We finally had to find out what all the hype was about! We kept seeing this Japanese restaurant get top ratings and heard it was really popular in Nanaimo, so we decided to try it for ourselves. Was it actually worth all the hype? We ordered the Sora Omakase Sashimi (8 types, chef's choice) along with a few other special rolls, and the sashimi was the real star of the show. The fish was incredibly fresh and generously thick-cut, with a great variety of premium sashimi. We were impressed by the creativity, generous portions, and presentation. Compared to other sushi places we've tried in the city, the quality and attention to detail here really made a difference. The prices are a bit higher than some other restaurants on the island, but after tasting the food, we thought the quality made it worth it. If you love sashimi, we especially recommend trying their sashimi options. There are plenty of premium choices. The restaurant itself has a modern-chic atmosphere, and it was BUSY. We saw a mix of locals, visitors, and a steady stream of takeout orders. Despite the crowd, our food came out surprisingly quickly, and the quality stayed top-notch. Whether you want a casual sushi night for two or a place to celebrate with a group, the menu has enough variety to please everyone. We came in wondering if the hype was real, and left understanding exactly why it's so popular. Honestly, Nori deserves the 5 stars from us. We're not the Michelin Guide, but we can definitely see why people are talking about it. Food: 5/5 Must Try! Service: 5/5 Kids: 4/5 Presentation: 4/5 Parking: 3/5 Tips: * Reservations are highly recommended. * Walk-ins are accepted, but be prepared for a potentially long wait during busy times. * The menu is extensive, so take your time deciding. * Great option for everything from date night to group celebrations. Would I Return: Yes ‍ read more

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Our waitress was amazing the food was DELICIOUS!!! I would recommend this place to everybody. I ate here with my family, and we all loved it! read more

We were vacationing on Vancouver Island and came here for dinner when in Nanaimo. We had made reservations a few weeks prior to our trip and I would highly recommend making a reservation if you plan on coming here. The restaurant was packed and the kitchen was hustling. There were so many beautiful and creative dishes passing by our table all night long; if I lived here, this would definitely become one of my regular places to go. The service was quick and friendly. The food was incredible; really fresh and presented beautifully. We had met up with a neighbour who had moved to the area and we ended up staying until the place closed. It was just a lovely evening overall. I would definitely recommend Nori for delicious Japanese cuisine but be sure to make a reservation! read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Poke Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE If you've a hankering for Asian cuisine in Nanaimo and there's only one place you could go to, Nori should be one of your top picks! Good food, good service, and in a place with good vibes. === 2. FOOD When dining at lunch, the lunch specials offer incredible value; each option includes 4-piece California roll, small green salad, 2-piece gyoza, 2-piece prawn tempura, a miso soup, and a side dish ("okazu") of the day. Some thoughts: - The portions are decent even if you're hungry! - The prawn tempura (at least today) feel more batter than prawn. - The okazu (at least today) was fried - a fancy spring roll - which is interesting as side dishes in Japan in this context are often fish-based?). - Overall, the food quality is good. Buta Shoga Lunch Special ($22) Shoyu, ginger-marinated pork on rice - a good heart-warming combo as any! Sashimi & Sushi Lunch Special ($23) 6 pieces of sashimi (salmon and tuna) and three pieces of sushi (also salmon and tuna) make this lunch special one of the healthier options on the menu. Chashu Miso Ramen ($18) My little guy loves noodles, even if it comes in piping-hot pork bone broth. Depending on your little one, kids 6 and under in age may need a grown-up to help finish this dish! === 3. SERVICE The place is POPULAR and so be prepared to wait. One the most recent visit during lunch, we were lucky to slide in fairly quickly and the servers were fairly prompt and professional. === 4. ENVIRONMENT It's basic, yet has a modern open-view environment with a view of the bar/kitchen from across the restaurant. It's similar in vibe to its sister restaurant nearby (Horang) but the service is better and diners with small children will find more appealing seating options here. Wheelchairs and baby strollers would fit just fine and your chance at finding a place to park in the shopping complex lot outside is pretty decent! read more

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Best sushi on Vancouver island. Possibly the best restaurant in Nanaimo. Definitely a must visit.

Excellent food and the quality of sushi is absolutely amazing!! Defiantly worth the 25 min Uber ride from the marina. Super busy little spot and you need a reservation. Try it all!! You will not be disappointed. read more

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Not to be dramatic, but I think eating at Nori permanently altered my brain chemistry. I knew it was going to be good, but it ended up being some of the best sushi I've had in my life. The restaurant itself was pretty small, but they were able to accommodate our party of 8 (with a reservation) at a large table. The ambiance was casual, and our server was enthusiastic and welcoming. We got complimentary Green Tea, and the refills came around frequently. For food, we definitely over-ordered, but I wanted to try everything. The two of us shared the BBQ Tuna and the Chef's Raft, which was an assortment of sashimi, nigiri, and oshi sushi for 2 people. The BBQ Tuna came out first and the presentation alone was super exciting - they cook it right in front of you with flames, which is so fun. It was also delicious, especially the sauce it was marinated in. The Chef's Raft was also insane, between the beautiful presentation and the sheer amount of food. All the sashimi and nigiri were so fresh and tasty, but the aburi oshi sushi blew my mind. I've never seen it anywhere before, but it's basically pressed sushi made with miso aioli. We had two varieties of this on our Chef's Raft - the Tuna Pesto and Hotate with jalapeño. I don't even know which of these I liked more, they were both incredible. The Chef's Raft also had prawn heads on it, which our server offered to deep fry. We went for it, and it was cool to try and eat them like a cracker, although I can't say they tasted great. Somehow we managed to finish the entire raft, but it definitely would've been enough food on its own, without the BBQ Tuna. Overall, Nori was amazing - would love to return! read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Chef's Raft - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

Absolutely superb. Food was delicious and service was amazing. This is a very busy restaurant and tables turn quickly. So don't go for a long relaxing experience. It's also noisy with lots of families with kids - so no quiet atmosphere. read more

Newly moved to Nanaimo. Hubby & I went for lunch at Nori in Nanaimo on Wed. at 1pm (had reservation). Far too much noise! Loud clattering dishes, high volume of diners' voices competing over each other to be heard. Practically had to shout across our 2-seater table, then just gave up trying to talk. Bento boxes were not to either of our liking: over-salted miso soup; one set item (fried) was overwhelmingly fishy (not in a good way); the tempura only had two shrimps but no veggies (such as yam, onion); no seaweed salad, (just lettuce/1 cherry tomato), and no fruit/melon -- we've had much better bento boxes for lunch elsewhere in Nanaimo. Won't be back To Nori. read more

Absolutely wonderful sushi plus many other dishes. Our family tends to order for pickup as the restaurant is quite small; make a reservation if you're planning on eating there. read more

Very Very disappointed in this place. We ordered $250 worth of sushi and not a single roll stayed together. How can you not press a proper roll? How bad do you have to be? The sashimi salad had the worst disgusting brown sauce ever constructed for a salad. The spicy sauce for the agedashi tofu was like motor oil. So offensive and bad. This place has really gone down hill and maybe one of the worst places to eat. It mostly is appealing to the eyes with lots of flake toppings and extra junk but they seriously don't know how to construct flavours. I'll never eat here again. Ever read more

Best sushi in Nanaimo. High quality sushi, fresh, and delicious. Even though I've only tried a handful of the items on their menu, I don't think you can go wrong with anything. You could literally close your eyes and point, and still get delicious sushi. A couple of items that stood out: karai chirashi don ($22) - surprised at the generous portion, and island fever roll ($14) definitely got me having island fever. Food presentation was 100% on point. Unfortunately, it seemed like service was negatively impacted as they were busy. We didn't get any tea refill until the very end. Overall, I would definitely visit Nori again! read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Crispy monkeys - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

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Absolutely the best Japanese Restaurant on Vancouver Island! Very fresh and awesome presentation! John the owner is amazing. Service is very good. Highly recommend you give it a try! read more

Wow, what a great selection of food as I couldn't decide I choose the Beef Teriyaki Bento Box (though the called it by a different name) each dish was a taste explosion. We had a new server and if this is the beginning of her serving career she will do amazing. The food was so good I honestly didn't notice the ambiance, the food is great get there early. read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Beef Teriyaki Bento Box - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

My wife and I are on the island for a few days on holiday from Vancouver. Nori was a random choice I made, and I'm so glad I did. The restaurant is bright and welcoming. The staff were always there at our table at the right time when we needed something. We looked around at other tables, and saw the rolls were huge, so we split two between us - the Roll 911 and the Flaming Viper. The Flaming Viper was the one we finished second. I'm a big sucker for eel rolls, but I don't think I've ever had one on fire! It was slightly sweet but a great choice to have as our final roll. The star of the show was the Roll 911. I was not prepared for the flavour journey this roll would take us on. It's really hard for me to describe, but each piece brought such a smile to my face as I worked my way through it. I am from California and have had my fair share of sushi up and down the west coast. I am not kidding when I say this is easily one of the best rolls I've had in my life. When we're back in Vancouver, I am still going to be thinking about this place. I'm probably gonna feel like I'm cheating on it with other sushi places. This place is incredible and you owe it to yourself to go there. read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Flaming Viper - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

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This was our #1 place to visit on a trip to Nanaimo and we made it in time for lunch giving me an opportunity to try out their lunch teishoku! I chose the Sushi and Sashimi Teishoku which came with 6 slices of sashimi, 3 nigiri as well as their standard Tei Sho Ku including takoyai, gyoza, tempura, salad, 4 pcs california roll and miso soup. My favourite part of this set was the VARIETY as I got a little bit of everything! All of it tasted good, was well prepared and for this price, it is hard to find anything like it in Vancouver. My dining companions ordered 3 special rolls and the fruit sake flight. The rolls were pricey but HUGE and when they came to the table, they knew it was way too much! Overall, when people say food here is good, they are right. The prices seem high when looking at the menu but the portions are quite large so it is reasonable. read more

They forgot one of our rolls (my favourite) and the Man who answered told me I didn't sound like my name, and then told me to hold, so I didn't talk and then he hung up on me. So I called back and he told me it was because I "wasn't talking" but he told me to hold? So I wasn't talking? Then, after this long, he told me the kitchen was closed and we couldn't pick up our forgotten roll. read more

We decided to try this place out after it was recommended to us by a local. This restaurant is located in the same shopping complex as Costco, on the North end of Nanaimo. The food here is reasonably priced and the portions are generous. The sashimi fish we got was fresh and tasted good. However, none of the items were memorable. In fact, the California roll tasted quite mediocre. Perhaps, this place is the best Japanese that Nanaimo has to offer, but compared to the top Japanese restaurants on the mainland, this place is a tier lower. read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

the staff is theeee worst on the island I got my usual but it fell short. the 1/2 booth they squished 4 of us in was ridiculous and that's after we called for a reservation a week in advance I think I'll be looking for a new place read more

I walked in to eat for lunch, I was seated, was not approached to order drinks or food, another couple walked in after me was offered drinks and had their order taken, they seemed to be friends with the employees, sat for another couple of mins and after nobody came to my table I just got up and left, TERRIBLE!!!! read more

Food portions were very generous with kind service! Be sure to make reservations ahead of time. read more

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Our go to restaurant when tired of our kitchen. Take out varies... sometimes excellent sometimes meh and cold. Best in the area for dine in. read more

Worth a try, but kind of forgettable. Small dining room. Tea was good. Sushi passed muster. read more

Excellent service and food. Had Bento box lunch special and it offers such a wonderful variety of foods . I would highly recommend.

Well, this is no hidden gem. But , wow this is great. For the incredibly responsive service, the the fresh takes on different rolls; Nori deliver slow on every front. Their take on a bento box is a nearly too much food to eat platter with everything you could want to eat. I went with a colleague and we had an amazing lunch. Definitely a return visit from me. read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

The best sushi place I've ever been to hands down. The chefs are artists and make the food as beautiful as it is tasty. They are always busy and have been for years for a reason: because they are the best. Definitely try Nori Sushi. read more

Very nice food presentation and great tasting food. A little expensive, but worth it. It's been over 5 years since I have been back to the Nanaimo but Nori is still here . Sushimi very fresh and they only use wild salmon now.. read more

Stopped here for dinner when in the area. Excellent fish quality, creative rolls, good fish:rice ratio. Enjoyed the grilled meats as well - excellent flavour that went nicely to the onions. Complimentary green tea. Had Philadelphia rolls, a delicious strawberry/avocado/crab roll, negitoro roll, spicy salmon cone, sushi sampling (salmon, toro, unagi), and grilled short ribs. Dropped off a star for the atmosphere. It is *really* loud and crowded here... some staff also dress like they're working at Cactus Club/Browns than a sushi place. Nothing like what I'm used to when going for nicer sushi. Spent $100 for 2 so very reasonable prices compared to bigger cities. read more

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Like to come here on special occasions, food is delicious and staff are welcoming. 100% willing to pay a bit more than usual for the great quality and experience. read more

Amazing meal. The Omakase B was delicious and surprisingly filling. It's rare that I ever want to repeat restaurants when travelling and I plan on coming back for lunch in a few days because it was just that good. read more

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Very tasty and never disappointed.The food is very creative.The service is very attentive and decent, the environment and atmosphere is very nice. read more

5 stars all the way. Excellent food and service. Best sushi I've had in all of BC! Every visit is an absolute delight. read more

Fantastic selection of Asian fusion dishes! Best in Nanaimo for sure! I've never had a dish I didn't love from the simple avocado rolls to the decadent platters it all hits all the right notes!! Five stars, two thumbs up!! read more

High quality Japanese restaurant - excellent service, fresh and delicious food! I enjoyed everything we ordered except the Pork chasu bibimbap, which is actually a Korean dish, that's too greasy and over spiced. read more

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Consistent quality Pleasant servers & Owner Over many years have enjoyed suppers here. They have always met my expectations. I consider Nori Restaurant my "go-to" restaurant for Japanese fare. Try it. You will return. read more

I will venture out to say that this is probably one of the best if not THE best sushi I've ever had. My boyfriend and I visited Nanaimo for a couple days and wanted to enjoy a nice dinner out. Here's what we ordered: -Gyoza -Scallop explosion -Kussi half dozen -Dynamite combo -Roll 911 -Salmon belly sashimi-spicy sashimi -Island fever Seems like a lot of food, right? It was, but worth it? ABSOLUTELY! First off, we got to the restaurant at about 5:30pm and the place was already packed! We had to wait about 15 minutes to get seated. We decided to sit at the sushi bar which I thought was really fun because the chefs were interacting with guests and genuinely seemed to enjoy what they're doing. You can tell they have regulars...a few people said they would see them again next week. I loved that because that means the restaurant has good food and good service to make people want to come back again and again. Now back to the food--everything came out and the presentation was just impeccable. Each piece of fish just melted in your mouth. The balance of flavors was great and we were just all around impressed with the friendly service and the amazing food. Really wish we had a place like this back in San Francisco! read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

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Nori is unmatched in its sushi in North America. I've eaten in NYC, Las Vegas, Chicago and all over. Johnny is a master and this little spot in a Costco parking lot is packed (get a reso days in advance). We had the dancing scallops, hamachi, a sashimi boat, red dragon, and a few other delectables. Sadly they were sold out of black cod which is to die for. My daughter loves sushi and has heard me talk about Nori for a few years so when she visited the island there was no stopping her from eating and it didn't disappoint. 5 ate for ~300 all in including drinks l. Wait staff were awesome, sitting at the bar watch the artistry in motion was the best. Search on line as many of the items served are off menu so you need to ask for them. read more

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If you ask anyone in Nanaimo what is their favorite restaurant 9/10 people would say Nori!!! All the fish was super fresh. Food was fantastic and service was great. Will visit next time we head over to the island and share pictures! This place is a must try if you're craving some good Japanese. read more

Stopped here for lunch on our drive and was amazed by the delicious food! Generous portions, high quality sushi, beautiful presentation, and very friendly staff. Highly recommend and would stop here any time I'm in Nanaimo! We got the vegetarian lunch bento boxes, a DAM roll, and the sashimi salad. Would order them all again! read more

Nori Japanese Restaurant - Lunch bento box - Japanese Near Me - Nanaimo, British Columbia

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So many great and tasty vegetarian options! Some of the most exciting flavours we have tried so far for sushi! Huge portions, although prices are a bit steep, you definitely get a lot for what you pay. Highly recommend! read more