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Small Japanese owned and operated sushi bar.
My husband and I are both sushi-addicts and rather particular ones at that. We have been coming here near-exclusively to get our fix for several years for good reason; Ajisai possibly serves the best sushi in the city (along with Tojo's).
This spot offers completely authentic, fresh, quality sushi at affordable prices. The staff are consistently pleasant, efficient and helpful. They offer some dishes not regularly offered by Japanese restaurants here; the Wakame Sunomono is especially delicious.
Line-ups are inevitable and worth it.
Ajisai serves hands down the best sushi I have eaten outside of Japan. The ingredients are fresh and presentation is outstanding. They even manage to make the California rolls taste better than other sushi restaurants. The uni and hamachi are good, but what's really memorable - the otoro is out of this world. It's a must try, even at $7 per nigiri piece. I think it's listed as Blue Fin Tuna on the chef special menu and is only available occasionally. I do feel guilty for eating blue fin, but it's so good I just can't help myself...
The servers are very friendly. The place itself is very small and gives a cozy feel. If I had one complaint, I guess it would be that when they served cooked fish (such as grilled black cod), the fishy smell can instantly be smelled throughout the entire restaurant. But really, that doesn't stop this from being the best sushi restaurant in Vancouver.
For the moderate prices and the obviously fresh fish, it's definitely better than the other Kerrisdale sushi restaurants overall.
I find their toro, amongst other fish, is well above that which is offered by Irashai. And Irashai, in my opinion, is better than Asa & that take-out sushi restaurant next to the crepe place (yeah, I keep forgetting their name), and definitely well worth it over the formerly overpriced Shota Sushi 2 doors down from Starbucks on that side street behind Shopper's Drug Mart (they now have cheaper combo boxes & opened up in Richmond next to Shanghai River). The BBQ black cod is really tasty with nice crisp skin & tender juicy meat. The cut used for the beef sashimi is nice, bright, red & tasty. The uni is more than decent; the ikura fresh; the saba is alright. The mirugai is tasty & reasonably priced. Too bad they only have green tea ice cream listed for dessert, so I've just skipped finishing off the meal with that.
They're busy most meal hours & are closed in between lunch & dinner as well as Sunday & Monday (if I recall correctly). I've only been Saturday & weeknights minus Mondays.
The establishment seats few but still a good turnover and located in a nice semi-secluded area attached to the London Drugs building across from the drop-in Care Centre. It is run by very pleasant & friendly Japanese staff though majority of patrons are of other Asian origins and/or with a mix of Caucasians. I don't believe I've actually spotted many Japanese shoppers & diners in general in the Kerrisdale area...
I'm a regular at this sushi bar. And it has always been consistently good. My one complaint is that they are always so packed with patrons, that I must wait for at least half an hour to be seated. But, this is one of the places I wait to be seated with a smile.
The seafood they serve is always so fresh! Always check out the little "Chef Recommended" Menu for the day's fresh picks. Their hirame, aji, uni, blue fin tuna, ankimo and toro are outstanding! Never forgot to order their seafood salad and mountain potato as appetizers.
Their service is always friendly, and usually with a smile.
Without a doubt, this is my favourite Japanese restaurant.
Had dinner here on a saturday nigh with a friend. Had the seafood salad, which was good, but didn't feel it was anything special over other seafood salads I have had. I also had their salmon rolls, which seemed pretty fresh. Lastly there was a chirashi don, which was pretty standard, but the seafood seemed fresh.
I was greeted at the door promptly, and my order came in about 20 minutes. Had 1 tea refill and had no problems getting the bill.
Value wise, from what I ordered, it seemed like a not bad deal, but it wasn't cheap. Ambiance is fine, its plain and clean.
I probably would not be back here, as there are a few similar quality restaurants closer to me.
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!
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.
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!
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 !
The place is clean. The food is fresh enough but still not worth the price. They only have a few kinds of fish. It's fresh all right but doesn't taste that special. It doesn't taste that speical to make me want to come back. It's over priced and they give you small portion.
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.
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.
Okay, so I've been there several times, but I guess I will stop going there.
In general, their service is generally OKAY. One of the waitresses gives really bad service. I went in and the restaurant wasn't so busy. She was standing at the counter and facing inside of the bar, and did not even turn to me and ask what I'd like. Instead, I had to ask her myself. She gave me a really unfriendly look. I don't know what's gotten into her!
Their food is okay, but they seem to gradually decrease the portion of food per dish, and raise their price recently?
I got to mention one thing that they don't seem to wash their table cleaning cloth that often. I always see them wipe their tables with the same cloth over and over again. When they finish, they just place it right back on their counter table (without even washing it). Yuk! I don't know if anyone of you have noticed it, but we all know how dirty that is.
I liked this place. it was recommended by friends. Almost like sushi in Japan so i can say this is the most authentic.
It is only a sushi restaurant so you must know that you can only get sushi. Very small, but good for the money you will pay. It is hard to find but once you are there, you will go back.
Aji Sai sushi in Kerrisdale is a diamond in the rough, or like a back alley, for those who've ever been. I've been going to Aji Sai since it first opened 7-8 yrs ago, and to be honest i have never been disappointed. The food is always of a high quality, and they always have a great selection of fish, some of which are not seen at most other Japanese restaurants. The other plus for this place is, it's actually owned and run by Japanese people, unlike the countless other Jap. restaurants in Vancouver. Aji-Sai always seems to have a line during peak times, no surprise, so i recommend showing up before 630 or after 8pm.
With regards to recommendations, some things i suggest trying are the Saba Shiso roll, and the mirugai ponzu. For those of you seeking more value, the roll combos are excellent, I had a West Coast combo or something the last time i was there. With regards to Sashimi, I recommend you take a look at the chef's recommendations, but i have never been disappointed with the freshness, and quality of their sashimi.
Yes, I do think this place is great, but there are some downers. I believe it's closed on Mondays, and only open for dinner on Sunday. The restaurant is quite small, so get their early, or be ready to wait. Another way to get around the wait is to order take out, but i'll be honest, fresh sushi doesn't travel far or for very long.
All in all, one of the best sushi bars in Vancouver. You get what you expect, this place is very authentic, and fortunately has no pretentious attitude, unlike some of Vancouver's other better Japanese establishments. Lastly, I think the cost is totally appropriate for the quality of the food, and the part of town the restaurant is in.
So everyone give it a go, bon appetit.
One of the signature items at ajisai is probably the seafood salad; fresh greens, great variety of seafood and the perfect dressing. They also have great bento boxes at lunch for a pretty good price;however, one thing that i never like about the bento box is the daily side dish that comes with it;I always found it quite bland, but overall, this place has never disappointed me, consistently yummy.
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.
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.
I was looking forward to revisiting Ajisai's after a delicious lunch there awhile back. Boy were we disappointed. We ordered two roll combos and the sushi rice was all mushy and the rolls were falling apart with not that much in them. We all looked at each other and pretty much said we couldn't eat anymore after a few pieces. I got up and told the waitress and sushi chef that it wasn't really edible. They seemed totally surprised. They asked if they could make it again for us so I agreed. Although the rolls looked a bit more presentable the taste was not there and the rolls were still falling apart. We are spoiled by Maguro's in Ladner and Nikko's in Langley and I now appreciate those places so much more. I brought my husband a few leftover pieces and after a couple of bites threw it in the garbage. A cute little place but we won't be back.
I am a sushi tsu(snob) and I am proud of it. I will not eat at the horrible restaurants that serve all you can eat. I will not eat at places that serve the wrong kind of tea. I will not eat at restaurants that have cold rice or plate the dishes wrongly.
I bristle if the chef is using some mass produced knife, I scream bloody murder if the plates do not match the food that is put on it.
Ajisai is one of the best Sushi places in Vancouver. The head chef Hide knows his stuff. He does not do stupid things like put wasabi under his unagi. He does not serve cold sushi rice and if you have the money, tell him Omakase and let him make a meal you won't soon forget.
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| 2. | Oasis Restaurant (106 m) | |
| 3. | Mom N' Pop's Bake Shoppe (108 m) | |
| 4. | My Cup (109 m) | |
| 5. | Adonia Kerrisdale Tea House (117 m) | |
| 6. | Fish Cafe (121 m) |  |
| 7. | La Cuisson Coffee Shop (121 m) | |
| 8. | S & W Pepper House (121 m) |  |
| 9. | Gaia Bistro (122 m) |  |
| 10. | McDonald's (127 m) |
