Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen

Took my nephew here for his birthday. I wanted him to try a quality Japanese eatery before he set out to university.
Everything was so delicious!
We had the Chirashi Donburi which came with a reference chart to show what each spoonful of item is. Miso soup was so rich and flavorful with a tomato base. Ebi Oshi and Unagi Oshi were delicious. Spicy Tuna Oshi had just the right kick and creaminess. Probably the best chicken Karaage I've had. Duck Soba is such a nice segway from the regular cold buckwheat soba. Finished off with the Dragon Roll, Caterpillar Roll and Chopped Scallop Roll.
Service, ambience and quality were all fantastic! I hadn't been here in nearly 10 years and the quality is still there.

We went to Kishimoto Japanese Restaurant on Commercial Drive in Vancouver for a birthday celebration, and it was a unique experience!

Kishimoto is not just a regular Japanese restaurant. They always make new dishes, and each plate looks like a piece of art. It's like eating in a pretty art gallery!

We ordered the following dishes, and the dishes with * have more details.
- Chirashi Donburi *
- Unagi Oshi
- Morel Gyoza *
- Salmon Sashimi
- Chopped Scallop Roll
- Seasonal Tempura *

Chirashi Donburi - It came with a chart showing each item. The presentation was so colourful! The sushi rice was pink and topped with seared fresh fish and other yummy toppings. So good!

Morel Gyoza - It was a gyoza stuffed with morel mushrooms and homemade. You couldn't find this kind of gyoza anywhere else! So unique!

Seasonal Tempura - It looked like a mini garden on our plate. The presentation was top-notch!

We had a great time at Kishimoto and can't wait to return for the next occasion!

Food: 4/5 Should Try!
Service: 4/5
Kids: 4/5 Yay!
Price: $80-$90 spent per person (dinner)
Presentation:
Parking: metered parking on the street
Tips:
* charge for tea and serve it in a small pot.
* have limited space; good for small groups.
* recommend making reservations.
* good spot for dates and special occasion celebrations.
Would I Return: Yes ‍

Out of everything Kishimoto serves, the Smoked Oshi Sushi is easily the star dish. It's a single piece of Salmon Oshi Sushi that's seared and infused with delicious cherry wood smoke. The combination is an earthy, smokey initial flavor profile that hits your senses, followed by the delectable melt-in-your-mouth texture and taste of the Salmon Oshi.

I had the pleasure of trying this amazing piece of smokey nigiri, on my last trip to Vancouver - and it was the best sushi I had that week, perhaps even in the last year!

Check out my full review, at
https://umamiology.com/best-aburi-sushi-in-vancouver-bc/

If I could give this place 10 stars I easily would! We started off with the homemade pickles. Surprised how refreshing this dish was. It was almost like a pleasant palate cleanser - just the right combination of sweet mixed in with the perfect acidity. It was our first time here so we had to try the Chirashi Donburi which was a lot smaller than it looked in photos but tasted as great as it looked. There was an assortment of fresh fish with every bite delivering such amazing flavors. The star of the night was the smoked Oshi. Wow! You get this heavenly taste of cherry wood smoke with every bite of the salmon and it leaves you wanting more. Service was also top notch! I recommend making a reservation.
You will NOT be disappointed.

I made reservation by phone. Bookings are available for 5pm, 6:45pm and 8pm and limited to 1.5 hours. We arrived early about 6:20pm and they seated us. It wasn't too crowded yet. It's a cute little place and service was great.

We ordered the following to share:
Spicy chopped scallop roll
Bluefin negitoro roll
Spicy tuna oshi
Nabeyaki udon
Veggie okonomiyaki
Salmon oshi
Homemade gyoza
Smoked oshi

Everything was delicious. I was excited to try oshi since we do not have that in California. Tbh, it tasted the same as other sushi. I enjoyed the smoked flavor of the smoked sushi. The spicy chopped scallop roll was my favorite. So yummy. My least favorite was the homemade gyoza. The Gorgonzola was too strong. It overpower the gyoza. The Nabeyaki udon broth was spectacular. Wagyu Stock soup was so oishii. I couldn't stop slurping up the soup.

I have been waiting for a chance to try this highly rated restaurant in Vancouver for a while now. We were able to come on a weekday and found street parking to be still pretty limited. After circling for a few minutes around the block, we were able to find parking on the street within the same block of the restaurant. Contrary to how busy the overall block was, Kishimoto was not full and were seated right away.

The interior was casual, relaxed, and pretty loud with folks enjoying Japanese food with their family and friends. It did not feel like I was transported to Japan per se but it still felt warm and welcoming.

We tried smoked oshi salmon nigiri, agedashi mochi, assorted sashimi (3 kinds - $30), daily specials - Isaki and Uni, and Gindara Misozuke. Opening the smoked oshi salmon nigiri glass container full of smoke was quite an experience. I enjoyed the unique smoky flavor in this unique salmon nigiri but I was ready to move onto other dishes. Agedashi mochi was elegant in presentation but lacked the savory punch in my opinion. The daily specials were Isaki and Uni and they were very fresh and probably the highlight of our meal. The sashimi plate was very good and quite fresh as they claimed. Gindara Mosizuke was pretty unique and it reminded me of one of my favorite dishes, Misoyaki Butterfish, which I would have preferred.

It seems to me that Kishimoto caters more to the Western customers as they have a lot more offerings in their special rolls and focus on visual presentations. The range of their offerings on nigiri sushi and sashimi varieties was mediocre at best, although the quality of their fish was very good. All in all, I dare say that a place like Tom Sushi offers more value for those who seek traditional nigiri and sashimi.

Kishimoto offers a wide range of delicious and fresh sushi and Japanese food. The seafood was consistently fresh and flavourful, and the sushi was clearly well made.

Only problem is perhaps they are a bit too popular or inefficient. We had put a second order shortly after we finished the initial plate of sushi, but the second order took an additional 45 minutes to get to our table. So, put in your full orders immediately!

So, the real question is not whether the food is awesome, it is! It is not whether the service is amazing, it is!

The real question is whether a 45min-1 hr wait is worth it ?!

Depending on the size of thr group, the wait times could even be greater than that. For us, it was a simple party of 2, which was a much easier configuration to manage, and even then we had a 45 minute wait time.

I was here a decade ago, and although time has lapsed, the food is still exception. This is a great place for great japanese dining. If there is one negative the decor hasn't changed in 10 years, but then again, given the narrow room, it is hard to do much with what they have.

So to answer the question, is the wait worth it....., YES!

Loved it z!

Thank you!

No words to describe this gem. Absolutely amazing and my favorite sushi spot in Vancouver. We ordered the salmon and ebi oshi, seafood okonomiyaki, chu toro nigiri and the warabi mochi.

The oshi sushi is so good in Vancouver but this tops it all! They had so much flavor, the ebi oshi almost tasted like a lemony pasta which was wild and mindblowing and the salmon one tasted a little spicy and creamy which was so good. I'm a big salmon fan so any salmon sushi will be satisfying. The seafood okonomiyaki for us was a lot and I think I couldn't finish it at all. My partner said it tasted like a "big crab casserole" if you like that you can go for it but for me it was a bit much but I tried it anyway.

The chu toro here won my heart. They told me the chu toro was a good choice because it was prime time for it to be served. They got the freshest fish and gave it to us in nigiri form with just a little wasabi on top and that- my friend, won the best sushi I had in my entire life. And for that, this gets a million stars. I definitely would recommend asking the waiter what they recommend for nigiri because they have the latest list on the freshest fish.

The warabi mochi came super traditional and I was shocked but I shouldn't have been because everything seems to be super authentic here but I'm used to warabi mochi coming in green matcha cubes with ice cream (I'm from NY OK we don't have amazing Japanese food like here - affordable ones at least) but this came the way it's supposed to be in Japan! I was so happy this restaurant made my entire night and I left so satisfied and literally in joy.

Thank you, Kishimoto, for making sushi so good and so affordable! (PS- meaning affordable for a New Yorker bc the sushi in New York is 3x more expensive)

Kishikoto Japanese Kitchen
Great food, service and ambiance!
Not your typical Japanese restaurant.
Food: Everything's delicious.
Must-try: Veggie Okonomiyaki
Service: Great team, very accommodating!
Atmosphere: Clean and nice place to dine in.