Ajisai Sushi Bar

Went early to beat rush. Asked for Omekase so that I can get best dishes picked by chef. Exceeded expectation. All were fresh and well prepared. Best was monkfish liver.
All in 60 for Omekase and extra for cold sake.
The waitress was sweet, polite and appreciative.
Reviews by others were on point. Thank you Unilocalers!
Free parking downstairs was great! Also a very cool coffee shop near by for coffee and cake; la cuissan.

This is a small place so try not to come in a large group since you’ll be waiting a long time.
We got:
Tuna tataki: A quite generous portion, the slices were very thin though which took away from the taste
Salmon aburi: I shouldn’t be comparing these to more upscale places but they definitely put in some strange flavours that didn’t fit with the taste. Like cilantro and I am definitely not a cilantro in my sushi fan
Clam miso soup: the soup was average but the clams were plentiful which was nice
A few rolls: the rolls were very good and the flavours complemented each other well
Overall the food was fresh and satisfying, would definitely come here again but probably not for the aburi

The food was good, waitress was friendly… But we waited over an hour for our lobster roll which they forgot to make. Even after we asked to just have the bill since we saw all the other tables get all their food, eat it and pay their bills… Would never come back.

Great fresh sushi. I wish take out comes with soup.

One word: quality. Two more words: Japanese owned. These two phrases are practically synonymous with each other. Wife and I were in the area so thanks to Unilocal this place seemed like a good place to eat. We were here for a late lunch so there was no lineup but business was steady even after we were seated. We sat at the sushi bar right where all the sashimi was kept at the glass counter/​window/​fridge thing. Definitely knew just by looking that the fish was fresh and of excellent quality. They don’t have many specialty rolls but it’s not needed here. We purposefully opted for the simple rolls with rice, seaweed, and raw fish or chopped scallop. That’s because you don’t need the specialty options here. The fish is so good and the best part is that it’s so silky smooth it melts in your mouth. You don’t normally get that at your standard sushi joint. Ajisai is small and unassuming but it’s a gem. Five deserving stars.

I’ve had this place bookmarked for ages but haven’t had any reason to head out to the Kerrisdale until recently on a nice Friday afternoon. My husband and I stopped by here for lunch. We arrived around 1:00 and were seated right away at the bar, although most of the restaurant was still full. Tip: park in the underground parkade– it’s free (surprisingly). We ordered the 24 piece Pacific combo and the rainbow chirashi (with miso soup) to share. The fish was so fresh and the rice was seasoned very well. My husband couldn’t stop complimenting the buttery consistency of the fish in our chirashi. The rolls in the Pacific combo were a bit hard to deciper as they were all inside-​out rolls and looked the same. Out of the 3 (tuna avocado cucumber roll, california roll, shrimp chopped scallop roll), I liked the shrimp chopped scallop roll the best. The rolls were quite standard but it was the chirashi that stood out for me. I enjoyed sitting at the bar and watching the chefs complete orders. The quality of ingredients here is higher than your average Japanese restaurant. It reminded me a lot of the Japanese restaurants I used to go to with my family when I was younger, when sushi restaurants were not as commonplace as they are now. Although we’re lucky to live in a city like Vancouver where we have a good reputation for sushi, it’s still nice to know there are places that prioritize quality. Can’t wait to come back!

Excellent service. The unadon melts in my mouth, great! Also ordered the oyster and the 8 Agiri sushi. Slightly pricy but the it’s well worth it, I think.

One of my staple Japanese restaurants in Vancouver, Ajisai is basically hidden in a back alley way that perennially smells like fish (I think the kitchen vents point towards the alley). Smell aside, this restaurant has solid and high quality sashimi. I love getting their chirashi bowl and I strongly recommend getting the sashimi or the nigiri as opposed to rolls as the fish here is extremely fresh. The tuna and salman are melt-​in-​your-​mouth and oh so good.
The hand rolls here are also delicious and there’s an extensive lunch menu that allows you to try the various sushi available at the restaurant. Ajisai is quite small so there can be a bit of a wait, but definitely worth it given the high-​quality fish!

Our friends up North serve up some good sushi and sashimi! Not only is the food good, but Cheap due to the exchange rate. $ 3.00 CA$ for a piece of Uni or a piece of Toro?! C’mon!!!
Cheap and quality is what I like!!! Or should I say inexpensive?

One of my favorite casual sushi spots. The only place I’d eat sushi in kerrisdale. Small place with long waits and lineups. Great service and great food.

Came here for a Tuesday lunch and although it wasn’t a cheap eat, it was definitely delicious and i’m already awaiting a return!
The fish is extremely fresh and their sushi rolls were wonderful! We ordered half tuna and half salmon sashimi and both were melt in my mouth delicious. We also got the combo that included a california roll, shrimp and scallop roll as well as a tuna and avocado roll. All three were rolled very precisely and the best part, they had the perfect rice to filling ratio. The sushi rice was also flavoured wonderfully being vinegary and tangy but not overly so. Lastly, the fish inside was flavourful without being too overpowering leading to a light but delicious meal!

Major downgrade.
I understand that costs for everything will keep increasing over time so you get what you pay for. I have no problem paying a premium to maintain quality levels as it has always been. Sure it would hurt the bank account a bit, but it never serves a restaurant well over the long haul when they start upping prices while cutting on ingredients and quality in general.
Gone are the days of freshly grated wasabi, now replaced with the same run-​of-​the-​mill powdered crap, shrunken nigiris that do not seem as fresh as before, and noticeably irritable staff. Overall flavours are still good, however — without the cumulative effect of the seemingy small differentiators that set Ajisai some notches above any old sushi joint, I’ll likely be MIA for a long while.

LOVED MY VISIT!!!
Brought my mom out all the way to Ajisai to treat her to a good sushi meal.
I was super excited after reading all the reviews and seeing all the photos.
This place is pretty busy, so I would recommend coming earlier if you want a table.
It was just the two of us so we sat at the sushi bar so we wouldn’t have to wait.
We ordered a lot of food. I was so excited I ordered everything that sounded good without considering it was just the two of us. We got like 8 pieces of nigiri, a roll, oshizushi, and two appies. Everything tasted so good. The quality of the fish was fantastic.
I’m a sucker for oshizushi and I almost died… SO YUMMY!
If you’re into sushi this place is definitely worth the drive and the wait.
Can’t wait to bring everyone else here.
So good.

Everything I ate here redefined what I thought good, high-​quality Japanese food was. My friend and I ordered their special assorted sashimi, lobster california roll, fish neck/​head (forgot what type, but it was a white fish), and sea urchin with mountain potato. Each dish is worth savouring. The sashimi just melted in my mouth. The fish neck/​head meat was juicy and tender. The lobster cali roll was on point. The sea urchin tasted like it just came off the boat, and the mountain potato… was exactly that.
Their waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable when we asked her questions about the food, and apparently most of what we ordered was either shipped from Japan or local. So if you’re into authentic Japanese, this is the place to be in Vancouver.

Since I was in the area on Saturday, I thought I’d stop by for some quality sushi. As previous reviews mentioned, it’s a small sushi joint so you should go before the dinner prime time or you’d end up waiting for quite a while.
I chose to sit at the sushi bar so I can see how my food is prepared and it just seems cooler. First I was provided with the menu along with the chef’s specials. The menu was very extensive and I really didn’t know what to really go for. I flipped through the menu like 3 – 4 times and decided to get the special assorted sashimi and the monk fish liver (on the chef’s menu) and finally found the page with the list of gunkan and ordered 1 uni, 1 uni hotate and a uni with a quail egg on top.
As my order was put through I looked across and watched how the sushi chefs prepared the rolls, slice the fish. I realized there were a lot of rolls going out for take-​outs. But the way they were just slapping on the sheets of seaweed and plopping down the rolls. I thought… hmm this doesn’t look too professional but maybe because they’re in a rush to roll out some of these orders on time.
I also got to see the sushi chef cut my sashimi, but didn’t pay attention how the monk liver was prepared but did notice him putting all the garnishes on before handing them to me. I took a few photos and waited for my uni’s to arrive as I see him preparing them. I started eating my food and when I looked up he was cleaning his bench and was waiting for other orders to come in. The restaurant got busy and it was difficult to flag down one of the servers. When I finally did, I told her that my uni never came and I might want to change my order if possible. She never gotten back to me and when I saw her again, I reminded her and she said that the chef’s on it.
By this time, I was already done with my first two dishes and was getting to 95% full. I really wanted to cancel but after push for the uni’s twice, it didn’t seem ethical to cancel. When it came out it was two uni’s and one ikura (salmon’s roe) with a quail egg on top. I was too lazy to send it back so I just ate it.
The Special assorted sashimi had tuna, red tuna, hamachi, salmon, tako, white fish, hotate, and sweet prawn. I would rate it a ⁴⁄₅. I’d say the tuna’s was my least favorite. Definitely wasn’t a melt in your mouth and had a bit of a chew to it. The sweet prawn was my favorite, but there was only gave one.
The Monk fish liver was pretty good ⁵⁄₅.
I normally like uni’s, but the ones here… not really, I’d say ³⁄₅.
So overall, their score shouldn’t be 2/​5, so why was it rated so low? Well, after an hour later I had a terrible stomachache and felt sick for three days. I didn’t eat anything before that would have cause this nor did I eat anything within that hour. It basically ruined the rest of my night and was afraid I had some kind of food poisoning. Till I overcome my fear of eating raw fish at this place, I won’t be coming back.

One of my favourite Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Great service and delicious food. They definitely use the most fresh seafood to make their food. We ordered a variety of nigiri (Toro, kampachi, & chopped scallop), seafood salad, unagi battera, & house special roll. LOVED IT!!!
I’m counting down to try this place again!!!

This used to be my go-​to sushi place until they suddenly got so busy. Be prepared for at least an hour wait if you go after 6pm. I would suggest going at 5pm to avoid the wait (right when they open).
My favourite dishes here are their: Wakame sunomono (haven’t had a better Wakame sunomono anywhere else in Vancouver), unagi cheese roll, Ika ume, chirashi don, black sesame ice cream and green salad (love the corn flakes). I like the simplicity of their sushi — nothing too fancy or flavourful.
They also offer take out too… For those who would prefer not to wait. Most of the time, it’s only a 30 minute wait until you can pick up (rarely, will the pick up time be 60 min after placing the order).

Very petite little joint yet packed with amazingly fresh sushi and sashimi! Came here on two separate occasions and both times, the wait was over 30 minutes, however, it was totally worth it!
Definitely try their Chirashi bowl! The octopus meat, omg.drool. Their sashimi are thick slabs of fish meat that would melt in your mouth!
Defintely recommend if you have the time to wait around a bit!

My favourite part of the dining experience and watching the sushi chefs work at their craft, delicately slicing and arranging pieces of fish, and finally placing the dish directly into my hands.
I had the chirashi don ($ 15), and the pieces of sashimi tasted excellent. The seabreem sashimi was the creamiest that I’ve ever tasted.

[Heaven on Rice]
Ajisai has been on my to-​do list longer than cleaning out my garage. I’m often in the area but always deterred by the perpetual lineup of hungry souls. I finally conjure the will to go one fine Sunday and was surprised the wait was only 15 minutes. We were seated by the sushi bar with a clear view of all the fishy delectables being prepared.
After studying the menu, I decided on the signature nigiri combo. I added an avocado-​unagi roll abd a piece of uni nigiri with a quail egg. So does it live upto the hype? It sure does! The fish freshness and quality is arguably the best in the city. I’m not usually a big fan of tuna but This was melt-​in-​your-​mouth goodness. Every piece of sushi I had was heaven on rice.
Ajisai’s prices are on the high side but you can’t put a price on quality fish. Their portion sizes are decent — my nigiri combo included 9 pieces plus a tuna maki. Along with the avocado-​unagi roll, I was full enough to avoid late night snacking. Service was also excellent. The waitresses are fluent in both English and Japanese — my dining companions can attest to their authenticity. They were friendly and quick to respond to our requests.
I really loved the whole experience here and I will definitely be back. There’s not many places around town that serve fish of this quality.