This is probably my new fav place to have drinks, esp. since I got a $20 VIP card, that entitles me to 15% off food only, sorry no drinks! Anyways, I have dining with 3 other companions this night. We had just finished Hapa, and decided to come here as well.

Food - we had nachos, chicken karage and yakiudon. The nachos were pretty standard fare, I really like the karage. It was cripsy, large pieces, with a good dipping sauce. The yakiudon was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of roe.

Service - all request handled properly. The server did forget to check on us for last call, then said we couldn't order anything else, but quickly retracted that when she realized she made a mistake. Otherwise, I was happy. I see some reviewers were disappointed, but I was not.

Value - it was about $20 per person all in, and we had a pitcher of beer and two sake. So I was quite happy with what we paid. Also, considering the location, the drinks don't have a ridiculous markup.

Ambiance - we got some great booth seats. It's noisy here, but that's what you expect. Great place just to hang and talk.

Would def be back. Recommended.

Went there for an early dinner and saw that they offer happy hour menu from 4:30-6:30 pm. There's fresh oyster @ $0.99/pc, 2 rolls for $6.50, and even nachos. The rolls aren't impressive at all, but all dishes are presented nicely. Green tea was solid, and that's probably why they charge $1.50/person. Don't think I'll be going back again.

First and foremost, the food is good, and the drinks are cheap.
If thats all you care about, then don't read the rest of this.

But the service is horrible.
My girlfriend and I went there with 6 other friends, so we expected a complication or two.
And yeah, they messed up a bunch of orders for the group, most specifically the two dishes my girlfriend and I ordered, they completly forgot about one of them.

However the real problem is with the tip.
What they dont tell you, is that the tip is already included in the bill, at least a base percentage is.
I paid by debit, so when the debit machine asked if I wanted to include tip, I declined because I had a ton of spare change and bills I wanted to unload.
The waitress immediatly told me upon reviewing the bill that I had forgotten the tip, I mentioned I would pay in cash and she seemed ok with that.
That is until however that I had noticed on the bill that the tip was already included.
That soured the experience for me. With that, the forgotten order and the other mistakes, I decided to leave them with the 'auto-tip' and be done with it. In my eyes the service didnt warrant more.

.... so the waitress chases us down, noticing I didnt leave the physical money I said I would, and demanded I pay it. What ensued was a 5 minute arguement over her NEW bill that was an extra 10 dollars on top of what we'd already paid for.
Eventually we explained to her that it wasnt against the law to not pay a tip, I ~had~ paid for the food plus the base tip, and that was that. She seemed convinced and trotted off, I think she just didnt want to bother anymore (she was kind-of outnumbered)

We probably wont be going back there.
Too bad too, as the booze is cheap.

I haven't been back to Ebisu in a while so decided to pop in with a few of my girlfriends.
It was super busy for a Tuesday but I later found out why when the hostess asked me if I wanted to watch the game or just dinner. I wasn't even sure what "the game" meant so I answered "dinner" and she seated me on the other side of the restaurant. Then the Canucks game went on and you heard all the "ooohs & aahs" with the occasional "YEAH!" when they score. As you can tell I'm not into hockey so it was a little noisy but I'm glad the restaurant was big enough to seperate the hockey crowd with the dining crowd (very clever!)
The waitress was very warm and friendly when she came by and we ordered a pitcher of red sangria which was absolutely delicious, she also mentioned that they were doing a hockey night special for pitchers of beer so maybe that's why so many people were there but I don't like beer so I had to pass on the deal.

Had a chance to look at the menu and realized they were doing Happy Hour from 4:30 to 6:30 which I don't think they offered the last time I was here (unless I missed out) but wow it was cheap! They were offering 25 wings and dollar oysters along with sushi that was like roughly 40% off. We got a couple of their special rolls that I also noticed were cut in price from their regular menu. I guess the economic times hit everyone. Their rolls that used to go for $12 are now down to $8, we had to get 2 rolls because it was so tempting! We got the Mango roll which was good, the Volcano roll was just ok, I wouldn't get that again and this shrimp ball hotplate that they pour in front of you. The clam pasta was good but it seemed like there were more shells than the actual clams? Some of the shells were empty.
I still can't believe they are making it cheaper now and they were still just as great tasting as the last time I had it, hardly believe this is on Robson! Impressive!

I can't even figure out why it took me so long to re-visit this spot but refreshing all my sweet memories (and adding to them) have got them on the top of my list again!

I've been here quite a few times for lunch & I always come here with my sisters for dinner! I've told all my friends about it! The parking can be a hassle and if you just waltz in with a group on the weekend be prepared to wait, a long time! Reservations highly recommended to avoid a packed line-up!

The lunch menu is SO CHEAP! It's got awesome deals rarely found anywhere around DT (I've been working in DT for many years so I know) and the quality is excellent, same as dinner! For around 10 bucks you can get a 4 course meal! Soup, Salad, Entree (Katsu Curry is DELISH!) and chocolate cake! Then there's the usual bento boxes (but much better quality then the little take-out places) and this 3-item special where you can choose any 3 things for 10 bucks (Sushi, sashimi, bunch of stuff!) If I was basing this review on lunch only the Value would give a 5-star hands down!

Dinner is a bit pricier so it averages out to about a 4-star. Dinner would get a 3-star.
Food is pretty unique, they got some dishes here I've never seen anywhere else like the cheese gyoza, this spicy salmon grill and thinking about taco rice makes my mouth water! The tapa usuals like the ebi mayo and chicken karage are good too! They could do with some new sauces though, seems like their popular cajun mayo is a bit overused in some of the dishes. It helps that I'm obsessed with fresh oysters and they sell a dozen for $14 and they are unbelievably fresh! I can't justify paying at the other places that sell oysters for $3 per piece for the SAME oyster. (Fortes?) The cocktail variety is impressive! They have all these inventive cocktails I've never seen anywhere else and they are truly heavenly! Golden Ball has got my vote for the best cocktail I've ever had anywhere! I drink at least 3 of these every time I go! For $5 something it's pretty good price!

The servers are all very friendly and I'm guessing good eye-candy for the masses. Sometimes it can get super busy and you can see the waitresses get a little flustered with those huge rowdy parties but for the most part they are fast and pretty nice.

Ambiance, just wow. It's practically like a huge lounge in there but runs itself as a restaurant, my dream come true! Their selection of music feels like they stole my iPod and downloaded my iTunes library, they play Pop & R&B earlier in the evening then they slowly change over to hip hop, good club oldies later at night! Perfect! It's dimly lit inside but not too dark that you can't even read the menu! (a certain chophouse comes to mind) The decor is very posh looking with some dark stained wood and high ceilings so you don't feel constricted like the small izakayas.

Whenever my friends don't have any opinions to go anywhere that night I always suggest Ebisu, I've never had a bad time there. Always lots of fun with good food and flowing drinks to pass the night!

This place is busy because its on Robson, they hire rookie unexperienced servers, most of them don't know what they're doing. You ask for something they forget to come back or ignore you even when its not busy, you have to ask 3 times to get what you want. They try to do the Japanese Fusion style but they are horrible at it. The presentation is sloppy. The deep fried dishes are greasy, the sushi rice is too soggy. The raw oysters are ok. I have been here 4 times since they had their grand opening, only the first time was good. The food is overpriced for the poor quality.

Make sure you reserve, and make sure you don't take your girlfriend, specially if she's jealous. This place is packed, and happening on the weekend, and the food goes and goes. The servers are friendly, it's almost like it's hooters japanese style, I guess something rubbed off of the old hooters at same location, sans the obnoxious hooters food. The food is pretty good, the sushi is not cheap but nice, and your bill for a night of good gastronomic fun is probably a $100, but it's worth the visit, it's about the experience, after all.

The food here bores me! it's the same thing being repeated in all the other "hip" sushi joints around town. I mean, it was good, but really, it didn't live up to the hype.

It's a fun place for a huge group and it does have a pretty specific target demographic (if you go in you'll find out for yourself).

Maybe I just didn't feel the 'vibe' of this place. It's not prententious, but it just irks me for some reason.

Tonight, I went to EBISU on Robson for dinner!
It is a Japanese fusion restaurant. Yet another one~ XD
The menu prices range from $4ish to $13ish, so it is not very expensive~ Because it is a lounge kind restaurants, there is a range of cocktails, liquor, and wine to choose from!
interior of EBISU
The interor is dark and filled with Japanese paintings. Also, the restaurant put a lot of little western lamps here and there; it is very nice!
lamp~
The food was very nice too! Although the waitress was kind of... not very professional, it is a nice place to dine with friends and have fun!
AMBIANCE: Mild!
FOOD: GREAT!
PRICE: GREAT!
SERVI: OK!
MENU of the night: for 2 ppl

Oyster Blowout: The oysters are place on a big platter over ice. There are 6 different things you can put on your un-seasoned oysters. They are: the regular ponzu (sour spiced soy sauce), a tomato cocktail sauce, a teriyaki kind soy sauce, some grounded carrots, lemon and chopped onions. This was very delicious! The oysters were very fresh and the sauces really complemented the oysters and brings out its fresh taste! THIS IS A MUST ORDER!!!

Prawn Tempura: The prawns were very fresh and the batter was deep fried very nicely. Not oily, and not very heavy! Also, it comes with an asparagus tempura too! XD It was very delicious!

Ika Meshi: This is my favorite dish! Grilled Squid with unagi, ****ake, and sushi rice all rapped together stuffed inside! The squid was grillled perfectly! Not too crunchy that will gonna hurt your teeth, and soft enough to taste the charcoal taste and the juiciness of the squid!!! THIS IS A MUST ORDER!!!

Creme Brulee Cheesecake: This is a baked cheesecake with a creme brulee style topping ontop! It comes with whipped cream, a few petals of strawberries, and caramel drizzles! It overall tastes good. The only bad thing about it is the cake base of the cheesecake was soggy and too sweet... so it makes the whole cake kinda weird... but if you take the cake base off, it is really good! One of the best baked cheesecake I ever tasted! Very creamy, and filled with vanilla bean and very eggy!!! XD

Large Hot Sake: If you order a cold sake, they serve it in a bamboo sake bottom! IT'S REAL BAMBOO!!! SO COOL~ XD If you are legal age, I would totally urge you to order it!! haha~

i tried to sangria which was great, i tried the yam fries, which was awesome because it was different (as in shape) and the sauce was spicy yet compliemented each other. The samurai roll (with eel on top) was good, meh.. nothign too special, colorful i gotta say. The sasahmi (beef and the seafood) were both above par.

i just want to make a suggestion and see if you can expand and come up with some special sauce. i know this is easier said than done but what Ebisu is lacking is the wow factor in taste. The decor was decent, the color and presentation are just above par but the taste and shocking value weren't there to WOW someone.