Have been to samurai many times. Noticed trays upons trays of pre-made sushi on the kitchen counters. So, the sushi you order most likely is not as fresh as it could be. Dunno about the food safety related to raw fish sitting on a counter for too long.

Great deals and large portions confirmed.

I come here ALL THE TIME and get a random assortment of my few favorites. All the people I've introduced to this place love it too.

Sashimi - The best and the biggest. The tuna sashimi is sometimes a bit frozen though(My only complaint, but it's still worth it! Fantastic salmon...

Sushi rolls - The best and the biggest.(Depending on what you get, some can be a little bland). I usually stick to spicy tuna roll, spicy chopped scallop roll, or my favorite GOLDEN ROLL. Man, this roll has scallop mixed with a mayo/salmon roe mixture and then the rolls are wrapped with smoked salmon! And it's huge.

I spend about 10-15 bucks, and that leaves me and my girlfriend immobile and happy. If I move to a new house, it will be near this place. I need it once every 2 weeks minimum.
(There's a similar place on Fraser that is also fantastic, but they don't have the golden roll unfortunately (It IS a different, though seemingly identical restaurant).

Must at least try the sashimi.

I'm not exactly a sushi connoisseur, but my experience at Samurai sushi today was quite disappointing. I've ordered here many times in the past, but the quality seems to have gone down, while the prices have gone up slightly. I ordered the california roll, and the yam tempura roll. The filling itself was fine, but the rice was terrible. It was incredibly sticky and difficult to chew, contrary to real sushi rice found elsewhere. Go here for a quick bite, but there's many more options out there for the same price.

I have to respond to people's negative criticism of Samurai on Cambie (the first time I've ever felt compelled to review a restaurant). I don't even know where to start! The food at Samurai is excellent, the value is excellent and the sushi is FRESH. I can say that having worked at the seafood packing plant that supplies them! I know which restaurants in Vancouver order the lower grade fish and Samurai is NOT ONE OF THEM. Also, in regards to the freshness of product - look at their turnover! The food they sell HAS to be fresh, the location is too small for a huge freezer full of fish and they sell too much of it to sit for long periods of time anyway! No, you won't be sitting in for most of your meals - it is a very small location with seating for approximately 15 (though even that is pushing it) and it is ALWAYS packed (which is also a testament to quality - if it were bad, people wouldn't return). I DO NOT find that there is too much rice - exactly the opposite, in fact. Every time I've been there for nigiri, I have had to cut the fish in half (difficult with chopsticks, I assure you!) and eat it in two bites. The rolls are ALL HUGE! Try the house roll and see just how much of one roll you can get in your mouth. The prices are spectacularly low - I eat a LOT and for 15$ my wife and I both eat until we're full and still have a few rolls left over for a snack later! Trust me, you NEED TO TRY SAMURAI!!!

This place is totally for take out only. I ordered a party tray yesterday following some friend's advise of closest sushi place around her area. She said that it was decent sushi, not the best and pretty good value for what you get.
Okay, when I got there, lots of people. Good sign for turnover, but boy, the restaurant gave off such a sour smell, I kept hoping it was the seasoning for the sushi rice! Took home our order and wow! Big rolls of rice!!! So much rice!! Value for rice! Where the heck is the fish and the good stuff that makes it as sushi? It was so poorly made, I tried to pick up a piece of california roll and it just exploded in mid air towards my mouth! Rice everywhere! Some of the sushi pieces was so huge I had to wonder what left over fish is this? Sure it was salmon, and the fatty bad part of it. I've been to good sushi places and I know my fish and sushi quality. Samurai is good at selling quantity of rice and cheap cuts of fish!
When people talk about fresh and cheap, here's a wake up call. There is no such thing as fresh in sushi world, unless there is a fish tank that the sushi chef reaches in and prepares it in front of your face and you consume it right then and there. That defines "FRESH" Also if you are in Japan.
All fish that is prepare in the majority of sushi restaurants are defrosted from being quick frozen to have it back like fresh. Good and real japanese places know how to defrost and prepare to maintain that fresh quality. Others like Samurai don't and hope for the best that they can sell theirs off in time before it goes bad and people won't notice because the price and value blinds them from the quality. This always is the case. I'm not trying to be a know it all, it just common sense in this world of dining. I have encountered food poisoing before from an all you can eat japanese place, but another story.
I know I'm sort of a hypocrite too, with this economy and people looking for deals, I have fallen victim to these vietnamese and chinese pretenders. Well not anymore, I will save my money for quality from now on. Hello Shiro and Toshi.

Ordered some takeout, they were nice and friendly on the phone. As everyone says the portions are huge but the quality is not that great. If you're a starving student looking to fill up for not much money Samurai would be a good choice. If you want good sushi I would recommend somewhere else. One of the people eating described the fish as slimey. I found the rolls and nigiri too large as well.

I've only ordered take-out here, and I usually stick to the beef and chicken teriyaki rolls. I had my first taste about 3.5 years ago and this is still probably my favourite place to come to for teriyaki sushi rolls. Sometimes service can be really slow (one time waited half an hour for a four roll order), so it's probably best to call in two hours early (5% off with this). They also have tea that you can take as you wait for your food, so sometimes it's not so bad. I've heard and read about some pretty nasty things about this place (health inspector observed cooks not washing his hands after going to the bathroom and smoking) but what can I say...I will continue to go for the humongous portions and cheap deal!

if you are on a date, go to to another place but this place has HUGE sushi and the taste of the veggie rolls and yam rolls are good and the price is great. The service is fast due to the fact that they have 5 guys working and pre-making the top sellers. the line to order is smashed up against people who are eating in there shoe box sized dining area. I feel bad for the people who dine in during their rush hours.

This was the only location I've gone to and it's been a while since I've gone back. I almost exclusively dine in at sushi restaurants but there's hardly ever any available chairs in their cramped quarters and it's dingy to hang around long so I do takeout.

I've stuck to the same few items: California Rolls, Spicy Scallop Rolls and their House Roll the odd ocassion. Rolls are gargantuan in size which is why there is always a lineup. As mentioned their Salmon and Tuna is actually of decent quality but it is inconsistently prepared: either too cold, too warm, and/or improperly sliced and sized. Overall from my usual order it's fast food quality at fast food prices. Liberal use of sushi rice round off in making their rolls astounding in girth and filling for the hungry. Honestly though it isn't bad but there are dozens of other joints for better consistency and quality.

Since I've only had takeout there they handle the volume of customers fairly well each visit that I've had. Run similarly to a conveyor belt the ladies on the cashier take your order and give you a number. Other than than the varying wait times for your order to be prepared there's not much else to go into detail.

If you're hungry and craving sushi and only have a ten on you I suppose this place (and their other locations) should fill the gap in your stomach.

If you want quantity, you will get your money's worth at this place! Their rolls are bigger compared to other places but I find their rice yucky! It just doesn't taste like authentic Japanese sushi rice. Given the fact it's run by Vietnamese, this is NOT the place for authentic sushi. Their salmon sashimi is so thick it taste like rubber! Honestly, I would prefer quality sushi rolls that doesn't fall apart and taste right rather than getting big pieces!

If you want "value", this is definitely a good place... If you prefer taste and presentation, don't bother going here!