Zest Japanese Cuisine

Excellent service and sushi. You would think that this is just another sushi restaurant but it’s not. Their plates are packed with flavour. We ordered the Yoshi Signature Platter of the Day to start with, this one had the octopus appetizer. It’s hard to explain how good it was, but worth it.
Vancouver has over 500 sushi restaurants, all ranging in different price levels, most have the same menu items, but this sushi restaurant takes a twist on their dishes delivering both in flavour and artistically.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you order what you think is a typical Dragon Roll, but they figured out how to elevate the presentation and flavors. Will definitely come back when in the neighborhood.

One of the most underrated restaurants in Vancouver, hands down.
Impeccable service, incredible food, and all hidden away in the suburbs! Elegant food, great atmosphere.
Been going here for years, and they have never disappointed.
The miso sablefish is TO DIE FOR.
They also serve very VERY good starter dishes (basically any salad/​appetizer is great) and high quality sushi.
Definitely can’t go wrong visiting this place.
It is immediately obvious how much effort and preparation goes into each of the dishes that they serve.

Came here for the omakase dinner. Absolutely amazing! All the food was so tasty and fresh. Beautifully presented and service Saskatchewan impeccable. I definitely would recommend it.

Spring menu was outstanding. Fresh and creative. Thank you Zest team for a great evening.

Well there are a couple times I drove by this place and it was quite packed. So finally I went in and there is space. Because I didn’t make a reservation, we ended up sitting at the bar. We pretty much just ordered a small amount because it was a pricy. We got a California roll which is made out of real crab meat, agadeshi tofu, tiger prawn, gomae, and a chop scallop roll. The portion is quite small. The food was delicious no doubt.
The atmosphere is similar to fine dining but its Japanese food. The place is nice and quiet and it works well for people who wants to enjoy their food along with a good chat with a friend. Its great to have a gathering here. They have a few good wines.
I personally like the place. But it really depends on the occasion for coming here. There are restaurants like Suika that servers similar items but of course Suika is too loud and would not be a great meeting place.
Server are very friendly and she did come by to change our plates a couple times.
I will come back.

Our meal at Zest was easily among the best we’ve had at any restaurant.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxed, yet classy, and the service staff are attentive, friendly, and know the menu and wine list.
The food was incredible. Our starters, wagyu beef tataki with orange, fiddleheads, and a sweet onion and ponzu sauce, and sake steamed clams (from the specials menu) were absolutely delicious; the beef practically melted in the mouth and the clams were as fresh as they come. Our second courses, chicken and chive gyoza and the maguro lover’s selection of tuna nigiri 5 ways were equally amazing. We finished by trying one of pretty much every nigiri available, including several from the fresh fish of the day list. The nigiri were all beautiful; the fish were incredibly fresh and balanced perfectly with just the right amount of skillfully seasoned rice. Even the kinds I rarely enjoy (octopus, sea urchin) were so well made and and with such good ingredients that I loved them. We finished with tofu panna cotta and green tea tiramisu, which were both sweet and refreshing (dessert isn’t really what you go to a Japanese restaurant for, and as nice as these were, I would probably use the stomach space for another cooked dish next time).
We complimented the meal with a couple of delicious sake tasting flights and a bottle of my all time favourite: Otokoyama junmai dai ginjo. All the sakes were amazing.
Overall it was a great experience, and we can’t wait to go back and try everything we haven’t tried yet.

Why such a high rating you ask? This was my first time here. I’ve heard great things about this restaurant and they delivered.
From the greeting when we came through the door, to the changing of our plates when they were dirty, to the topping up of our tea when it was almost empty… service was just as great as the food that was served today. Décor was minimal, warm and modern.
Our first course was a dashi soup w/​shiitake mushroom. It had a wonderful toasty flavour from the kombu. Then we had the agadashi cauliflower. This dish brought me back to Kyoto. I had something very similar, but corn was used instead of cauliflower. The technique was perfect. The fish that was used in the sashimi salad and sushi were high quality, good value. The grilled sea bass head was simple, but the flavor of the fish really shined. The Kyoto soba roll was a suprise. It was soba made into a sushi roll w/​king crab. Very creative. Lastly dessert. Tofu pannacotta was smooth and perfectly set.
My wife and I agree it’s our new favorite Japanese restaurant. We are already planning our next visit.

The ingredients at this place is fresh and top notch. Each entrée is painstakingly made with a myriad of asian themed sauces. We had the wagyu tataki along with the duck breast carpaccio and both were among the best I’ve ever had, both in this country and in Japan/​Europe. I think the downside is that the sushi/​rolls, while tasty and commendable in its own right, it feels lackluster when presented with the other more exquisite choices from the dinner menu.
This is the epitome of Japanese fine dining.
Food: 4.5÷5 — recommend against ordering the sushi/​roll menu.
Ambience: ⁴⁄₅ — quiet, jazz music in the background gives you the feel of a high class French/​Italian restaurant.
Service: ⁵⁄₅ — prompt, the ratio of wait staff/​customer is one of the highest I’ve experienced.
Overall: 4.75÷5 — almost perfect. ironically, the ‘traditional’ items were the most bland tasting.

This place must be the most elegant Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to in Canada! The décor is that of a fine dining restaurant and everything is clean, clean, clean!!! It is a small intimate setting with very limited parking in their lot. We did get street parking very close by.
We ordered from their daily special menu and had the uni shooters. (This dish is most likely the reason I had to dock one star solely for the fact that it caused me to spend the night doing a cleanse, if you know what I mean.) It was probably my favourite dish of the night next to the fresh oysters. (Unfortunately the «out“come was undesirable hours later.)
The sashimi is so fresh and different than any other place I’ve been to in Canada. The portions are smaller so you’re able to try many dishes with just a party of two. We didn’t leave too full, which is what usually happens when we have Japanese food.
I would definitely return on a future trip to Vancouver. Their daily menu has much to offer to showcase the palate of the Japanese chefs.

As I have been here twice, I feel like I should write a review. The last time I went was on NYE 2015 and for reserving a table last minute, they were very accommodating and managed to fit us in. Being Japanese, it is always refreshing going to a restaurant that has authentic Japanese chefs. All the food is fresh and delicious, however one dish stood out the most. If you like raw fish which you should if going to a Japanese restaurant, make sure to order their Four of a kind Signature Sashimi with Yoshi’s orginal sauce.
1 — Yellowtail with ginger tamari soy sauce
2 — White Fish with sour plum soy sauce
3 — Red Tuna with seaweed soy sauce
4 — Wild Sockeye Salmon with jalapeño sauce
Zest Japanese Cuisine is on my top 3 list for Japanese food in Vancouver. Please do yourself a favour and treat yourself!

I decided to try Zest rather than going to the same old places that I usually frequent. I checked the reviews on here and it all looked really good to me. The experience that I had at Zest was completely different than the most of the reviews on here… maybe the restaurant had an off night? Who knows?
We started off with some nigiri sushi. The fish was fresh however I couldn’t even pick it up properly because the rice on the bottom was falling apart. Moving onto the appetizers, the calamari salad was super tasty but not phenomenal. Then I got the assorted tempura — it really disappointing and lacklustre for the price, I wouldn’t recommend it. Lastly, I tried their sushi rolls — not worth it, I’ve had better rolls at Kishimoto and Taka’s Sushi.
The overall experience was «meh», the service just felt really rushed. The waitress didn’t bother to explain anything to us either. I don’t mind paying a high price for food however, I do expect it to be delicious. Not worth the hype on Zomato and Unilocal

I give this place a 4.5 stars only because this place is a bit pricey for my liking and it is far for me.
I was here one night and I have to say I would say I like this place. It was also a night where this guy decides to propose to his girl friend. How cute was that? haha.
We ordered a tuna salad, a beer, sashimi, lobster roll, mango roll, green tea tiramisu and green tea cream burlee. All of that came up to be about 95.00. Pretty pricey but it is a fancy restaurant after all. I really like their tuna salad because of their wasabi mayo sauce. The lobster roll kinda felt a bit small and not so worth it because it was 23.00. I preferred the mango roll more than the lobster roll. Both desserts were really good and something that I suggest others to try out. Of the 2 desserts, the green tea tiramisu was the better one.
Service was pretty good. They always come by to check up on us. They even open up the door for us to leave and so forth.
Overall, nothing super special about this place other than their service and their green tea overload dessert menu. If you love fresh seafood and loads of green tea sweets (it’s like 4 desserts on the dessert menu but it’s like all green tea) then this place is the place to go.

Une découverte tardive pour un japonais exceptionnel, avec Minami, Octopus, Miku ont avait cru tout connaître… Mais Zeste avec son shot d’oursin comme à Octopus, il faut déguster les nouilles Soba green tea en rouleau de crabe, façon Kyoto, la Ville originaire du Chef, le sable Fish à la cuisson parfaite, les sushi unagi… Le sorbet au Saké raisin…
Cadre élégant, nappes blanches sur la table, service impeccable, parking pour voiture… Rien né manqué et à deux pour dîner avec du Saké environ 140 dollars…

Absolutely speechless about this beautiful gem!
The restaurant is different from any other sushi place. The service is super amazing, the food is so fresh and delicious. It is a little bit far from downtown vancouver but it is worth it!
DEF will be back here!

This is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants to eat at. The food tastes phenomenal, the interior is clean and the service is excellent. It is a very popular place, so make sure to make a reservation at least 1 day in advance or else you’ll end up waiting until 9pm.
Aside from their phenomenal sushi rolls, their desserts are also one of the best. My favourite is their green tea tiramisu — I get this everytime I come here and I never get tired of it.
Fun fact: Did you know that one should use pickled ginger to cleanse the palate in between sushi rolls so that it makes the different flavours more distinctive? Try it next time!

Went in with a friend for the omakase (chefs selection), you have to book it in advance, and it was worth setting up. Highly recommended. The dishes complemented each other beautifully, we added the karaage just to see what it was like:)
1. Dungeness crab in a sea foam mousse
2. Six sashimi and appetizer platter — red tuna, snapper, mackerel, another type of tuna, lobster, and spinach with creamed tofu
3. Monkfish liver with buckwheat noodles
4. Sashimi in ice bowl — Yellowjack, geoduck and flounder from Japan
5. Deep fried sea asparagus with corn in tempura batter, green tea sea salt
6. Asparagus tofu in a miso clam sauce
7. Duck breast, with sea asparagus, pickled radish, and a foam ?
8. Red eye tuna, mackerel, sockeye salmon, amberjack sushi
9. chicken karaage
10. Panacota with green tea ice cream

Oh, this was goooood. Sure, it was expensive, but we knew that going in. The freshness does make a difference. We stuck to mostly nigiri sushi to enjoy the fresh seafood. Will try kitchen items next time. Oh, and save room for the desserts.

A must try restaurant in Vancouver!
The atmosphere, food and service staff at Zest was impressive. Zest is definitely not your ordinary Japanese restaurant. The use of fresh ingredients, rich flavours makes Zest a must try restaurant if your in Vancouver. Compared to other upscale restaurants, Zest is relatively affordable with many great menu items that allow for variety.
If your hungry and ready to splurge a little, I recommend the Zest Dinner Course. The dinner course is $ 60, which includes a six course meal with your choice of entrée. For dessert I had a delicious green tea tiramisu. I would have given Zest five stars, however one of our sushi rolls took a very long time to come. The service staff was very friendly, so I didn’t mind the wait too much. Overall I had a great experience at Zest, still a definite must try and I will definitely come back!
My favourites from Zest: Roasted Duck Breast Carpaccio, Butternut Squash Agedashi Tofu, Assorted Sashimi Salad.

Zest totally surprised us on our return dining experience and made me to write an update review for them.
They located in a small strip mall on west 16^th & MacDonald St. there are only few parking spots in the front of the restaurant. In order to avoid the hassle, just parking at side street is much easier.
It’s different high quality food Zest does! All the dishes are presented beautifully and attention to details! It’s big improvement from our previous dining, just let us feel like having gourmet dinner.
Tuna 3 ways — Albacore tuna & avocado w/​nori soy sauce, Big eye tuna tataki w/​mizore Ponzu, Big eye tuna carpaccio with soy mustard onion dressing.
Agedashi Tofu — It’s so soft and smooth inside out.
Tako karaage — deep fried octopus and just perfect as a drinking appetizer!
Mixed Mushroom Sautee Salad — It served in organic spring mix, organic oyster mushroom,
organic shitake mushroom, enoki mushroom with yuzu sauce! Tasted good but the mushroom temperature was too hot to go with salad.
Hamachi and Salmon sashimi — Both sashimis so fresh and tasty!
Chawanmushi — We all loved this hot appetizer egg custard! Every spoon just swallowed to my throat smoothly.
Yam sticks tempura — Just like fries cut and yam battered so thin and crispy.
Chicken Gyoza — free range chicken with chives dumplings, it’s so delicious!
Salmon miso zuke — salmon preserved in miso paste but a bit dry inside, it served with sautéed kale, organic quinoa salad in sweet miso sauce
Duck breast carpaccio with quinoa — full flavour of duck breast matched organic quinoa salad with black sesame balsamic sauce. It’s fantastic dish.
Zest roll — Albacore Tuna, sockeye salmon, grilled salmon skin, organic green, cucumber, tobiko. Tasted good but nothing outstanding.
Desserts were amazing and perfectly sweet of all of it. Matcha tiramisu which strong flavour of green tea and light tasted of mascarpone cheese. Mango pannacotta that smooth and light with mango flavour, nice Asian style dessert. Hojicha crème brulee really special dessert, it’s so creamy flavoured with roasted green tea! We’re die for it…
They provided dignified, attentive and friendly service. We never need to waive them over for tea refill during our dinner.

The drive towards UBC on West 16^th and MacDonald Street is like a road trip. Zest Japanese Restaurant was recently crowned Best Upscale Japanese 2014 award by Vancouver Magazine. We were intrigued. Plus Dave needed to find a darling place to take me for my birthday dinner. Zest Japanese is features contemporary Japanese cuisine highlighting local ingredients and attentive service. Zest Japanese Restaurant is sister restaurant to ShuRaku Sake Bar in Vancouver downtown. The restaurant seats not more than ten tables and a sushi bar. This is not a place where your meal is rushed but rather enjoyed in a quite setting. Frankly, I wish the food was a little more prompt. We spent a good few minutes between dishes and was getting quite hungry.
For $ 90 the Omakase Menu requires 24 hours notice prepared by Owner/​Chef Yoshiaki Maniwa.
Tuna in Three Ways 18: 3 kinds of tuna appetizers
1. Albacore tuna and avocado with nori soy sauce. Similar to gohan desuyo but lighter and slightly sweeter. The salty sea fare goes well with the creamy avocado and tender albacore tuna.
2. Big eye tuna tataki with mizore Ponzu sauce
3. Big eye tuna carpaccio with soy mustard onion dressing has a nice acidity and tanginess. The combination of soy and mustard works well. I think I will try to adapt this for my salad dressings at home also.
Madai Carpaccio 18: Carpaccio of the day of your choice of big eye tuna or white fish with soy dijon onion dressing. Madai was the catch for the day and I like the firm and sweetness of the fish.
Grilled BC Wild Sable Fish Yuan Zuke 18: 20 hours marinated, yuzu juice, sautéed kale, carly beets, Togarashi chick pea. Shreeded beets are sweet and partially cooked kale acts like a sponge for the sauce. The bitterness of the kale works well to break apart the saltiness of the marinade. Very rarely can you cook a sable fish wrong. It is so creamy and flakey.
Maguro Lovers 18: five pieces of nigiri — Toro, red tuna suke, aburi, negitoro, spicy tuna.
Uni Cone 9: The uni was fresh and the seaweed was fragrant compared to other restaurants.
House-​made Ice Cream Trio 6: black sesame, green tea or sake raisin. My favorite was the sake raisin. The sake is fragrant and the raisin’s acidy brightens this ice cream. I really hope they can sell me a tub to take home.
Matcha tiramisu: A semi sweet dessert that is light and creamy. Sprinkled with shaved white chocolate bits.
Overall Zest Japanese Cuisine was freshly tasty but short of being wow-​ed. Perhaps I will need to come back for Omakase before jumping to conclusions. What are your thoughts? Where would you recommend for truly wow-​ing Japanese cuisine without having to fly to Japan to see Jiro?

Zest is a modern Japanese cuisine and have certainly put itself in the premium experience segment. As such I walked in with some expectations.
The Good:
— Excellent Wine list that is non-​pretentious from a price perspective where most of its items are not marked-​up high; and quality from a content perspective where it can offer some hard-​to-​get ones (and some available by the glass) i.e. the Blue Mountain Rose Brut
— Courteous and attentive services
— Every dish boasts a wealth of ingredients. I.e. the seafood cake in the Signature platter is compacted bold shrimp and crab flavor and is night-​and-​day apart from those starchy ones.
— The Uni Shooter exhibits beautiful piquancy of uni, quail egg, dash of sauce, and the viscous yam. I may not get all the ingredients right, please correct me.
— The sushi rice in the nirigi is PERFECT, a ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Its equation of type of rice + cooking time + vinegar is in balance.
— Cooking technique is brilliant. I.e. in the Signature Platter, the cherry-​wood smoked Tuna is wonderfully smoked but retains its sashimi-​like texture, the octopus is poached to a firm texture but not chewy or slimy
— I LOVE the green tea ice cream that is made with a bit of actual green tea leaves and lots of matcha powder. Delicious!
The Bad:
— Pricey. I.e. 5 thin slices of Wagyu beef is priced at $ 20. That’s $ 4/​piece. The Signature Platter comes with 5 dainty dishes of chef’s special creation — albeit the creativity and ingredients are there, for $ 28 I will think thrice about it.
— Lady-​like portion. I have eyes that are always bigger than my stomach but I feel like I’ll still be starving after few dishes. The Salmon Nigiri, although used wild salmon, but the slice could be a bit bigger or thicker.
— The Deep-​Fried Tuna Roll can be recreated at home with chicken-​strip take-​outs from A&W and rolled along with home-​cooked rice and some avocado and mayo on top.
Anyhoo, hope this gives you more insights into a possible food experience at Zest.