Sushi Oyama Japanese Dining House

We had a great time at this place. Very fresh fish which was enjoyed by all. There’s a big private room in the back which was nice. 18 of us ate a great mix of sushi and sashimi for just under $ 500 taxes and generous tip (no alcohol).
Will be back again soon.

I’ve eaten here three times now. Each time all I remember is good rolls. Expensive food. Crappy service.
Crappy service because it took them forever to come take our order and also to refill our tea.
Good rolls because they were creative. Tasty but you can tell they aren’t valued well.
At an average of 10 bucks a roll. It’d pretty expensive. Especially when most of the roll is filled with imitation crab. Not even real crab. Regardless they tasted good hence the two stars.
The sashimi was okay and but the uni was not fresh. The sashimi was also not very big. Some were very small pieces.
Would I come back? Nah. There are better sushi joints in Coquitlam.
**UPDATE**
Giving it 1 star. My wife and I got diarrhea the next day. I am pretty sure its from the raw food, and not being sanitary.

One of my favourite sushi places! Staff are friendly and food is quite cheap (Around $ 30 to $ 40 for two people maybe about 3 or 4 rolls + prawn tempura and half order of spicy salmon sashimi) Plus i love the system of pushing the button on your booth when you’re ready to order/​to get their attention. Not to mention the ambience of the place. its so beautiful. Definitely a place i like going back to, dine in or pick up.

The following items are recommended: oyster motoyaki here is better than the izakaya restaurants downtown. It was fresh and not too greasy, be sure to squeeze some lemon juice on it. The seafood sunomono was delicious too. It was not too sour but refreshing. The volcano roll had a really nice presentation and tastes just as good. I got the spicy tuna for the sashimi choice. Tuna melts in your mouth and it was not too spicy. Lastly, the spicy chirashi don was very good as well. It’s the Korean style sashimi rice. You’re supposed to mixed them well with the hot sauce they gave you. Food was really fast and servers were humble & courteous.

This Sushi Joint is one of the best in the Cocquitlam/​Poco area, and my all time favourite restaurant for affordable delicious Sushi. Its always busy, and staff is friendly.
If you love Tuna, the Spicy Tuna Roll has to be the best I’ve ever had. Ebi Mayo, Gomae, and Agadashi Tofu are perfect starters. the specialty rolls are incredible as well and worth every penny. Everything is always fresh and well presented. Must check it out!

Great place for sushi! We were looking around for a good sushi restaurant after our regular spot Sui Sha Ya started going downhill. I’d driven by Oyama so many times without even looking at it. Then our daughter got taken there for dinner on a date and she told us how good the sashimi was. So we decided to try Oyama for a family dinner a week or so later. Exceeded expectations! Cool décor, generally good service, reasonable prices, and a really interesting menu – some sushi creations that are quite unique. I’m a regular there now, usually for lunch. If you are planning to go for lunch, be sure to arrive early – sometimes it gets quite busy. Which leads to my only complaint: even when the place is full at lunch, they have only two waitresses on. These girls are literally running from table to table and it sometimes takes a while for service. Not their fault, of course, but there should really be three waitresses on at peak times.

Delicious sushi, great price and large portions.
The staff are efficient at any time of day (lunch or dinner).
Super clean and pleasant atmosphere.

Start out with the good. Nice décor. Convenient to downtown Coquitlam. Decent service. Good selection.
Unfortunately the basics are not here. Fresh prepared sushi and focus on taste.
I ordered a special roll. Tuna tataki. Tempura prawn cold likely fried earlier in the day. Tuna was all cold. A good tataki should be freshly seared. A lot of rice in roll. Over powers tastes.
Agadashi Tofu. As appetizer. Still waiting. After the roll. That should tell you enough.
Tea. Lukewarm and tasteless.
I wanted to like. As my regular place is closed. Still on the hunt for decent sushi in Coquitlam.

Visually the restaurant is appealing; a modern look with a style and blend of colors that work well. Overall the place is clean and kept up aside from a few minor issues. On a first visit you will find yourself confused trying to find the rest rooms — the posted sign leads you to the family/​handicapped rooms (which halls have no lighting). The rooms you would seek are on the other side of the restaurant. Inside (the men’s room at least) was clean, held no unpleasant odors, but the towel dispenser was non-​functioning.
The food itself came at a reasonable peace; aside from the fact that the «miso soup to start» was not the first item delivered. Sushi would have come quicker if they didn’t wait for all three rolls to be ready before bringing them out. Everything looked appealing and colorful as all sushi should. I could not finish all of my three rolls — 20 pieces total. They were massive. The end pieces were certainly NOT one –bite.
Service was pleasant and quick with a number of glitches. We were offered the option of a table or a booth, with some of the booths being next to the window. While we understood it was colder near the window all other booths were full. Not true. There were three others on the other side. And we were never given menus but were told «press the call button when ready» before she rushed off. Once we received our food we seemed to be forgotten. Not even a top up on the tea. I understand that it was moderately busy, but that’s no excuse to just leave someone stranded.
In summary the food was good and filling, but the service killed it. I may offer a chance at redemption.

Food can be inconsistent but usually pretty good — especially their special rolls. Sashimi is fresh and well-​prepared. Service not bad either and the ambience is nice; interior of the restaurant is very pretty.

Expext to have a large amount of rice in your roll. Not authentic. Quantity over quality. meh. Also they need more workers here and please, treat your employees right.

Korean run Japanese resto.
Good food
Good portions
Large restaurant
Nice modern décor. Friends from Japan said it looked similar to a modern Japanese resto in Tokyo
Polite service. Button to call for service was nice and Korean :)
I was allowed to make a reservation earlier in the day which was nice
Cons: A bit out of the way on Anson but next to a couple new food places.
Would we go back? Yes! And we have done so!

Sushi is fresh. Service is good (2 servers for the entire room packed full of people? What?). Pretty sure it’s a family run place.
If you’re a lover of salmon, the salmon gama (kama?) is a really affordable option.

(ten/​thirty)
Okay, so I gave you guys some time, and no sorting-​through-​kinks has been done. In fact, these guys have gone backwards a couple steps rather than forwards.
So, I called ahead to my usual sushi place and asked until what time they were open, and they told me 10pm. I called back again at 9:30 to place a pick up order, and I was then told that the chef had left, the restaurant stays open until 10pm to accommodate late-​stayers, but last call was really at 9:30. Thanks a heap for telling me that.
Unfortunately, I was unable to quash my craving for sushi, and I know for a fact now, the only sushi house within walking distance still open was this one. I did what I had to do, and I wish that I didn’t.
I ordered a few rolls, and waited. «5 to 10 minutes» turned into 15 to 20 minutes, which had me literally running to catch my bus home. If this restaurant expects to survive, they need to have a front-​of-​house staff with a better command of the English language. I have never gone to an oriental eatery and had the staff speak flawlessly to me, but I should be able to ask a simple question about the menu and have it answered without having to explain myself multiple times and in multiple different ways.
Now, to my order. Honestly, I am disappointed that I wasted my money here at all.
The rolls are HUGE, but not good huge. Tiny, tiny amount of fish (or whatever kind of roll you got) wrapped TWO TIMES in rice that does nothing but fall apart. Any roll I got that had cucumber in it was absolutely stuffed with the vegetable, with very little of whatever filling I actually ordered. Rice and cucumber. Delicious. Not.
Even the way the rolls were cut was not acceptable. The middle pieces were cut so thinly, they didn’t hold together and became a huge mess when I picked them up. The two end pieces, on the other hand, were enormous balls of rice.
My biggest disappointment: deep-​fried california roll. I like my california rolls, and I like my tempura. Sometimes I like to indulge, and deep-​fried california roll is two things I love in one. Except this one. Please note that it’s usually a good hour after I pick up my food that I actually get to eat it. It sits on the bus with me, I carry it home, etc. That being said, I have NEVER had a problem with my sushi, regardless of where I’ve bought it, and regardless of whether or not there’s been a delay before consumption. The deep-​fried california roll looked good at first glance, until I noticed the pool of sauce it was swimming in. There was so much sauce in there with the pieces, they were soggy.
Disgusting. Disappointed. Don’t let the glitzy interior fool you, to say the food is a rip-​off is an understatement. It will be a happy day for Carolyn when this restaurant folds up.
Boo!

*** Updated review on Nov 4, 2012 ***
My restaurant reviews will be based ambience, service, food quality, value, cleanliness and food safety.
Sushi Oyama recently opened in the Coquitlam are in the middle of September 2012 by a Korean family. We had dinner there 3 days after it was opened. The ambience is good. Lighting is very bright. There are some very nice touches — the water walls and a fireplace. Tables are nicely spaced!
Waiters and waitresses were very attentive. The restaurant was no more than 45% capacity. Service was very good. We went to the restaurant again on Oct 5, 2012. This time the restaurant was at 100% capacity. Service SUCK’d big time. Everyone was complaining. Food was taking forever to come. We experienced it as with the other customers around us.
Sushi Oyama’s been in operation for a couple months now in Coquitlam and we have definitely frequented the restaurant. What’s my opinion? The cuts of sashimi has gone from generous to SKIMPY. Yup, SKIMPY! Same thickness and length as a Japanese operated restaurant but half the width.
Complained to the hostess and came back with the explanation this is our standard cut. Its not our fist time having sashime! Its always been a larger cut. Only 2 month in operation… I guess they’ve figured out their food costs. Must have figured out they need to cut back on portions to keep costs down therefore «increasing profits»…more on this later.
IMO, this is not good for business by offering customers generous portions then taking it away. Good thing is… anything which contains rice is still VERY genourous! Why? …because rice is CHEAP! Fish costs more!
Food quality is very personal and subjective. The quality of food was good. Sushi is sushi. Nothing spectacular whatsoever. My son ordered the Las Vegas roll which is one of Sushi Oyama’s signature rolls.
Sushi Oyama is offering 15% off until October 8, 2012. Sushitown definitely has the market corned when it comes to pricing. Prices here are slightly higher. Its justified! It’s a real restaurant and not a cafeteria!
There are absolutely no issues with cleanliness since the restaurant is only 3 days old.
Food safety is more about how well the waitresses and waiters understand food safety. How do I judge this? …very simple, by observing how they handle the tea cups. The top ¹⁄₃ to ½ of any drinking vessel should NEVER be handled because this is where the cup touches our lips. If a waiter and/​or waitress handles this part of the cup, your germs will be transferred to another customer’s cup. NASTY.
How did they do? They failed. Every waiter and waitress handled the top portion of the tea cups! Great way to get hepatitis.
What do I mean by increase profits? The owner’s wife runs the till at the front of the restaurant. I’ve heard her straight out say, ‘…NO TIP?!” to the Korean family. I typically tip 10−15% except for instances when the service is really BAD! She ALWAYS looks at the receipt to see what the tip is. When I do not leave a tip, she just hands me the receipt and says absolutely nothing… definitely says thank you when I do leave a tip.
I don’t see Sushi Oyama will last in Coquitlam if they continue down this path. Big changes will need to happen in order them to be SUCCESSFUL!

All looks no Fish! Wonder if they spent too much money on the renno’s that they felt the need to cut corners in providing decent sushi portions. Given there are competitors who provide massive quantities of similar quality sushi in the area; this place won’t last long unless it changes its approach to what it serves.