Tag Archives: Japanese cuisine

Alpha Sushi Bar

4 of us were meeting up for dinner in this Japanese run sushi restaurant. Master Sushi Chef Yuji has been serving assortment of sashimi and sushi rolls since the opening of Alpha in Yaletown in 2005.

The restaurant has a cozy, comfy feel to it. My friend and I arrived early, and were greated by a friendly staff. When the third person arrived, he wanted to change tables. The staff allowed us to change without any hesitation.

They served really good rice tea.

My friend got the Green Salad $6.50 with organic spring mix greens with our ginger soy dressing. A bit on the pricey end as there weren’t anything special about it, except that they were ‘organic’.

Good Japanese Pork Gyoza $6.75. Authentic!

Chicken Kara-Age $6.95

4 pieces of Japanese boneless fried chicken with their special soy vinegar sauce. Super crunchy on the outside, but juicy inside. Delicious!

Granville Roll $12.50 Mayo crab meat, chopped jalapeno, cucumber, tobiko wrapped in ABURI (torched) Yellowtail with jalapeno wasabi mayo sauce. The jalapeno wasabi in the sauce gave it a nice kick. Nicely bite-sized.

Regular Vancouver Roll was presented beautifully. The pieces were slightly too big. But good flavour and very fresh.

Overall, very good sushi. The service was good, but lacked good English at times. They forgot of was confused with my Vancouver Roll, either because Sheepie had also ordered one, or because there are 2 other Vancouver Rolls (Mango or Jalapeno). So I didn’t get my roll until I inquired about it near the end when everyone else was pretty much done. It’s a bit on the pricier end, but you do get good quality food.

Taste: Price for Value:

Atmosphere: Service:
Location:

1/2 Roll

A friend of Sheepie recommended this restaurant to us, and since we need a restaurant to take our Sushi group to, we were always looking for a good sushi place.

The interior hadn’t changed much since they took over the old Japanese restaurant “Itadakimasu”. It was not bustling like then, but we did arrive at an odd time 2:25pm on a Sunday.

The menu has a lot of typos! Even their receipt. ‘Goyza’ instead of ‘Gyoza’. (sorry, as a designer and a copy editor, these things pop up at me)More typos! ‘Spciy’ instead of ‘Spicy’, and ‘Sacue’ instead of ‘Sauce’. Maybe they should put it through the spell-checker?

I like that they use non-plastic cups and plates (except for one dish). So thumbs up.

We ordered the Yakitori $3.95 with 2 chicken skewers. It had a bit too much sauce on it. But otherwise ok.

Negitoro Roll $3.50 was ok. You would think that having more tuna in your roll would be a good thing, but the balance was a bit off.

We ordered a combo “Any 3 Items” for $10.90. The gyoza (5 pieces) came on a plastic plate. Not sure if they ran out of ceramic dishes. Crispy and crunchy. Pretty tasty. It also included a miso soup and sunomono (or choice of green salad instead).

3 Salmon Nigiri and 6 pieces of Sockeye Salmon and Avocado Roll. The fish was vibrantly red-orange. The avocado had some brown bits, but otherwise, the fish was very fresh.

Service wasn’t friendly, but we got our food and bill promptly. This place may need a second assessment.

Taste: Price for Value:

Atmosphere: Service:
Location:

Sake Maki on Commercial

The place had been renovated, in a similar look and feel like the one on Broadway which closed down only after a few years of operation. It was clean, spacious and modernized.

The zabuton (seat cushions) were interestingly made out of jeans (pants) sewn together.

Strangely, water was served in beer glass.

We took up on the Dinner Special $11.95 which includes three items from the Sushi Selection and Kitchen Selection Menu with a green salad.

Small side salad. A bit too much topping.The Agedashi Tofu and Gyoza were good! idearabbit_sakemaki_commercial25

Spicy Tuna Roll: Not that great presentation wise. Too much sauce on top. Rice is a bit too mushy. Smoked Salmon Roll, Beef Teriyaki Roll and California Roll. Maybe they are missing the vinegar taste in the rice. It just didn’t taste like a real sushi roll. It was jam packed with ingredients though, so you were quite full afterwards. Again, rice was a bit mushy.

Service was mediocre. No smiles or friendliness. Will we be back? With so many sushi restaurants to choose from in Vancouver, it’s not on my top list of go-to places.

Taste: Price for Value:

Atmosphere: Service:
Location: