This place is operated by Japanese and has a authentic Japanese food and environment. I ordered their caterpillar roll and bbq squid (yaki ika). The bbq squid is standard. The caterpillar roll is one of the best roll I've had in Vancouver. With lots of topping on the roll, it melted on my mouth. The service was ok. When I walked in I asked for another table (for 2 person). She thought I was pointing to the big table and she replied "are you going to order a lot?" I'd give the food 4 stars but I have to give them a 3 star because of their unfriendly service. read more

Isami Sushi - Caterpillar Roll & Yaki Ika - Japanese Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

I grew up in burnaby and have been coming here for years. I now live in Vancouver but frequently make the drive out because it's my favourite place for sushi/Japanese food. This place is owned and operated by a Japanese family (a rarity in this town). Obasan runs the front, ojisan makes sushi, and their daughter is one of the very friendly servers. The fish is always fresh, the sushi is always perfectly made, and appetizers and salads that are to die for. I highly recommend their chawan-mushi (a traditional savoury crustless quiche) and their boneless karaage (fried chicken). They always have excellent ama-ebi nigiri and perfect natto. Oh, and they have exactly the right amount of green onion in their negi-toro. read more

Isami Sushi is one of my go-to sushi restaurants. I've been going here for a number of years now and it never fails to please my tummy and I (along with whomever else is with me of course!). The staff here is always on top of things and extremely kind. Business has died down a little bit over the years but there is still a good flow of customers. Their portions are a little small but you're guaranteed to get quality Japanese food prepared by actual Japanese chefs. (haha) If you are ever in need of a sushi fix, I highly recommend Isami! read more

We were looking for a Japanese restaurant near our hotel and a friend from Vancouver had suggested this place. It had fresh, delicious sushi! We wanted to go back the next day but they were closed as it was a Monday. It is definitely a place we will visit again when we're back in town. I'd love to try a bigger selection of their sushi. read more

I honestly didnt realize there was a Japanese restaurant at this address, but to my surprise, there was and it's very good! For those who do not know, Isami is a Japanese owned and operated Japanese cuisine restaurant, focusing on typical sushi-esque fare. Parking is limited to neigbourhood parking or meters. The staff speaks both English and Japanese. My party ate on a thursday night, while it was not packed and lined up, it was atleast half full throughout the night, pretty indicative of quality. As one might expect with Japanese service, it is very attentive. The waitresses come along often to refill your tea, and is super courteous when placing your food on the table. All the waitresses wear a cute frilly apron that is quite common in Japanese restaurants in Japan, its a very professional and traditional looking attire, which brought me back some good memories. They accept Cash, credit, and debit, and were very nice about letting us split the bill 4 ways via cash and credit. Many places impose restrictions on how one can split the bill, but not Isami, A+ for effort! Some general observations from the menu, they have Chawanmushi! But I didnt order one =(, but generally, if a restaurant has Chawanmushi on the menu, its a good place to go. The appetizers are fairly extensive, from salads, karaage, tataki, etc. and all priced well, except for the Beef Tataki which was very overpriced for what you got. The Hiyayakko (cold tofu) was beautifully presented but for 3.75, i would of expected more than just 1/3rd of a brick of store bought tofu with ice, slice of tomato, and toppings. The vegetable tempura was crispy and perfectly portioned into edible thickness, with a flavorful dashi sauce. Moving on to the raw food, the Sashimi and Tuna Tataki were very good! They offer both Atlantic and Wild Sockeye salmon, and a good assortment of other fish aswell. The sashimi was around 9.5 for 8-9pcs of well portioned salmon on a bed of daikon and shizo. The Tuna tataki is beautifully portioned and presented with daikon, green onions, garlic, grated carrots, and ponzu. The rolls were perfectly portioned and presented aswell. We had one of those special rolls which was deepfried, then drizzled with some spicy mayo sauce. it was not overly spicy, not overly salty, but very savory with good texture. The BC and Avocado roll were "normal" aswell, and when i say normal, its not Samurai sized. This review may be kinda short for me, considering I arrived half way through the meal, but through my observations upon arriving, i have nothing but good things to say about Isami. Aside from some irregularities in price:portion department, everything checks for a return visit. A refined Four, out of Five. read more

I am really not quite why I go to this place so much...it must be because they are the closest eating establishment to my work. They are consistently inconsistent, I have to give them that. One day I will be in and out in 15 minutes, while on other days for a dynamite roll and a couple of pieces of nigiri it could be an hour and a half. None of the food is particularly good here either. Their nori always tastes stale and chewy, the sake (salmon) seems to always have skin left on it, which is quite disgusting and the agedashi tofu is served in what seems like bland miso soup. What can be worse here than the so-so food you may ask? The awful service. You get ignored once you are seated and have ordered. Refills of green tea? HA! You wish. Do not even expect to ever have your bill presented to you at your table either - it simply doesn't happen. Again, I am not sure why I keep going back.... maybe that the prices are somewhat reasonable, but honestly, if you want good sushi and decent service, walk the 400 meters down Kingsway to Sushi Garden. read more

First off, I'm constantly shocked at how inexpensive sushi is Vancouver compared to Las Vegas (where I live). Last year when I visited Vancouver I ate here twice, and same thing this year. I find the service great and very friendly. My last night I was able to sit at the bar close to the head chef and owner and had a great conversation with another customer who through random chance didn't know he was sitting in his friend's father's sushi restaurant. Long story short, very warm and friendly atmosphere. The sushi is on par with what you expect with a major coastal city, not ground breaking but good, solid sushi. The first night I went with Chirashi-don and was very happy. Each cut of fish was clean tasting and had enough texture to let you know it was fresh without being too chewy. The tomago (omelet) was a pleasant surprise as it was light and sweet as you imagine it to be. Love that there were three different kinds of fish egg (ikura and red & orange tobbiko). The second night I went a la cart, started with a small tuna, salmon and shrimp set followed by spicy tuna and salmon w/avacodo maki and two orders of the seared scallops in spicy shoyu. Even got a comp'd tuna sashimi sampler! Other's have pointed out there seems to a good amount of communication issues between the waitresses and customers. Disorganized would be the world that describes it best. There were times I had to wave to the waitress to let her know what was mine and my second night there I had three different waitresses ask me for my drink order. Perhaps it's station overlapping. read more

The food here is authentic (as in produced by skilled Japanese sushi chefs), good, and competitively priced, but the service can be lacking. I still continue to come back for the good food, but cringe while I'm waiting for service. If the service was good, I would have given it four stars. I think they just need an electronic ordering system to boost productivity. They handwrite orders onto sheets of paper, they re-write the items on a bill, and they calculate by hand the amount of the bill. They have enough serving staff, but they're lacking a little bit of kaizen in the front of house. At the end of the day, it takes a while your for order to be taken, it takes a while for your tea or water to be served, and it takes a while for them to bring you your bill. If you want a refill of your tea during your meal, then they take a while for that too. Oh yeah, if you want to call in an order take out, sometimes they're too busy to answer the phone. Regardless, as I said above, I keep on coming back for the good food. read more

We had dinner at Isami. Aside from slightly sour tofu in the miso soup and agedashi tofu the food was great including the negitoro roll, natto roll, sushi sashimi combo, shiitake butter. Fish is fresh. Parking sucks if you're not used to meter or private lot parking. Second waitress was nice enough to break a fifty for the meter. First waitress I think might have not understood us. Dessert was ume and green tea ice cream. read more

Will never go back to this restaurant. The dishes were very mediocre. We were disappointed in every single dish. We ordered 3 rolls, nabeyaki udon, zaru soba, chicken wings, grilled ika..etc. Prices were acceptable. Waitresses were very slow. ........ Asked 4 different waitresses to check on our order and only the forth one got back to us. It wasn't busy at the restaurant so this kind of service is not okay. I can make better rolls at home without this crappy service. read more

Excellent food. Excellent service. Authentic japanese owned restaurant. We have been going here for years and have never been disappointed

Just a quick tip about the location: the address is deceiving as the restaurant and its entrance is actually located on McKay Street. My usual go-to for tasty rolls is Sushi Garden because it's nice and close to where I live and the food is very affordable. So, I was very eager to try Isami Sushi after someone mentioned that their rolls were equally as tasty This place is a bit tucked away, right next to a Taekwondo studio. The restaurant is relatively small, but can still seat quite a few people. I came here with a party of three around 8:30 pm on a Tuesday. Despite it being after peak dinner hours, the restaurant was still pretty busy. We were lucky enough to catch a table opening, so we only waited about 5 minutes. We ordered a plate of salmon sashimi and four rolls: Husky Roll, Spicy, Kamikaze Roll, Spicy Salmon Roll, and Crispy Salmon roll. We were pleasantly surprised! The salmon sashimi was very fresh and the rolls were very tasty indeed. I really liked the flavours in the Kamikaze Roll. The rolls either come in pieces of 6 or pieces of 9. The presentation of the 9-piece rolls were better than that of the 6-piece rolls ... but both tasted great! We will definitely be coming back. Side note: I noticed that they offer Chawan Mushi on the menu. I love Chawan Mushi. I didn't order it this time around ... but will I will be sure to order it next time! read more

This sushi joint was located just around our hotel and we found it be quiete convenient. I called in before arriving to check on the wait but there was none so we headed right in. Waiters greeted us right away, the manager asked if we had called few minutes ago to make sure we were seated right away. The food was impecable, very fresh and tasty. The waiter was very friendly and served us well. read more

I can just comment on what I had there. Tonkatsu was very thin like the tonkatsu served in other Chinese owned Japanese restaurant. I was expecting tonkatsu in Saboten. The restaurant looked very outdated. Only good thing was price was very reasonable. So if you think cheaper the better you will get quality food there. read more

Love coming to this place! Favourite sushi spot in Burnaby. Sometimes the wait can be a bit long if it's busy. The food and authentic Japanese atmosphere make up for it though. read more

It's very shocking that the male servant is not wearing a mask at all and he likes to talk. I don't know why the boss says nothing. But I'll never go to this restaurant again. The price is way too high. read more

We got our first order and it took a half hour. We've been sitting here for an hour and a half. We waived down the server who was cleaning and she just ignored us rather than telling someone else. We told someone else that we wanted to order and she never came back. Servers never walk by. we ordered a negi hamachi roll and they brought us a negitoro roll and we asked them and they confirmed that it was a negi hamachi roll. It was not. They gave us two of the same roll as well. They also never brought us tea, despite asking them twice. Overall not impressed. The good - you get a table fast and the BBQ mixed seafood is pretty good. read more

A-OK is exactly it Food is exactly the same as EVERY OTHER sushi place in the lower mainland with the EXACT SAME menu. Prices are pretty comparable. The spicy tuna sashimi was mediocre and expensive. The california roll and dynamite rolls were well put together and tasted fine. Would I be able to tell them apart from say Superstore take-out sushi? Probably not. I typically like a few of the places down the street that are a bit more creative with their menu and a little cheaper. But a solid 3/5 read more

Me and my friends found this place randomly and decided to give it a try. The setting of the restaurant made its authenticy self explanatory as the chefs showed themselves preparing the sushi in front of everyone at the front. However, the wait was incredibly long. Definitely longer than everyone expected since everyone ordered maki rolls. read more

Sushi place is the real deal. Best in the Lower Mainland. Been going here for years. The place. Japanese owned and operated. They make their reputation on taste and presentation. Only downside is the popularity at lunchtime makes it difficult to get a table. Worth the wait though. read more

I've been going to this spot for over 15 years. Seems like the quality of food has stayed the same. Depending on which evening you go it can be very busy. We recommend getting the fresh sushi specials on the board. Their baked kama chi is good too read more

I've been to quite a few sushi places in Vancouver (still not even all though... damn is there a lot of sushi places). Took the wife here for our anniversary (it's in the neighbourhood)... she hasn't had sushi in a while, so let's give it a try... Not the fanciest place out there... but we were seated right away... given a good amount of time to settle in and decide on things in the menu. The food was ok... good even, but I've had better (and much better at some places). It will probably get a return visit because I'm not interested in waiting in line as Sushi Garden... and that makes this one of the closest sushi places. We split a bottle of a yuzu sake... which was ok... but seeing how it is imported and probably not all that popular, was very pricey. read more

PROS + Clean and well spaced out + I liked how tables are separated by dividers + Friendly service + Quality sashimi + Well-cooked and seasoned sushi rice CONS - Cooked-dishes - The price of each nigiri sushi is not on menu RATING Food 4.0/6.0 Ambience 4.0/6.0 Service 5.0/6.0 Price $$ read more

I've been too to this place for years and it's one of the only good sushi places any where near metrotown. Most people go to sushi garden which is awful mushy mayonnaise covered crap. This place is Japanese owned and run which is rare in this area. The yakisoba is great. The kamikaze roll is a favorite. Staff is friendly and attentive. The prices are very reasonable considering the quality. Metrotown area is honestly one of the worst for food quality considering how many restaurants there are in the area. And this is one of the best. read more

If I could give 2.5 stars I would. I had salmon nigiri and salmon sashimi along with agedashi tofu. The salmon nigiri had many pieces with the bloodline still on it and one piece still had silver skin! I trimmed the salmon to get rid of the bloodline and extra skin, as well as scrape off as much of the wasabi as I could. This grossed me out, but I really wanted to eat it so I put the salmon back on the rice and tried it again. The rice on the salmon nigiri had too much vinegar on it. It wasn't formed properly and fell apart when I tried to eat it. I threw the rice away. Being left with sad little salmon strips that were cut for nigiri and not sashimi I ended up cooking them and only then could they be consumed. The agedashi tofu became soggy and like glue and I couldn't eat the outside. The sauce was good though. The salmon sashimi was flawless and was very delicious. If I ever come back here I will try an avacado roll because I love those and I will order the salmon sashimi again. Sushi Garden is a MUCH better choice if you are looking for Metrotown sushi. It is always delicious and the chefs cut the fish carefully. Maybe I am picky, but when there is so much good sushi around, why give a place a second chance? If you are picky like me and want nothing but the best, go to Sushi Garden. read more

I've been coming to this family owned Japanese restaurant for over 5 years now and I have enjoy my experience every time I've been here. I've seen the change in seasonal staff and changes in the menu to be more up to speed with the surrounding area. What I love best about this place is it isn't sushi that is overdone like a lot of other places that are about quantity and not quality (i.e. sushi garden). The time is always taken in the purchasing of the fish, to the preparation of the sushi. Miso is always done correctly and most Japanese style food can be ordered here. I've ordered dishes not listed on the menu that sometimes just requires a inquiry. A perfect example of this would be any donuburi bowls. If I need a sushi fix that is consistently good, fresh and priced accordingly. This is a place to check out. read more

This is one of my favourite casual Japanese restaurant and it's authentic Japanese! This place can get very crowded and full so it's best you book reservation couple of days in advance. Came here few times now and try several items on the menu and not on the menu. They don't list aburi sushi on the menu so you have to let the waitresses know that you want aburi sushi. What can I say, the aburi sushi is so delicious and the fish basically melt in your mouth. We really love the toro, salmon and tuna aburi sushi there. The thought of this really makes me hungry now. For the special rolls, I really like the eskimo rolls, husky rolls and gypsy rolls. They have special sauce on the sushi and on the dish so you don't need to eat these rolls with soy sauce. I also love their chawamushi (soft egg custard with little meat and veggies), mussels in chilli sauce. My parents really like the salmon sashimi here and they say it's by far the best salmon sashimi they have ever taste any restaurants but I still like Kishimoto salmon sashimi better since it's sockeye salmon at Kishimoto. We also tried the nami sashimi (assorted sashimi) and it's pretty good and very fresh. I also tried the unatama roll (egg and unagi sushi roll) and it's not bad if you like egg and teriyaki eel. The yakisoba is not bad there, crispy and not oily. One of the best yakisoba I've tasted in any Japanese restaurants. The other dishes that I tried but I didn't like them are the teriyaki mackerel, spider roll, soft shell crab and spicy salmon sushi roll. They're just ok but not great. The customer service is friendly but not very attentive since they don't have lots of waitresses at the restaurants so several times, they didn't fill our tea, didn't bring us the bill and misordered one of our items. read more

I wasn't super hungry when I decided to have sushi and gave this restaurant a try. Their prices are cheaper compared to most sushi places in the area and I only wanted simple rolls so I ordered California roll and avocado roll. Both were pretty good! The rice wasn't stale at all and both rolls were freshly made. My rolls had a little bit of vinegar in it but that's okay, I liked it. These two rolls were quite filling. The only thing is that the wait took quite a while and they didn't offer tea while waiting for our takeout. read more

This is my goto sushi joint. It is authentic Japanese and probably one of the best in Burnaby. The food here is good and the service is alright. If you want some authentic Japanese sushi near Metropolis Metrotown, do give this place a try (I think I've tried all the Sushi restaurants nearby). The seafood selection is plentiful and is generally very fresh. A perk for this location is that parking is free in the parkade (off of Hazel St.); just make sure to inform Isami's of your stall # and license plate #. Highly recommended if you're in the area. read more

We love sushi and wanted to find a place within walking distance to our hotel. Thus fem was Perfect! Busy on a Friday night around 8 30, but very inviting and attentive staff. Extensive menu options, reasonable prices and healthy portions. Our sushi was very tasty. I would highly recommend it! read more

The wait was very long for this place, but the sushi at was well worth the wait. The sushi didn't fall apart, was well made, and fresh. The presentation if the sushi was good, and restaurant was very clean and tidy. I am not sure if it was the long weekend or if they were short staff, but the wait was pretty long for a normal sushi bar. My recommendation would be to get another chef or two, or re organize their business front to be a bit more efficient. read more

Isami Sushi - Jo Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

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Little sushi joint ran by Japanese people, overall it's pretty good but service is quite slow and some of their rolls are overpriced; fishes are cut much better than Sushi Garden but standard portion sizes In terms of price and quality it's in between Sushi Garden and Satomi Sushi Pros: + Sushi + Green Tea + Miso soup + Friendly service Cons: - Slow service - Some rolls are overpriced - Rolls are quite small - Menu is old with stickers of updated prices read more

Great, attentive employees that can describe menu items well. Huge selection of tasty meals, fresh sushi rolls!

Very good Japanese food. I like coming here but always have to make sure there is extra time scheduled . Service here is very very slow. You can wait 10 minutes for a menu or 15 min for a bill, they may also forget the water or drink you order. This has happen the last 7 times I've been here. Customer service is lacking but I do like the food! The restaurant is closed daily 2-5:30 and close on Sundays. Parking is limited and has parking meters. They do take MC/Visa but no Amex. read more

Doesn't look like much when you walk by. Ordered takeout (currently takeout only due to pandemic). The waitress offered us green tea while we waited. Ordered the dynamite combo, nami combo, caterpillar roll, negitoro roll, and ikura hand-cone - food was enough to feed two (one high male included). The ingredients tasted fresh and the rolls were well-made. Definitely will come back. read more

It's an all rounder. Very attentive staff, except that I didn't know one of the owners' daughters is the server! While the prices are a little higher, you get what you pay. One of the places I'll get my sushi fix. Their green tea ice cream is also what leaves you craving for more. read more

I have been going to Isami Sushi for more then 10 years. This place is run by a wonderful team of Japanese people. Food is authentic and always tastes great. If you want real Japanese food then this is the place to go in the Burnaby area. read more

I am so rarely in the area, but when I am, I make sure to stop in to Isami Sushi. It was here that I first fell in love with tuna gomaee. The Chawan Mushi is also fantastic. read more

Random place we found on Yelp that happened to be close to our hotel, Hilton in Burnaby. It is owned by Japanese family and is authentic and a total hidden gem! We started with the miso soup. I feel like that is a really important first impression that a sushi joint can make. Miso is one of my favorite foods, and their version was pretty darn good, nice and strong with a good Miso-y flavor. They have a nice assortment of Western sushi rolls, your standard California, Spicy tuna and BBQ eel rolls. We had a roll called an Eskimo roll which is a California roll topped with torched Salmon and a special sauce, like a gingery teriyaki sauce. We also had an assortment of nigiri sushi. It included tuna, halibut, salmon, shrimp, egg, flying fish roe and salmon eggs. It also came with a tuna roll. The fish was very fresh, had good flavor and texture. The flying fish roe and salmon egg nigiri was garnished with a nice little cucumber garnish. It looked like leaves. I appreciate a little creative knife work. I also had a kampyo roll (pickled gourd) which came 4 to an order costing $2.50. My husband also had some fresh oysters on the half shell. They were fresh and shucked nicely. We also had some green tea and 2 large beers. Our total bill was around $60. The service was good, polite and friendly. The decor is traditional Japanese, and is nice and clean restaurant. It is off the main street, Kingsway, and actually faces McKay street. It's worth looking for. If we lived here we would definetly come back. Too bad we are just visiting! read more

Food was good, but food servers weren't very friendly. I'd have to raise my hand or alert them some other way in order to request more water, a fork for my son, or rice. When we were leaving, despite Sushi chefs not having any orders to work on, they didn't even acknowledge us, unlike countless other Japanese food establishments. Instead, we had to thank them and say goodbye. read more