Ajisai Sushi Bar

Added Sep 26, 2009 by quart of Downtown, Vancouver (8 Reviews)

Some of the best sushi and sashimi in Vancouver
Food: We go to this place when we want good sushi and sashimi and are willing to pay more for it. Sashimi, sushi and rolls and always very fresh and well made. The wild salmon and hamachi are great.

Service: Okay.. the staff are efficient but not overly friendly.

Value: Decent value, you pay more than your standard sushi place but the quality is excellent so I would say it's definitely worth it.

Ambiance: Not bad ambiance overall. The weird shape and size of the place makes several strange seating arrangements that are not always comfortable. We keep going back for the quality of food and wide selection.

Added May 8, 2009 by onlytehbest of Vancouver (11 Reviews)

Best Authentic Japanese in Kerrisdale
Ok, so I go here from time to time and I am always impressed with the quality of food.

They have outstanding Sashimi of all sorts, not to mention a variety of fish you dont see at typical sushi restaurants.

Keep in mind that the only hot food they have is miso soup, so dont go expecting any hot food.

Their menu may seem a bit extensive and intimidating, so i recommend that you sit at the bar and talk to the sushi chef about what you like and he will recommend dishes for you.

here is a list of suggestions, tuna/salmon sashimi, salmon don, smoke salmon nigiri, negitoro roll/cone, any of the fish specials, avacado salad, avao-q roll, i can go on, but i wont.

if you go for lunch go before noon, as it gets busy because its quite small, i have not been for dinner so i dont know the timing.

Added Oct 14, 2008 by doublea of vancouver westside (1 Reviews)

my favourite sushi place
I have been eating at this little sushi joint for years now and avoid all the crowd/service issuses by usually going at just before close of lunch or at the start of dinner (~1:30/~5).

The sushi is always fresh, always satisfying, and you always leave feeling like you had a good meal. Servers and sushi chef very informative and are happy to make reccomendations if you are feeling indecisive.

Out of the regular menu, I reccomend the negi toro roll, seafood salad, nigri: saba, tuna, hamachi, toro and amaebi.

They have a menu of specialty items that change, I reccomend getting these when availible - spanish mackerel (not pickled saba), flounder, sweet prawn, katsuo (bonito!).

I usually will have a roll and will pick out an assortment of nigri, 6-10 pieces which leaves me with a bill around $20, well worth it.

Added Sep 15, 2008 by 148jules of Quebec & 18th (31 Reviews)

My new favourite sushi restaurant!!!
What a find! I've walked by a few times before and finally tried Ajisai - was I ever impressed.

The sushi is exquisite. Not too much rice and packed with flavour.

The only downside is not enough seats so expect to line up or best yet ... order take out in advance and get a 5% discount (I'll definitely be ordering take out next time).

The complimentary green tea is also the real thing.

Added Sep 4, 2008 by berrytea of Oakridge, Vancouver (2 Reviews)

Always a good place to go.
I really like Ajisai Sushi Bar as their food is always fresh and the staff always treat you professionally.
My only suggestion would be to extent their bar as the space is very limited that there is always a long line up. It takes a long time to find a seat. It would be great if they can move to a larger place where more customers can be taken at the same time.

Added Aug 16, 2008 by yummitummi of Vancouver (46 Reviews)

Terrific Sushi!
Ajisai is a little hard to find, being tucked behind London Drugs, but journeying out to eat there is well worth it. It truly is a "sushi bar," in that they almost exclusively serve sushi and sashimi, and they do it very well.
My better half and I decided to split the Combination D, which included BC rolls, California rolls, tekka and kappa maki, and a selection of nigiri. The rolls were all delicious, with the BC rolls including a generous chunk of BBQ'd salmon inside, unlike most places that try to fill it up with lettuce. The quality of the fish was top-notch in the nigiri; even the surf-clam, which I usually find too chewy at most other Japanese restaurants, was tender and flavourful. The salmon and tuna were also notably tasty, and barely required soy sauce; the chef had put in just the right amount of wasabi to make the taste buds happy.
The servers seemed frazzled since the room was packed; though our teacups were filled it took a few minutes for someone to take our names down to wait for a seat. But it was "decent" and definitely not a deterrent from coming back.
The feel inside was quite intimate and cozy (though a little crowded). We sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed watching the sushi chefs make mouth-watering creations.
For two people, the bill came out to a little under $50 including tax, tips, and a beverage, and we were stuffed!
Will definitely come back to taste the myriad of nigiri options!

Added Jun 8, 2008 by foodyyum123 of vancouver (6 Reviews)

Delicious Food
I echo what others have said. The restaurant itself is somewhat cramped. We went there on a cold day and our table was close to the door so we could feel the draft each time the door opened.

The service was good. Not super polite. But I think that's just how they do things at this place.

The price was a bit more than I'd like to pay.

The food. This makes up for all of the above. It is exceptional. It is fresh and delicious. This place is more known for their sushi bar (three workers at the bar) and less about kitchen menu items.

Overall, we go again but only once in awhile because of the price.

Added Feb 24, 2008 by marymac of Delta, BC (129 Reviews)

small, but OMG!
Went for lunch last Friday, based on reviews here. We expected it to be small, but MAN...is it EVER small!!

Got there early for lunch, and got seated. Service was great, prompt and friendly. We ordered miso soup, goma-ae and sashimi for two. Server came back to find out if "gaijin" understood that sashimi did not come with rice. Yep, we understood that.

Miso was good, goma-ae was fresh and tasty. Sashim was impeccable. NOTHING was "off" or "fishy"...it was all extremely fresh and good.

Green tea kept on coming, which is a nice change from having to ask for it.

Will be back for sure. Highly recommended!

Added Dec 17, 2007 by Viviyan of Burnaby (25 Reviews)

Delicious Oshizushi
This tops my rating simply because of the oshizushi. I went with 4 friends and decided to try the oshizushi with mackerel (considering that there's not a hot plate in the place, we figured they grilled it with a blow torch!). OH MY GOODNESS - it is the most delicious sushi I've ever had! The fish was so fresh, so tender and seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of black pepper and some kind of citrus soy sauce dressing. It was a good combination with rice... if only they made this en masse... The bill came to $50 and we were pretty full.

All the other sushi items seem standard. Nothing spectacular. A bit pricier than the usual sushi joint but worth it! The place is small so be prepared for a long wait. Not suitable for big party groups at all.

Added Aug 13, 2007 by terrie of Vancouver, BC (4 Reviews)

For those who really appreciate authentic sushi
For $45 my 2 people can stuff themselves. I'm not a light eater or a pig.... I'd say the prices are well worth it. It is purely a sushi bar, so do not expect to get any of the "safe" hot food dishes. It is definitely not a place for you if your idea of Japanese food consists of tempura, teriyaki or udon dishes as these items are not available. Why I love this place?

1. They make the best sushi rice. Most places cannot seem to get the right mixture of vinegar and spices in their rice, but Ajisai does a great job of it.

2. They have a small but fresh selection of seafood.

3. Their chef's are Japanese (a rarity nowadays).

Favourites....chop scallop cone/nigiri, unagi tomago cone, house roll, assorted sashimi, hokigai & tako sashimi, wakame sunomono, seafood salad, dynamite roll, eel & scallop roll.

Before you, do expect a wait unless you are the first ones through the door, they are always busy and do not take reservations. Plus the place is small. The sushi is worth the wait.

Added Apr 5, 2007 by JLe of Vancouver (1 Reviews)

Kerisdale's Little Sushi Secret
3 years and counting and Ajisai is still as near and dear to my heart as it was the first day I dined there.

The food is truly what sets this quaint little sushi restaurant apart from other locales. Everything is served extremely well-prepared and, most importantly, FRESH. Being a strictly sushi-oriented restaurant, you won't find anything deep fried (ie. tempura) or pan-fried or any of the like. So if you're a fan of fish, you're in for a wonderful surprise. I love this restaurant to pieces. It is a touch hard to find and even more difficult to secure a seat during prime-dining-times (it is rather tiny). Even so, I come back again and again with repeatedly excellent experiences.

Dishes to try:
Seafood salad (oh the dressing is to die for!)
Saba sushi/sashimi (simply the best... ANYWHERE)
california rolls (what? that's right i said it! they're different, i swear!)
and... oh that's right, anything with fish on the menu :P

Added Mar 10, 2007 by Donm of Dunbar, Vancouver (1 Reviews)

Ok food but bad service and ambience
The food was good when we finally got it. It took almost 2 hours to get a sashimi plate and a combo a plate. The waitresses did not seem to care about the customers. The ventillation system was either not working or was too small for the size of the place.

We will not go back.

Added Sep 29, 2006 by chefdave of Downtown (58 Reviews)

One of the Better ones
If you;re looking for one of the better Japanese restaurants this is it. Its more of a bistro style place that seats no more than 40 people. Sit by the sushi bar. They probably have the freshest sashimi around. Prices are moderate and expensive for the nicer slices of fish like Hamachi. They have fresh geoduck which is truly a delicacy that must be appreciated if you order it. Overall food value for 2 people around $60. Clean place with solid service. Thumbs Up !

Added Sep 1, 2006 by Junior98 of vancouver (14 Reviews)

Sushi: excellent. Waiting for a table: not good
The sushi here is very good. The mackeral battera and tuna tataki are my favorites. I don't like the dynamite roll it doesn't use actual shrimp tempura as they don't have a license to have a deep-fryer. Instead they roll the shrimp in corn flakes. The menu is mostly sushi with very little "warm" foods. The place is very small, probably seats 20 people cozily. They have one large table but it's likely you may have to sit with strangers if you get seated there. The service is usually good, but not that consistent, but the food outweighs the inconsistencies. The prices are reasonable, but not cheap. The staff is all Japanese.

I don't really like the ambiance because while you're eating you feel a lot of eyes on you from the waiting customers wanting you to hurry up and get the heck out of there so they can have your table.

Added May 12, 2006 by cha of Richmond (22 Reviews)

Good Sushi
Above average. Very reasonable. Sometimes too innovative. Personally I didn't care much about the cornflake they used in Dynamite Roll - it didn't work with soy sauce. Also yama-imo they used in some rolls didn't enhance sushi flavour but rather distracted it. I'd like to try other rolls - the menu looks intriguing. Overall, I liked this tiny place - good sushi at good price. It will be a regualr hangout.

Added Jan 13, 2006 by whataview of yaletown (66 Reviews)

Good sushi in Kerrisdale
I have only had lunch here and it is a very popular place so you are lucky to get a seat in here. You are lucky when you do because everything I have had here (mostly raw) is fresh and tasty. Sushi is my first choice when dining out and this is the a conveniently located Japanese restaurant on the less busy side of the Boulevard. I would rate the sushi here as mid to high end (low end defined as all-you-can-eat and high end beautiful and expensive). For what you get in food and atmosphere, it is pretty good value.

Added Mar 24, 2005 by ting of Richmond, Vancouver (30 Reviews)

the food was worth the 1.5 hour wait
ok so we had a party of 5 people going there on a Saturday night. arrived 7:15, didn't get seated til 8:45. the waitresses kept telling us 20 minutes more for 3 times. frustrated and ready to kill, we were all calmed down by the sake and the delicious, fresh sashimi. the assorted sashimi rice bowl, california roll, and house vegetable rolls are highly recommended and possibly the best I've tasted anywhere. the waitresses didn't apologize for the long wait, and the room was way too bright and small, but it was all worth it.