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

We were vacationing on Vancouver Island and came here for dinner when in Nanaimo. We had made…read morereservations 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!

Went here for dinner last week, the bistro is small but comfortable. We didn't have a reservation…read moreso we were invited to take two of the four seats at the "bar". No problem! We ordered 4 different rolls between us, tea, and a melon soda. Easily top 3 in the area, cemented by the fact that it's within walking distance from our house. This will be our new go-to for sushi. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was chill and welcoming.

Super delicious authentic Japanese food. A true gem in Nanaimo!…read more I got a salmon don. The rice was so good- so tasty and fluffy. Some very tasty agedashi tofu and my hubby got a vegetarian curry with potato croquette and veggies. This is his most favorite Japanese dish and we rarely find it on menus. Hurray Bistro Taiyo, we will be back! Ps. We got the special desert: Green tea pudding which was super delicious too, creamy, sweet, and green tea flavored. Yum!

Very ,very disappointed, waited an hour, tasteless broth, one tiny blob of pork that was mostly…read morefat, we were excited to try but we won't recommend or go back. Total waste of money

I ordered curry katsu, and was served an inedible bowl of overcooked vegetables with watery sauce…read morewith rice that seemed have been cooked days ago. Based on the dish I ordered, I do not recommend this restaurant.

This is one of my all-time favorite and most authentic Japanese restaurants! I've been coming here…read morefor at least 10 years, and they're always consistently excellent. This time, I stopped in for lunch and had the vegetarian bento, it was amazing. My fiancé had a pork ramen, which is also incredible here. The restaurant is small and cozy, so I'd recommend making a reservation if you're coming for dinner, as it does book up. They're always super attentive about my peanut allergy, I've never had any issues, and they don't seem to use peanuts in the kitchen! I've celebrated birthdays here and recommended it to so many friends and family over the years. It's an absolute favorite, and I'll always keep coming back!

If you find yourself on a Rainy day in Nanaimo, you could do worse than sit down to a bowl of Ramen…read morehere. The soup was very flavourful with beautifully chewy noodles and rich broth. The food is really nice here the service is very friendly and prompt. Lots of ample parking on the street, however, if you need to walk a little there is though a charming courtyard.

The staff is fast and welcoming…read more We ordered edamame, avocado maki, veggie sumono salad, yam tempura and tofu don bowl. The serving sizes were great. We had tons of leftovers. Downsides: Both times we've been the table size is hilariously small. Like a polly pocket sized table. Not ideal for more than 1. I also had a mild allergic reaction after dining. So worth noting for the sake of safety. Despite ordering all veg. Fish definitely was on a knife or a cutting board somewhere. As a regular veg sushi orderer this is always a risk, but only the second time it's happened to me.

Nice little Japanese place in Nanaimo. I've been coming to Nanaimo for work in the past few months…read moreand have tried a couple Japanese places. This one is definitely one of my favourite. The lunch bentos are great value! The food is made well. And the service is great. Food comes fairly quickly. Definitely come here for lunch.

This was our second time eating here, we had mid expectations. We ordered two bento boxes to share…read more The deep fried components tasted like old fryer oil. Which was 90% of the bento box. When we told the waitress we didn't like it she took it away and just brought us our bill without offering us anything else. There was no discount or compensation. We left hungry and sad.

Before ending our camping trip, we stopped by this cute Japanese restaurant before our ferry. The…read morerestaurant is very spacious and clean with modern decor. There wasn't a lineup when we got there, so we were seated right away. Their menu has lots of options of different rolls, udon, sashimi etc. Because it was lunch time, we ordered some bento box. I ordered bento box A with California roll for my daughter, and chicken udon for myself. My hubby ordered some sushi taco, and a Ubuild bento box. The food came pretty slow, which was strange. There wasn't a lot of customers when we got there. The bento boxes were pretty fresh with good portion. The sushi taco was a little yummy, however, the deep fried seaweed is on the greasy side with lots of batter. I was a little disappointed with the chicken udon, it was pretty standard and the chicken was pretty soggy. However, nothing beats a hot bowl of soup in a rainy day. Overall, we still enjoyed our meal. Not sure if I will go back, but I'm glad we got to experience it.

This is my favourite sushi in Nanaimo by far. I've probably eaten here 10 times. Every time I come…read moreto the island, this is a must-visit! The fish is very fresh and flavourful. The service is excellent. The owner is fantastic! Highly recommended and I can't wait to come back again!

The absolute most horrible food. The seafood yakisoba noodles were canned seafood. There was not…read moreone fresh piece of seafood. The salmon sashimi still had skin on it (you'd think a sushi restaurant would know how to cut fish) the chicken teriyaki was mostly old battered pieces of chicken the size of a dime and dry (barely any teriyaki sauce) frozen spring rolls (I'm pretty sure from Costco) the tuna tataki salad was dry (no dressing and uncooked vermicelli noodles. I can't believe I paid $80 for food we barely touched. we just paid and left without a word and will never return. My partner is on point for saying that he wouldn't even feed that food to a dog. It's beyond me how that place is still open. It was a huge sign that at dinner rush there was no one in there.

New management has made the right changes ... Great mix of Asian cuisines !!!!…read more The sushi is fresh and tasty ... Though the Wasbi was a bit weak for my taste... The wild salmon is fresh and on point... Good cuts and a great serving size We also had some of the Korean dishes ... Bibimbap was delicious , crunchy rice and nice spice! I recommend the red octopus for the adventurous "spicy baby tako karaage" very tasty and super tender ... We had 3 orders! All in all a great experience ! Ps : beer offerings are a bit brief ...

Went for lunch, food took a bit long and the quality of food was not on par with pricing…read more I have had that type of quality sushi before, but the price was much lower. As always, my price/quality/quantity ratio plays a big role in how much I enjoy food. There are probably better sushi places out there for the price. Although some locals I spoke with say that the all you can eat is good...

The best Japanese food I've found in Nanaimo so far, the restaurant is just 3 months old. Good…read moreservice as well.

Four of us had lunch here today. Great food and lovely presentation. Also good value and good…read moreservice. However, the raw salmon sashimi is farmed salmon, and the crab on the menu is imitation crab, which should really be spelled with a "k" if it's fake but it wasn't spelled that way. These details are not listed on the menu. They will serve you wild salmon and real crab if you request it. But that fact also is not mentioned on the menu. The owners really need to list these details in the menu. Customers expect to know the source of their food these days. And rightly so. (I didn't order either salmon or crab, but one of my friends did. She had a conversation with the owner, and apparently was not the first customer to do so.) Still... you will have a good meal and a good experience here! I don't want to knock this business too hard. Just be aware of the salmon and 'crab' issue if food source is a concern to you.