAN DATA PLANS THAT CHARGE $15 PER MB IN THIS EXOTIC LAND OF CANADIA" problem that we had, then I'd strongly advise getting directions before you head out aimlessly pointed in the direction your non-Vancouverian asses think you should go.
But once you finally get there and you have a CHILL THE HELL OUT ALREADY cocktail, your evening will improve significantly.
We sat at the very chic bar and had the omakase menu, which is code for "let the chef pick for you and say WHEN when you think you're gonna bust your belt or your wallet."
We lasted for NINE courses, which isn't as gluttonous as it sounds because each course was only two or three bites. It was a really, really, really good meal and I think we had different #1 favorites but we definitely agreed that two of the courses were NOT awesome. My problem is that I'm not a big fan of smoked food AT ALL so when you smoke sea urchin and put it in front of me, I'll eat a bite to say I did, but then I'm over it.
Also, it's not a good sign when your date says "Hmm. Hey, have you ever had Beanie Weenies?"
A summary of our meal:
1. Tojo Salad with tuna, wasabi, crushed sesame seeds and soy sauce
2. Shitake mushroom over snapper and tempura'd with daikon and in fish broth
3. Crab salad with Japanese mustard and sweet pickle
4. Sea urchin with smoked sablefish (pretty in the sea urchin shell and all, but AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!!)
5. Smoked then steamed sablefish with mushrooms and broth
6. Hand roll with tempura'd prawn, avocado and spicy sauce
7. Shrimp, scallop and something else wrapped in an egg wrapper and topped with fish roe
8. Marinated albacore nigiri with green onions
9. Green tea creme brulee and pineapple ginger sorbet
It all cost a very pretty penny but it was a once in a lifetime Iron Chefy experience and was 100% worth it. (But if I win the lottery and we go back, I'd rather have way more sushi and far less sea urchin and sablefish.)
***Caveat: Haiku written after dinner on Valentine's Day during the Olympics***
Wait thirty minutes
between each of eight courses.
No apologies.
I've put off writing this review long enough. I think it's just taken me that long for me to come to terms with the meal I had there one fateful evening in July. I went there about seven months ago because my girlfriend and I had seen this place on No Reservations. Yes we became THOSE people. Anyway, we went omakase, and it ended up being one of the greatest meals of our lives. We went pretty early, so it wasn't crowded at all. Right to the food:
Course 1 - Octopus Salad
The octopus was perfectly tender topped with a sauce that was very delicate, yet very tasty. A great start.
Course 2 - Zucchini Blossom Tempura
Up until this point, I had never had zucchini blossom before; having it in fried form certainly helped. It was stuffed with crab meat caught locally (mostly everything he serves is local, so his dishes adapt to whatever is available to him that day). The tempura could not have been more perfectly crispy and light. The crab meat was moist and full of flavor.
Course 3 - Dungeness Crab Salad
Served with enoki mushrooms in a light citrusy sauce and topped with tiny edible flowers. The balance of all the flavors was just perfect.
Course 4 - Smoked Salmon Baked in origami Paper
One of the best presented dishes I've seen. After opening the origami paper, you are greeted with the smoky goodness of the salmon wrapped around various earthy vegetables. Best smoked salmon I've ever had. Since it was cooked in the paper, all of the moisture was retained. Wow.
Course 5 - Scallop and Crab Sushi Wrapped in Egg
What the hell. I couldn't stuff this into my pie hole fast enough. I guess it's technically not sushi since it didn't have rice. However, did it really matter? The sweetness of the scallops and crab just made this dish heaven. I didn't know food could taste this good.
Course 6 - Geoduck Hand Roll
Now, I've never had geoduck, and I probably wouldn't get geoduck again. If I had to choose a least favorite dish out of the meal, it would be this one. That doesn't mean it wasn't good. It was very well prepared, and it was still tasty. I just wasn't as prepared for the taste of the geoduck.
Course 7 - Uni
I'm not a big fan of uni either, but next to the toro, it was the most decadent pieces of sushi I've ever eaten. At this point (which is probably too late), I'm trying really hard to not scarf everything that's put in front of my face and actually savor every signal emanating from my tongue to my brain. The uni was so sweet, and the pieces I ate probably spoiled me for life.
Course 8 - Toro
It was so good, I almost felt dirty eating it. The two pieces of toro I ate just might send me to hell. As Bourdain would say, blackout good.
Course 9 - Grilled Halibut Cheek
Usually, when you buy a CD, the first few songs are good, it gets mediocre in the middle, then the last couple tracks are forgettable. Tojo's album owns you from start to finish. The halibut cheek made me weak in the knees. Tojo explained that the mushrooms in the dish only grow out of the ashes of forest fires. So I ate the spirits of dead trees. It was so Miyazaki. Oh yeah, the taste, texture, and balance of flavors was perfect.
Course 10 - Green Tea Creme Brulee
Perfect ending to a meal that blew me away. Topped with fresh fruit and a sweet sesame cracker, the green tea flavor didn't dominate so much that you couldn't enjoy the creaminess that a good brulee has.
Tojo explained every dish to us as it was being served, which helped us appreciate more what we were eating. Doing omakase here was definitely an experience I'll never forget. Every so often during the meal, my girlfriend and I would look at each other and be like "are we seriously eating eating this?" Of course, all this awesomeness came at a very high price, but if you're willing to submit, you won't regret it. Thanks, Tojo, for giving me one of the great meals of my life.
*3.5 stars*
This was supposed to be our *sushi experience* during our trip... We went with the 6 course omakase. While everything was good, none of us were very impressed with the 'creativity' of the dishes. We decided we could have done w/o the first half while the 2nd half of our meal was very very good. Service was friendly but not very efficient.
I am not usually a fan of spicy tuna, but the spicy tuna roll was pretty damn amazing. Just a touch of spice was just perfect for me!
Sorry, Tojo-san. We thought for sure we'd be wow-ed but we weren't. Thanks anyway. Maybe next time I'm in town, I'll just order off the menu.
I had a horrible experience at Tojo's. It must be really hot and cold because people seem to fawn over this place. We went on a Saturday night at 8pm in November. The place was dead, maybe half full, but we still had to wait 20 mins for a table. When we sat down, it took 15 mins for someone to come take our drink order. My friend told the server she was allergic to wasabi but her food arrived with wasabi packed right in, as normal. The fish tasted old. I didn't order enough the first time but was so turned off by the flavor and the wait that I chose to leave hungry.
Sorry, Tojo, Yuji's my man.
My Omakase experience at Tojo's was like the first time I saw M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. Allow me to explain....
The first course, a cake of Tuna Tartar with diced mountain potatoes and organic cucumber, bathed in ponzu sauce and topped with radish shards was a strong opener that promised more, like that first scene where Bruce Willis gets knifed in the gut by that guy from NKOTB.
The second course--a sliced shiitake mushroom on a fish cake-like base served with a wedge of mashed daikon radish and shichimi, all marinating in a mushroom broth--was akin to Bruno's developing estrangement from his wife and his meeting with Haley Joey "I Still Look The Same At 22" Osment. The deliciousness of the mystery would indeed be continued, and in fact promised even greater reward.
The third course, a crab salad, was like finding out about all the dead people floating around. I was surprised, but not in a pleasant way. I didn't like where this "let's freak people out with cheap scares" shtick was taking me, and the dish eventually ended up in the "been there, done that" category.
Fourth course--halibut cheek with shiitake mushrooms, red pepper, all in a sweet glaze with orange zest, accompanied by a Dynamite handroll--was right about time I took a quick bathroom break. Hey, it's just more dead people hanging in the school-former-asylum; call me when Osment starts enlightening Brucie on why he always gets sh*tty service at restaurants.
Fifth course was a near return to form: Smoked black cod and mushrooms all steamed underneath a paper wrapper wrapped with twine. This was right around the part where HJO figures out that the only way he can get the deceased to shut up is to help them settle their unfinished business. Jeez, barely 12 and the kid's turned into a Walmart greeter. Still, signs are once again pointing to a killer ending.
Sixth and final course was a selection of sushi (finally, raw in a sea of cooked food!) including an omelette roll Chef Tojo created a few decades earlier to keep inexperienced diners from gagging on the taste of seaweed. This was right around when Bruce bids our now-destined-for-a-TLC-reality-show-contract child hero adieu, declaring him fit for middle school and puberty. All's well that ends well, I always say. No harm done.
The dessert, however, was completely unexpected: Green tea creme brulee with fresh fruit. This was like Bruce's wife dropping the ring, the ensuing gasps heard 'round the theater, followed an hour or so later by the discovery of the red doorknob visual cue as revealed by an observant film geek friend. Satisfying and rewarding, the dessert knocked the rating up by a full star.
I hate hype. Really. I have read and heard the hype about this place for a while. And all I can say is the meal at Tojo's really did live up to hype for once. It is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but the food truly is good. We did the Omakase at the bar and it truly was great. We ended up spending more than we planned because we just said 'yes' when asked if wanted to keep going (be careful if you want to keep the price to a minimum). The Tojo's tuna and the golden roll as well as shitake shinjo were all the stand-outs of the meal. I was not incredibly impressed with the crab and bitter melon dish we were served, but the Toro sushi was possibly the best singular piece of sushi I have had since I was in Japan.
I would also recommend the dessert that includes a green tea creme brulee, it was wonderful and the pairing of green tea and creme brulee was amazing. Getting to sit at the sushi bar and getting to watch Tojo and his chefs work is amazing and really is a fun experience. Tojo likes to interact with his customers and that makes dinner very entertaining. This has been the one of the best of all my dining experiences while in the Pacific Northwest!
Food=5 stars
Service=4 stars
Value=4 stars (It's dang expensive people)
Atmosphere=4 stars
(Keeping it at 4 stars and not just giving it the fifth was a very, very hard decision, but the service really could have easily been kicked up a notch and the atmosphere was cool but not too much a factor at the omakase bar.)
Update: Here are the ten courses we had by the way:
Course 1- Tojo's Tuna. Their signature dish was an amazing start
Course 2- Shitake Shinjo. A large shitake cap stuffed with monkfish mousse and in a delishous dashi-like broth. One of my favorite courses.
Course 3- A crab and bitter melon salad- It was really good but probably my least favorite of the courses.
Course 4- Braised Spicy Sea Urchin. Cool ambiance as it was served in a really big sea urchin shell.
Course 5- Baked Halibut in a some soy/miso/garlic sauce with lime. The presentation was great as it was served in this little covered bowls which you would untie. Cool! Also at the top of my list.
Course 6- Dynamite Temaki- A good, spicy, flavorful handroll. Not much more to say.
Course 7- Golden Roll. Getting back into the sushi part of the meal, this roll was topped with a gold-ish roe and was wrapped in an egg crepe. It was filled with crab, scallop, and salmon. My favorite of the two rolls.
Course 8- Toro Sushi. See above, one of the singular best pieces of sushi I have had ever. Also my first piece of Toro. I would not even mess with the flavor by dipping it in soy sauce (Tojo won't let you either).
Course 9- Spider Roll (I think that's the name). Tempura yam, crab, avocado and asparagus wrapped in cucumber.
Course 10- Green Tea Creme Brulee and Pineapple Ice Cream with fresh fruits. An amazing, amazing way to end the meal. Every restaurant should have green tea creme brulee, but something tells me few places could pull it off like Tojo's. Very Ironic to have such a strong dessert at a sushi place.
Course 8-
Listed in: Seattle and Vancouver
First off, Tojo's is not a sushi bar as it is commonly referred to here. It is a very, very high end Japanese restaurant with an "Omakase Counter" where the chef, usually Tojo himself, decides what to serve you after asking not what you like, but what you don't like. Once these formalities are completed, you will sit there and be treated to one of the most sublime dining experiences of your life. It ain't cheap, but it is worth it. If you are in Vancouver, don't miss it. I have dined in great restaurants all over the world, but this remains one of my all time favorites. You may be shocked when the check comes, but you will never be disappointed.
Really wanted to give this an extra star....but the reality is that the place is living off its reputation. Now dont get me wrong....if you are looking for creative Japanese/Sushi cuisine this is probably your best bet in Vancouver....but to say that this is the pinnacle of Japanese dining or Vancouver dining - No siree bob.
We did the 5 course omikase - and 4 out of the 5 courses had the wow factor....so you say not bad. But then again there are degrees of wow - and this was more on the 3 to 4 star of wow on a scale of 5.
The 5the course of sushi and sashimi was very average..and hence somewhat disappointing.
My favourite course was desert - which was a Sesame Pana Cotta - it was brilliant with a delicious sesame biscuit.
Service was as good as one could expect. Will definitely return to see if this was an off night.
Best Japanese in Vancouver. The sake bar blows my mind. Service is brilliant--highly, highly recommended.
I have been to Tojo's many times - and no matter how many times I go, it is never enough. Tojo is a master. And, Tojo is a celebrity chef who ACTUALLY PREPARES FOOD THAT NORMAL MORTALS CAN EAT. Yes, if you go to Tojo's, you will most likely get something prepared by Tojo himself. Name one other celebrity chef restaurant where that happens!
The food speaks for itself. I have had varying price ranges of Omakase from $100 (when that was still available) to $200. I have ordered a la carte. I have never once had anything that was below 5 star in taste, freshness, and presentation.
A lot of people are scared of uni, sea urchin roe, because it has a very bad reputation for being challenging or scary. If you would like to try uni but have been hesitant, please try uni at Tojo's and you will be a convert. Tojo serves uni nigiri-style - a perfect roe sac at optimal temperature gently placed on formed sushi rice and rushed to your table by the attentive staff. Most sushi establishments serve uni "gunkan" style, with nori wrapped around the rice. When I asked my Tojo's waitress why Tojo serves uni nigiri style, she replied that no matter how quickly they served the uni, the nori would become chewy and ruin the custardy texture of the uni. Yes, it's more difficult to serve uni this way but this is definitely the way it should be served.
Tojo is well known for his attention to detail and his appreciation and reverence for traditional techniques. Do yourself a favor and experience it for yourself.
I HATE YOU TOJO!!!!! YOU RUINED ME FOR LIFE!!!
And I mean it. Ever since I had the omakase at Tojo, I never looked at sushi in the states the same. I went from eating sushi once a week to......... never again. Why? Because I am officially a sushi snob now, and I say every sushi joint I've been to tastes like garbage compared to Tojo. And I know several people on Yelp will beg to differ, but on the night I went, every dish was mind blowingly deeeeeelicious. Changed. My. Life. Upon the first bite of each course, you can hear nothing but a chorus of "Ohhhh my godddd!" from our table. Like sex in your mouth....
Now I don't remember each course we had, but you can count on everything being spectacular. Beef sashimi, sushi itself, spider rolls are prepared a lil different than in the states, king crab salad served in the shell of a king crab, sable fish stew, black sesame pudding dessert..... And some have complained that each course took too long to come out. Well to that I say, if you're gonna spend $100 / person, then it better not be a half-ass prepared meal. You're gonna get one of the best meals of your life. What's the rush? Shut up and suck it up!
And to Tojo.... You and I have some unfinished business. We shall meet again.......
I'm torn about this place. Certain parts of my Omakase meal ($110 option) were delightful beyond compare- and others were honestly a bit disappointing. I wil describe the dishes in the order I got them.
1) Tuna Tataki- This was absolutely, ridiculously good. Melt-in-your-mouth fish...With this being the first bit of food that I got for the evening, it really heightened my expectations for the rest of the meal. "What could beat this?" I thought. (4.5)
2) Spring scallop with flying fish roe wrapped in a zuchini flower that was covered in a light tempura batter, accompanied with zuchini tempura- O. M. G. This dish indeed met my expectations after my first dish. The scallop was tender, bursting with flavor, its texture complemented perfectly with the zuchini flower and the flying fish roe. I'm still shaking my head thinking about it. It didn't necessarily LOOK beautiful...but it tasted beyond beautiful...(4.75)
3) Crab salad- This was one of the disappointments. It felt like a palate cleanser. Sure, the little bit of crab was fresh- but yea, the crab was overpowered by the yellow mustard-based sauce drizzled over it. Just not feelin' it on this one- temporary let-down....(3)
4) Pan seared Salmon and sauteed vegetables in an orange glaze sauce- This looked pretty ordinary- but the salmon was cooked perfectly- a light, crispy outer crust and a tender, juicy middle, cooked all the way through. Solid, but not mind-blowing. (3.5)
5) "The best Smoked Cod I think I'll ever have in my life wrapped in cedar wood sheets, with strips of mango, asparagus, and a few other veggies trapped inside the cod." Oy....this is the one dish that went beyond my expectations. I mean.... W...O....W. I never knew fish could taste THIS good. Flavors, textures, and aromas mixed together perfectly...flawless execution of an entree that I will indeed remember for the rest of my life. (This one merits a '6')
6) Sushi (rolls and Nigiri)- Honestly, this was the part of the meal I was most looking forward to- basically until this point only the first dish I had involved raw fish (semi-raw being tataki)- and I was hoping to actually get some sashimi as part of this omakase. But I would be disappointed. The rolls were decent, as were the nigiri, but I've had better elsewhere. Uninspiring. I was hoping for a lot more with all the hype that Tojo's has gotten.
7) I was disappointed that there was no salmon or Uni in this particular rendition of omakase, so I went ahead and ordered 1 piece of each nigiri. The salmon was decently good- but I think I got a bit of an end piece... :( Come on now, I'm blowing some big dough to eat here... The Uni...was ok. I can actually say I've had consistently better Uni elsewhere....even in *gasp* Atlanta, GA? (@ Sushi House Hayakawa). Not dissing on the nigiri, but it wasn't anything special, and so it didn't meet up to my (perhaps) hyped expectations?
The green tea creme brulee was a pleasant way to end the evening- before I had to run out to catch the last bus across the street to Richmond.
In summary: verdict? Good, and at times astoundingly so (tataki and cod), but at other times slightly underwhelming.
I don't really get it. Unquestionably high quality, but the originality doesn't match the price in my mind; Neither did the bright ambiance, when I was there last.
Konnichiha tomodachi:
Authenticity is key for me, and Tojo's, to be blunt, is not Japanese. It is a fusion of western and Japanese food, even though it is created by a Japanese and you might even find some restaurants like it in Tokyo. The Japanese staff usually outnumber the Japanese customers two to one or better (there were a couple of times that I could not identify a Japanese customer in the entire restaurant).
The food is not bad, but it is not authentic and once you appreciate that, it is very overpriced. The best thing that I have to say is that ingredient quality is good, but you can get that at a few other restaurants at a much more reasonable price.
Jeffyori
True Sushi lover's Heaven!
With a place like this, there will be people who will complain about price. I've been to the Nobu in Aspen and NY and they don't compare to Tojo's. Why? My theory is, I always look at who is working in the kitchen and some were Mexican and some were Chinese at Nobu's . There is no need in searching for better Sushi other than Tojo's in this part of the world. If you understand the true concept of Sushi rolls, this is as traditional as they come, made with little rice as possible and marinated in their special sauce. These two main rules are usually not followed in the typical Japanese and lower end restaurants. they are really known for he cod dish, red tuna, and other Chef's special on the menu. I wouldn't order rolls (although exceptionally good), try to do other traditional Japanese dishes that you can't get anywhere else. The waitresses are very knowledgeable and of Japanese origin (actually everyone is), so you can ask for their recommendations. If you sit at the bar, the Chef will make the recommendations, but that is an exclusive sitting. It's fantastic date place too!
Outstanding!
Omakase for 4 plus Tojo's tuna. Excellent service, delightful ambiance.
Halibut cheeks were remarkable. Everything was completely fresh.
Expensive, but you have to do it at least once in a lifetime!
Wife and I celebrated our anniversary here and went straight to the bar for the omakase. Seriously, there's no other way to go when you come here. Save your money and sit at the bar for something truly unforgettable. It was one of the best meals of my life (and also one of the most expensive as well!).
Chef Tojo: "You don't touch the soy sauce until I tell you to"
Us: "Uhh.. okay... whatever you want master"
First Dish. -a sashimi sampler with a pre-made japanese chili sauce over daikon, shiso, and cucumber.
2nd dish - -a tempura zucchini flower stuffed with scallop and fish mousse with a house tempura sauce
3rd-a dungeness crab ceviche-type dish with some kind of ramen noodles and cucumber
4th -japanese white fish (snapper?) baked in origami paper with mango, burdock root, asparagas, and shiitake mushrooms, served with a slice of lime
5th -the chef's special hand roll with sushi rice, giant clam, japanese mayo, tempura, and the nori was lightly grilled
6th -"sushi" roll with three kinds of sashimi wrapped in a thin egg omelet with tobiko on top
7th - toro nigiri... amazing.
9th- sardine nigiri (locally raised)
8th- sweet ebi nigiri.. the wasabi in that one almost killed me. his wasabi is amazing though
10th - -"northern lights roll" which is lobster, pineapple, avocado, asparagas, and something else orange wrapped in nori and then wrapped in a thin layer of cucumber
11th - -chef's version of a rainbow roll with tuna, salmon, a white fish, and egg omelet on the outside, and unagi on the inside
12th - -last course (for us anyway) was a rice cracker-crusted japanese white fish with shiitake mushrooms, boiled baby turnips, some other leafy green in a thick miso-like sauce
13th -dessert was green tea creme brulee topped with diced organic local fruits, 2 blueberries, a raspberry, and a black sesame cookie
Yes... we went all out. It's been awhile since I've been there and I still think about this meal as a dream.
As written in another review, I believe I have chops - ancestry, long living experience in Japan, etc. - when it comes to sushi and Tojo's is a place to be honoured, respected and attended whenever in Vancouver.
I have also had the great pleasure of making Tojo's acquaintance and should like to offer him my compliments, congratulations and best wishes for continued health and prosperity.
Go. Enjoy. Bravo!
Tojo's is over rated. I hate to say this but better can be had just about anywhere else.
I agree with other comments: the ingredients tasted old. It's overpriced. This was my second time going and I don't think I ever need to go back.
There was a time when Tojo's was THE place for sushi, but I think this ship has sailed.
Hands down, a fantastic experience.
Not only was the food phenomenal, but the service was friendly, attentive, and oddly entertaining.
We did the $80 omakase, which was 5 courses. I'll just do a quick list and preface the list by saying that every item was delicious, and prepared to emphasize the simple beauty of the ingredients. We had hamachi prepared raw, a salmon cake topped with pineapple, sable fish (the highlight of the night), salmon, and then a sampler of sushi (the highlight was the smoked salmon/asparagus that they make in house). At the end of the night, they brought out a black sesame panne cotta that was surprisingly refreshing and tasty.
It was a really wonderful experience, although, I will admit that I was still a bit hungry when I got home and had to supplement our pricey meal with a bowl of cereal. No stars knocked off for that though. I love cereal.
Great, great restaurant! Not a place for a small wallet.
I tried the tasting menu, and I'm glad I did. The chef really knows what he's doing. The waitress (really cool lady with a great sense of humor), asked us various questions about what we liked. They took that info and made us a truly awesome meal. I'm not even sure where to begin, because everything was great and we had several courses. I don't think I have ever had octopus that I liked so much. The sushi was GREAT!
Definitely fun for birthdays.
Yelp has a picture of the dessert we had. Very unique (in my opinion at least) and very good.
Just didn't meet expectations for such an expensive meal. Two of us ordered, respectively, the 5 and 6 course omikase. Among the 11 dishes, two were chicken, and one was fried soft-shell crab, not what I expect when we leave for a total bill of $300. The latter was good, but I've (gotten lucky and) had just as good at cheap places. The service was perfect, and some of the dishes included some of the best bites of food I've ever had.
Compare this to Morimoto in NYC and Philly, and the ingredients here are far more mundane, and perhaps not quite as artistically prepared. For the same price, Morimoto's omikase includes a wagu course and real wasabi, no chicken. The sushi at Tojo was amazing. Overall, it was good to check out. It's PROBABLY worth the trip, ONCE.
Went to Tojo's since I was in town.
Food was fresh and service was good, but I am giving 2 stars because the value was so poor.
We opted to have the CAD 80 Omakase menu, which is touted as a must-have experience per the book "1000 places to see before you die."
The raw ingredients were of the rather common variety in consideration of the price, i.e. two dishes of albacore tuna, sushi plate with low quality maguro, miso black cod, etc. One was a sesame-based tuna poke, available at your local Costco for less than $5. Even the more exotic attempts came were off course -- the tempura shrimp salad with mustard sauce tasted as as it shipped from the hofbrauhaus versus a Japanese kitchen.
When you walk in, the decor and show the sushi chefs put on give you the sensation you are embarking on a modern fusion of Japanese and Euro cuisine and that you're in for something special. What arrives on the plate, is basically cheap food garnished with fancy service and fancy names. I am sure this is a very profitable business model but not one that I intend to experience again.
The day before I ate here, I broke both of my arms while mountainbiking at Whistler - so my review may be somewhat influenced by the fact that I had to drink enough sake to regain the use of my right hand in order to use my chopsticks.
That being said, this place is off the charts amazing.
There's a scene in Tony Bourdain's No Reservations: Vancouver when he is sitting at the bar at Tojo's and partakes in the tuna, subsequently finding himself awash in an orgasmic overflow of imagery, his mind flashing through every moment of everything known to be good and pure, scored by a chorus of angels.
It's sorta like that.
When the majority of the top reviews for Tojo's are from patrons 800+ miles away from the San Francisco Bay Area, you know that this establishment must be the best in Vancouver. For foodie crazed San Franciscans, we have our share of sushi restaurants, scattered from one end of our 7x7 little island to another, but nothing compares to my experience at Tojo's.
Arriving at 6:00 pm on a Saturday night without a reservation should have been our first mistake, but after a day of Main Street hipster shopping and being so close to Tojo's, we just could not convince ourselves to go back to our downtown hotel to change for a "business casual" dinner at another local institution, so we hopped into a cab and a few short blocks later, arrived at the massive resto.
The front desk receptionist was very accommodating, seating us in the bar area, where other non ressie diners were also seated. As the full menu was served in the bar as well as the dining room, we were quite pleased and didn't mind being seated on the tall bar stools.
We asked for recommendations from our server, who pointed out items that we had already intended on ordering - Tojos Tuna, a melt in your mouth experience, Tuna Tataki and of course the Lobster Rolls. We also indulged in the Northern Light Roll and the tastier North West Roll.
Overall, a wonderful meal and great service.
Neighborhood: Kerrisdale
Neighborhood: Fairview Slopes
Neighborhood: Mount Pleasant
Neighborhood: Downtown
Neighborhood: Downtown
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