I went there recently with some co-workers. After waiting an hour they had forgotten my order. When it finally came with no apologies, it was about 5 pieces of low grade sushi, and it cost $20!

I guess the best way of judging how good a place is, is how many people are in the place during lunch. This place had no one in it at noon.

The food here is really great. I have been several times and have never been disappointed. It is a far far cry from the typical Robson or Denman sushi joint. Super nice with delicious food and great service. The yam fries, creative rolls, and spicy tofu are highlights. Unbeatable lunch specials which cater to nearby businesses.
Highly recommended.

After reading/hearing about this new opening in Coal Harbour, we were eager to go and try it out. Finally, tonight, we walked down to coal harbour (on a Saturday night) to try it out. I was a bit surprised that on a Saturday night the restaurant was pretty quiet!

The service was good however we were disappointed with the food. We ordered the chicken karrage (deconstruction of the chicken wing into a drumstick, covered in rice cracker and lightly deep fried) and it was raw inside!!

Other dishes were decent (grilled sable fish, honey salmon).

We shared the matcha creme brulee at the end, but was disappointed again. The creme brulee was like matcha soup. It was very liquidy, thou the taste of it was decent. I suspect the person who torch the brown sugar on top over did it...Hence the entire creme brulee was heated up and caused the 'liquidy' dessert.

Overall, the ingredients or creative ideas for the dishes were decent, but the techniques in creating the dishes seems to be lacking. (A good chef will know when a chicken karrage is cooked or at least did a inspection of the food before it goes out to the diners!)

Also, the pricing of the food was a bit overpriced compared to other similar restaurants around the neighbourhood. I don't think I'll be returning to this restaurant anytime soon.....

It's too bad that there really isnt a decent Japanese restaurant in Coal Harbour. Irashai is a beautiful room, heavily renovated but still lacking. First they must change their signage. It's impossible to make reservations at a restaurant if one drives by and can't read the name on the sign. Second their menu should be scrapped and remade into a more traditional Japanese restaurant. Why on earth would i pay double the price for izakaya if I could just pop to Robson. The food is good but it's missing some starches. All izakaya places have starches. I also find the service very disconcerting. The owners having a meeting and then hovering while customers are attempting to dine. One can see the strain on their faces. Definetely not a relaxing place to dine.

Finally a Sushi Restaurant that feels like a night out, instread of a quick bite to eat. My boyfriend and I experianced similar places in San Francisco and LA. The prices are are not much higher than those cafe style bars- whereas at Irashi you will experiance Real Crab and Wild Salmon. Special Sashimi that is marinated in either Sake, Ice Wine or something else to interest the tatse buds. The sushi rice is fine multi-grain which may seem undercooked to others. If you enjoy quality I highly recommend Irashai- if you expect a $20 night out- stick to Denman.