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Zen Japanese Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Sushi Bars Restaurants Asian Fusion Japanese, Sushi Bars, Asian Fusion [Edit]
2232 Marine DrSte 101
West Vancouver, BC V7V 1K4
Neighbourhood: Ambleside
(604) 925-0667
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 9:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
12 reviews for Zen Japanese Restaurant
12 reviews in English
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Review from Melissa C.
Richmond, BC
I came prepared with my Groupon and read the Yelp reviews and menu, fully knowledgable about the $$$ price range I was about to encounter in this restaurant.
Note: A little hidden from the main street, look for the green neon ZEN japanese sign for this restaurant and street parking is not too bad.
It's always a pleasant treat when you enter a restaurant and you can already smell the delicious and wondrous aromas of food. We were seated in a nice, quiet corner of the restaurant by a window, it's too bad it was dark already but the building lights were nice. Our server brought us warm towels to wipe our hands (who's fancy now?), too bad they weren't a little steamier, I can take the heat.
We started off with the Sockeye Salmon Yukke ($8.95). The sauce the red salmon was tossed in was sweet and saturated the salmon, so much so that I could not taste the raw, rich taste of the salmon too much. A little sad about that, but the salmon was still beautiful in taste and texture. The thinly shredded seaweed was crisp and the semi-salty preserved cucumber was a nice addition to the sweet salmon.
After a good 10 minutes or next dish came. From the tapas menu, we ordered the Prawn Dumplings ($7). Piping hot, tender shrimp insides were surrounded by a thick, chewy goodness dumpling skin, which all sat in a dreamy puddle of japanese mayo, pesto, and sweet sauce. The greens in the middle went very well with the sauce as well - if all my salads had this sauce on it, I'd convert in a heartbeat.
By the time our next two dishes came our bowl of rice became cold, our server offered to give us a new bowl of rice, which was really great.
Zen Crab ($15.95) was our most expensive splurge. There were a good few pieces of soft crab mixed in a creamy melody of sauce with mushrooms, onions and green pepers all backed in the shell of a crab. It was a delicious combination to our rice.
Finally our Oyster Motoyaki ($7.95) arrived. Extremely hot, the 2 oysters I counted were so yummy, I wish there were more. A pleasant surprise as I dug for more were the noodles, mushrooms, and onions I found dancing in the thick japanese mayo sauce.
We were satisfied with the service and the food but stopped ourselves from ordering anymore because my wallet was feeling a little hungry after all we spent. Instead, we stopped to buy some fries for our long drive home. In the end, if I'm feeling a little heavy in the wallet and yearning for some really delicious food, you'll see me here again! -
Review from Stephanie H.
Vancouver, BC
5/20/2012
We tried this place out because we were "touring" around West Vancouver and we saw that this was voted as one of the top restaurants to try in the North Shore. I went into the restaurant with high expectations, and maybe this was the reason why I did not find the food spectacular. The service was great though (I definitely have no complaints about this) - our server kept on coming back to check up on us during our meal.
I liked how the restaurant has a nice little porch for us to dine (the view was not bad - could have been better if there weren't tall trees blocking the view of the water though).
We had the San Francisco roll ($16.95), Hamachi Peak ($15.95) and the Tako Sunomono. The presentation and the taste of the sushi and the sunomono were simple/ plain - not exceptionally special for a restaurant of its status.The Zen Original Rolls (e.g. San Francisco Roll and the Hamachi Peak) were a bit pricey and they come in 6's. I haven't tried any of their Maki Selection yet, but the ones that the table beside us ordered looked good.
Overall, I liked the ambience and the service. The food was mediocre (when I compare it with other sushi places - but good as it is). Maybe if I came here with no expectations, my perspective would have differed. -
Review from Jennifer W.
Richmond, BC
5/4/2012
The food here is delicious, my favourites are the Prawn Three way, and popcorn halibut. My only complaint is that our waitress, while she was very friendly, she had a lot of nervous energy, which made me feel like I was being rushed through my meal.
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Review from Steph J.
Richmond, BC
2/15/2012
Came here for dineout Vancouver. Amazing value, fresh ingredients, incredible culinary innovation. Worth the journey to west van. Left happy and really full.
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Review from Dennis P.
Vancouver, BC
5/14/2011
Way overpriced for the food served. Me and my wife don't eat a lot but for the price we paid we usually stuff ourselves elsewhere.
You would expect the food to be superb at this portion and price, but we couldn't figure out how a single roll's seaweed could get soggy so quick.
I gave it an extra star because the service was great.
Btw when we left we went to another restaurant about 10 blocks down.
Oh I also liked how they folded their napkins. -
Review from Nadine N.
Vancouver, BC
7/30/2009
My original intention was to go for sushi in North Van, but the reviews were pretty dismal, so I expanded my search west. Reviews for Zen Sushi were good and when I saw that they were the 1st sushi restaurant in Vancouver to go "Ocean Wise," I was sold.
We started with the Salmon Yuke from the $7 tapas menu. It was fantastic. My expectations were super high at this point. Next up came spicy agedashi. Not bad, but not spicy. Then we had a negi hamachi roll. It was just okay. The thing I was really excited about was the specialty roll we'd ordered. We had an East Meets West roll which had scallops, salmon, asparagus, and was almost $19. It wasn't worth $19. In fact, the roll was too wet and the rice was too vinegary. Hmm, I've never thought that about sushi rice before. We ended the meal with tuna pops from the tapas menu, which was grilled albacore tuna skewers. It was decent.
I'd say the $7 tapas menu is the way to go. There are lots of creative rolls on the menu, but I was pretty disappointed by the product, especially at that price. As a side note, I didn't see any nigiri on the menu.
So my friends in North and West Vancouver, please point me to your favourite sushi joints. I am still looking for that North Shore gem. -
Review from Shannon M.
North Vancouver, BC
8/14/2010 1 Check-in Here
Zen is our go-to place when we both want sushi and are feeling extra fancy (ie, willing to spend WAY more than we normally would on sushi, especially on the north shore).
I really and truly love it here. Yes, the food is expensive, but it's also extremely well prepared, inventive and fresh. The service is always excellent and the restaurant itself beautiful - if you can, sit outside on their patio overlooking the seawall.
Speaking of servers, Laura (who, I'm not even sure works there anymore) is EXCELLENT. She knows her stuff and is extremely helpful in recommending dishes that you will absolutely love. She even comped us a popcorn shrimp roll because she believed so absolutely that we would love it (and she was right!).
Other standouts on the menu would be the San Francisco roll and the warm winter salad - both SO GOOD. They don't really have a nigiri sushi menu, but I was lucky enough last time we were there to mention to Laura that I wished I could have tai nigiri and she was able to recommend a seasonal special that included 3 pieces of various white fish nigiri that was seriously so good I'm not sure how I've been able to go back to basic tai.
Zen Sushi definitely isn't where I would go for a cheap, low-key sushi evening but special occasions? Or wanting to show out of town sushi lovers just what Vancouver can do with a sushi menu? Most definitely.
The restaurant is set a little back from the street and can be somewhat hard to spot, so watch for that. Parking is either on the street or there is a small parking lot in the back accessed by an alley.
Enjoy! -
Review from Peter W.
North Vancouver, BC
6/30/2009
For special occasions when you feel like Japanese food, but not the ordinary fare, Zen is great. You will leave spending $40-$50 per person, but the product and service is very good. The rolls are excellent and the uniqueness of the food makes Zen a good choice.
The prices are definitely higher, but worth it. Location is also good being down in the Ambleside/Dundarave area - there is a seawall walk or good coffee shops nearby for apres meal. -
Review from matt m.
West Vancouver, BC
9/9/2009
Best Sushi on the North Shore, bar none.
The menu is extensive, a bit pricey, but quality is top notch.
The restaurant is a bit set back from the street, so be sure to consult a map or your GPS in order to find it. Parking is street only, which sucks. -
Review from Stephen K.
Vancouver, BC
10/8/2009
CAN YOU TRY AND STAY ZEN WITH THIS OVERPRICED SUSHI?
__________________________________________________ ______
My girlfriend and I were looking for a North Shore sushi restaurant to hit up after a nice walk on the seawall and ended up at this restaurant right beside La Regalade.
If I had to sum up my experience in one word, it would be "OVERPRICED". Or maybe that should be "DISAPPOINTING". Don't get me wrong, I love eating out and have no problem shelling out money for a great meal but the meal has to be worth it. I just don't feel that the product matches the exorbitant prices Zen is charging.
We ordered tempura cherry blossoms stuffed with prawns and the stuffing was just so heavy that I was unable to taste anything but sauce. You get two small blossoms for $9. A chopped scallop hand cone arrived next (nothing special) at $7. An 11 piece assorted sashimi followed that ($27). While we found the fish good, it didn't seem to be as fresh as we would have liked. The restaurant was quite empty when we went and the question arose as to how a slow restaurant can keep fish fresh. We also ordered two rolls which were ok. The East Meets West roll was overpriced at $19 for 5 small pieces, and as another reviewer mentioned, the roll was too acidic. The Hamachi Peak roll was tasty, but not mind blowing.
We had originally planned on ordering more but were disappointed with the food up to this point that we decided just to call it a night instead of spending more.
I'd give the food a 3/5 but given the high prices am dropping that to a 2/5.
In the end, this restaurant definitely didn't live up to the hype. There are better sushi restaurants in Vancouver and definitely ones that don't require a drive across a bridge to get to. -
Review from Richard J.
North Vancouver, BC
4/13/2009
Zen Sushi is a gem of a restaurant located in restaurant row on Marine Drive between Regalade and Mangi e Bevi. Zen is not your usual sushi place as they have some very special offerings and a lot more then sushi. The wait staff are extremely helpful and the outdoor seating is especially nice in season. Unusual for a Japanese restaurant are the excellent home made desserts. The prices are higher then the usual sushi place....but so is the quality of the food.
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Review from Jay Rand B.
3/30/2010
Very unique sushi restaurant. Miso soup is better than average. Specialty rolls are quite good. Dessert was exceptional. Too high priced for what you get. Definitely worth another try.
