My boyfriend took me here for the first time to see what all the hype was about. We were seated at a table and were served by friendly Japanese staff. Although I am Japanese, I relied heavily on my boyfriend's impressive and refined taste in fish as he had introduced me to many types of fish I would not have otherwise eaten.

The toro nigiri we ordered was very fresh and delicious. All the other pieces we had were excellent as well. The waitress even clapped in delight when she discovered that my boyfriend loves natto and had ordered it - a dish that I had introduced him to and one that not very many foreigners enjoy due to the pungent taste and smell.

We would occasionally glance at Master Chef Tojo behind the grand sushi counter and take in some good chuckles - he appeared boastful when he chatted with patrons sitting at the sushi bar, which wasn't very often.

Excellent fish although the price is steep. You can get comparable quality of fish at Yoshi on Denman for half the price, which is our favorite spot to eat when we feel like fine sushi.

Finally we decided to try the "amazing" Tojo's. We do love sushi and we have tried many many different sushi restaurants. Everything from all you can eat to high high end. From authentic to modern. Wow, what a waist of Friday night! The new location (as was the old, we are told) is poorly designed. The walls, high ceiling with pipes exposed, the lop sided dirty chipped tables and uncomfortable chairs, the pictures of fish on the walls with cracked frames/glass, the smell of raw fish creeping everywhere, and the dirty bathrooms was not what we expected when we reserved at Tojo's. It was bad! We sat at the bar waiting for friends for 15min and NO ONE asked us about drinks, menu, anything!!! NO one even looked at us!! Then when seated, there was 6 of us, we were given 3 food and 6 drink menus. There was no one in sight to ask for more menus. After 10 min we flagged down a waiter and asked, he said the place is busy and we would have to do with 3 menus!!! Then it took another 15 min and us waving for a waitress to come over. She was in her 60's dressed in a cute kimono, and could not really understand/speak English. Now, I am NOT racist, in fact I'm Mediterranean, but there is a lot to be said about language, especially in the service industry. We finally ordered our drinks and appiz and wanted to order more appiz but the waitress said "no no, it's too much for you, no need more, stop, I will go"!!!! WHAT!! Then she left!! The appiz finally arrived one at a time at a snail's pace, but no drinks yet! We were halfway thru appiz when the Sake finally arrived. We decided to order dinner, but the waitress was nowhere to be found. Again we had to wave her down!! She couldn't give us any suggestions on dinner (maybe the language issue or she thought we had had enough). The service was baaaaaaaaaaaaad, awful actually. The food was mediocre at best (and we tried everything), the atmosphere was dated, poorly designed, and uninviting. The bill was huge, $700 for 6 people. I will NEVER waist my time again. There are so many other sushi places way better than Tojo's. Its not the $$, its everything else. Tojo should get off his high horse! Next time try Miku on W Hastings.

While the presentation was excellent, and the food was at worst solid, there was nothing outstanding about this place.... On a blind test taste I am confident that I could not discern a qualitative difference between Tojo's and an AYCA sushi place..... though I concede perhaps someone with a far more refined pallet may be able to do so.

The last time I visited this place, I was more astounded with the cost of the meal and I was with either the food or service. I will not return. I just don't feel the price, especially in this economy, is anywhere near justifiable.

They took our reservations for Friday night but lost it so we were forced to wait for two hours at their bar. If you leave the bar for a walk then they take you name off the list. They are rude, arrogant and the food is average at best! Don't waste your money on Tojo's they don't respect their customers and there is better Asian food in a dozen other Vancouver restaurants. They didn't have the wine we wanted and brought us a 'substitute' at the same price which I later food out was $8 cheaper at the wine store.

I am amazed wtih all the incredible japanese restaurant in Vancouver, there are people who still think Tojo's is the best in town. I had been skeptical about it from various reviews and word of mouth, but I had some friends who were visiting and wanted to try. All I can say is for those of you who still sings Tojo's praises and keep saying it's worth it, you need to check out other places in Vancouver.

We had the $110 Omakase and was it a big disappointment. There was no Toro, no Umi, no Lobster, no Fois Gras. Sure the fish were fresh, but so are the fish at almost all the good Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. I was expecting some innovation nouveau Japanese cooking given you can get all the usual stuff at other places for same / better quality, but nothing that special at Tojo's. The presentation is nice, but I am there for the food first and foremost.

For those who say the prices are within what you expect for good Japanese restaurant in North America, that is true, but the other places are WAY better and more innovative. So as a traditional Japanese place, Tojo's is way below standard, while being an innovative place, it is not.

I think unfortunately, many people who go to very expensive restaurants refuse to admit they've been had even when it's obvious everything is overpriced.

I will not go back to Tojo's for sure. I didn't even have to pay for the meal and still thought it was mediocre. Lastly, ever wonder why there aren't any Japanese people eating at Tojo's? I think they know their Japanese food best...so why aren't they at Tojo's when you see them at Aki or Guu or all kinds of other good Japanese place? Some food for thought!

The food was OK to good, the ambience was OK and depending on your taste better than OK and clearly if you see his wall he has received more medals and commendations than all the restaurants on Broadway combined, but is it a value at $250? Is the wine that says Tojo's on it fair value at $40?
I am not saying it is bad but this place is for gf meetings not wife dinners.
As you can guess the answer is no, no and no and the service is below average.

This restaurant is overpriced and over-rated. On top of that, chef/owner Tojo was arrogant, insulting, and condescending.
The restaurant's interior design was a bit dated and the ambience was dull. One would expect a much more sophisticated atmosphere for the price he charges.
We found the food was not creative and original as Tojo proudly claimed. For those who don't know any better, don't be fooled by what he tells you. Really, I didn't think our dinner was anything worth raving about. If you travel more and you have been exposed to world cuisines, you'll know what I'm talking about.
It didn't measure up to the numerous restaurants on the streets of Tokyo (Tojo implied he was superior to his Japanese counterparts), and they were friendly and reasonably priced.
We had something called 'Omakase', meaning that the chef would decide what he would 'creatively' conjure up to impress his guests (and of course he would also decide the $$$$amount of the bill). Usually it is pretty nice, and we are no stranger to it. But at Tojo's, what a mistake that was!!! What a rip off that was!!!
What we had:
1. Sashimi of local salmon, tuna, snapper, and geoduck clams.
2. Diced mixed seafood in sea urchin sauce, served in a half sea urchin shell. The sauce had an over-powering sourish taste.
3. Handrolls of mixed fish. It was as ordinary as any other handrolls.
4. Small pile of cooked dungeoness crab meat served on a large crab shell. I love crabs, so I liked it. Again, nothing creative and original about it.
5. Smoked sable fish in broth. This one was ok.
6. Cut rolls or more like a stripped down California Rolls. I couldn't believe it, we were having Omakase and he served us rolls. I was expecting something I'd never had before. Well, of the 8 pieces we only ate 3.
7. Plain uni sushi without seaweed, I guessed Tojo ran out of ideas.
We stopped at that because we were disappointed and to be honest, it was filling.
The food was ok in general. No surprises. But for that price, I expected to be 'WOW'. I was, not by his foods, but by the 'check'.
The check came and the food was CAD $260 for the 2 of us. The small bottle of sake was CAD $38. It said 'Tojo's choice' on the sake menu, that too was average.
This is for people from Hong Kong:
When we first sat down, Tojo asked where we are from, we said HK. The condescending bastard said (with hand gestures) "Tojo up here, Hong Kong down here, 300 places below." I wondered if that was necessary. But with a comment like that, I suggest my HK friends can delete Tojo's from their list when they visit Vancouver from now on. Oh, he also kept bragging that he's got MONEY.
Last but not least, we noticed he doesn't smile to his customers. He looked miserable throughout our entire dinner as if he didn't give a damn. We did not feel particularly welcome.

Andrew Law
Hong Kong

I visited Tojo's a while back first at their old location and more recently at their new location. There's no doubt that their food and quality are great, however based on their escalated prices, we would have expected more outstanding and extraordinary dishes. However, the service we received was so poor that we would never go back - first, we waited over 45 minutes to get a table and once we were seated, waiting for our first few dishes, the waiter asked if we wouldn't mind changing tables so they could make room for a larger party. We agreed, then once we started our meal, the waiter again asked if we would mind moving so they could accomodate another large party. We again agreed, and after we moved tables, the waiter forgot the remainder of our order and we waited over 30 minutes to get all of our dishes. Although they apologized, their lack of service and lack of courtesy to existing patrons was unexcusable! They offered us "free" ice cream dessert for our troubles which we wholeheartedly declined! It was a total insult to the troubles we encountered and poor experience we received. We would never go back regardless of the food!

Everything was pretty solid but man is it expensive or what ! . I've been a two times now and both times I felt like I paid too much for what I got . You would think at these prices that we woiuld get the ultimate sushi experience but both times I felt like something was lacking in comparison to the bill . I guess with the cost of a new place comes the big price but that shouldn't mean we have to pay for it in one year . Maybe I need to get a better job ( like rock star) to keep up with this place

Went to Tojo's yesterday. Food was a cut above most sushi restaurants I have eaten at, however not as good as I expected.

For the price, I expected a lot more that I got. The service was so..so. The waitress was pushy and rude! She pushed the omesake and told people to stop talking so she could tell us the specials.