Unlike a lot of so-called "Japanese" or "sushi" restaurants around, this place is run by a Japanese family making traditional Japanese foods.
Their sushi is top-notch, with just the right seasoning and the best quality fish. No, they're not a discount sushi shop slapping huge chunks of fish on the rice but using excellent cuts in appropriate sizes.
Not nearly as high-priced as other hyped shops around town, Shiro consistently puts out excellent traditionally-prepared Japanese food for reasonable prices.
They're my first choice for Japanese cuisine.
It's almost always busy and they're not set up for groups larger than 6 or 8. But they're well worth the wait.

Decent sushi-centric Japanese restaurant. Japanese staff, both front and back of house.

The atmosphere and decor was a little bit tattered. Not great, but not terrible enough to ruin the meal. There are 2 TVs. I always felt that TVs in a restaurant bring everything down a notch. Keep the TVs in sports bars please.
The bathroom was pretty gross. There's a bucket right in the middle of the room (to collect water from a leak in the ceiling I suppose - although it wasn't leaking when I was in there- weird).
Also, its a pretty small space with a lot of seats crammed in there. Keep in mind that getting a seat at the sushi bar is alot better than getting a table right in front of the door (especially when its busy and people are lining up inside and outside. Peering over your shoulder eyeing your food).

Service was good as it was prompt and attentive. Efficiency is the name of the game here so you're not be schmoozed by the waitstaff - which is a predominantly good thing.

Food was good. Not mindblowing, but decent value for the money.
Tuna sashimi was delicious, melt-in-your-mouth. The salmon sashimi appeared to be wild salmon as it was a deeper red color.

Ordering tempura is a great litmus test to gauge the authenticity of a Japanese restaurant. Alot of 'fake' Japanese restaurants run by Chinese and Korean people make tempura which is really cake-y and/or intensely yellow in color.
I was slightly disappointed with the tempura at Shiro given that it is an authentic Japanese joint. The batter was slightly 'wet' and 'heavy', and yes, this was before I put it in the sauce.
Also, the flavouring of the tempura sauce was off target. It was missing the sweet aftertaste that its supposed to have. It was also not salty enough, and the darkness of the sauce belied its lack of saltiness.

The rice was properly cooked. Another reliable indicator of a good Japanese restaurant.

Overall, a nice decent sushi place. A little tattered, a little crowded.

I enjoy the experience and the food at this small sushi restaurant. It staff are welcoming and the sushi is fresh and delicious. My favourites are the salmon sashimi and No. 18 roll (deep-fried rolls). You can either sit at the bar or in one of the tables. I like to sit at the bar and watch the sushi being made.

I've been here many times and all times have been good until recently. I'm not sure what happened but the last few times that I have gone, the rice was wet, and seafood was fishy or slimy. I thought they were just having a bad day that one time, so I went back to test it out one last time, and it is the same. The last two times I have gone have resulted in bad stomach aches. I think they need to fix their refrigerator or something. I don't think I'll be going back for a while.

shiro has been a neighbourhood favourite of mine for quite some time now. the sashimi is always fresh and tasty, and the real crab california rolls are some of the best in the city. if you want to try something new, try the chawan mushi, which takes about 20 minutes to come out, but is well worth the wait. unlike some japanese retaurants, shiro is consistantly good, which always keeps me comin' back during a sushi-craving. the service is prompt and friendly, and the pocky sticks served with the bill are an original touch.

This restaurant is run by a Japanese couple. They know what they're doing and are friendly. We've been to many Japanese places so it's nice to compare. Some things were different. The tempera looked yellowish, but still was delicious. We had sashimi and the pieces were huge. The server was very nice and offered us tea refills without having to ask. We went for lunch and didn't have to deal with any line up issues. The only thing lacking is the ambiance. You could see cardboard boxes everywhere and the place looks like it needs some new decorating. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves.

Very good authentic Japanese sushi.

To me, this place is definitely up there along with Toshi's (have yet to visit but hear it's awesome), Seto in Richmond (a must visit in my opinion), and Tojo's (really expensive, but I'm going by pure quality score here).

Seto in Richmond is still my favorite Japanese sushi restaurant in the GRVD (taking Tojo's out of the picture). Shiro, however, is quite strong with its staple rolls and fresh sashimi and nigiri. You just can't compare these places to the AYCE restaurants around. You probably end up paying a little more than at AYCE restaurants, but for the quality, it's definitely worth it.

Even with the Cambie construction, you will most definitely have to wait in line. Lots of loyal customers frequent this establishment and the fact that it's really small doesn't help the line. It's worth the wait though.

Recommendation: Very High.

I'm not so good at writing reviews, but I just wanted to say that Shiro is probably one of the best sushi houses in town. The food is tasty, though maybe ever so slightly more expensive than your average sushi place. But a plus is that it's actually handled with care, and I think that makes the experience all the better.

The service has so far always been friendly, you're greeted just like you would be in Japan. One time I was there, one of the staff (possibly on his break maybe?) was just hanging around the dining area and when a group of guests were leaving, he pretended to leave with them, saying goodbye and thanks to the rest of the staff. It was quite funny.

And at the end you get a small packet of Pocky. Overall, a very nice small restaurant. Just get there with time to spare during dinner times.

Went to dine here after reading many interviews about leaving with a package of pocky, so I gave it a try.
I went with my relatives and 2 of them were vegetarian so we ordered a lot of noodles and vegetarian appetizers.
Service: good service, constant tea refills, kitchen and sushi bar staff were fast and efficient.
Ambiance: Decor is kind of outdated but many customers seem to be regulars, so no change is good.
Food: excellent, cannot be better. I've been trying to search for a place that serves real wasabi for the longest time and I've found it! Not only that, their sushi were nice and fresh, the way it should be. Only one thing I have to complain was their tofu steak, it was rather on the dry side.
Price: for 5 people, the bill came up to about 65 incld tip, but we did have a few vegetarians so we didn't order any sashimi.

They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and they close at 9:30 on Wed, Thurs, Sun and 10:30 on Fri and Sat. I'll definitely drop by again soon.

I've been going to this little joint for the last few years. Altho they seem to have suffered a bit b/c of the Cambie Street construction, the fact that they're still up and running tells you that they're doing something right.

On my last visit, I ordered a variety of nigiri sushi and an udon. Their salmon sushi is SOO good--they use sockeye salmon whereas most others use atlantic/coho. Their sushi is fresh. The udon was piping hot, noodles weren't overcooked and the broth was flavourful. My friends enjoyed their food too--beef teriyaki donburi and one of their special combos. Foodwise, I would rank it 2nd on my list, right behind Toshi.

Service is consistent. Polite, fairly quick. My only gripe is that they don't refill your tea often enough.

The look is that of a typical Japanese restaurant. Decor and furnishing is in need of an update. It's a little cramped, tables are fairly close together. Washrooms could be a bit cleaner.

The difference with this one is that it's Japanese-run... most importantly, the chef is Japanese. Great food, good service. Go support these guys, I'd hate to see them shut down like so many other businesses on Cambie.