Sushi Bar Maumi

Excellent Omakase sushi - excellent quality where each piece is exquisitely prepared by Maumi-Son.

The quality of the sushi is unbeatable. $125 for a 13-course omakase + $15 for a flight of 3 glasses of sake makes this place a reasonable deal.

I think there's no doubt to the quality of the sushi here, so my review will focus mainly on the dining experience so you'll know what to expect.

Maumi is now located on Robson Street across from Whole Foods. It has 17-bar seats, U-Shape counter with the chef in the middle, and only 1 seating at 6:00PM SHARP per evening. And just like you read all of the reviews and on their reservation policy: **do not be late**; **and I repeat: do not be late** for this reservation. Patrons who are more than 15-minutes late will be denied service and deposited forfeited.

Knowing this and after weeks of anticipation, guess what, yes, our party of 4 arrived late for approx 13-minutes. ugh. Being a tourist in the area, our GPS was spinning and spinning and took us to a wrong spot (later was told it must have been their old location)... well, luckily we made it within the grace period Thank God!! Completely our fault but arriving late really makes for a less-than-stellar experience. All eyes on us upon walking in and we have apparently really upset Chef Maumi. :( sigh. Later we came to realize that being late really messes up his rhythm, as all patrons are supposed to be served 13-courses together. Now, Chef Maumi had to play catch up for the 4 of us. Sorry!! :(

Anyway, 13-courses were served and every-single-piece was exquisitely prepared and absolutely delicious. The restaurant was nicely decorated - simple and elegant with black walls and black ceiling. Patron ambience was a bit serious and quiet, while Chef Maumi was busy preparing our meal. By the way, the chef does not smile and will not interact with guests. He seemed very busy and very serious. Contrasting to Maumi-Son was his wife, who was constantly smiling, and greeting everyone makes for a stark contrast and I guess that's why they make a great team.

Other nuisance and note (I learned the hard way):

1.) Arrive ON TIME. Period.

2.) Do not reach your arm out and take pictures of the chef (use your zoom). Maumi-Son is not too fond of the arm-reaching picture taking style. He feels like he's in a zoo!

3.) Do not ask to take pictures with the chef. He will say no.

4.) Do not offer him sake (even it's customary). He will say no.

5.) Do not bring your own alcohol. They will say no. You buy your sake there.

If you're looking for a fun, interactive dining experience with the sushi chef - then this place is not for you. But if you want traditional, superb sushi - then Sushi Bat Maumi is definitely a top choice.
Come for the excellent sushi!

Great ambiance and exactingly prepared nigiri is what Maumi is all about. Extensive sake list and some nice Champagnes.

My two friends and I finally got to try Sushi Bar Maumi when they were still tucked away on Davie Street. PSA that they have just opened back up on Robson street across from the Whole Foods since the end of October.

This establishment recently got a "Michelin Recommended" nod in the first round of Michelin noms for Vancouver, and it is well deserved! It's nice how the price hasn't gone up because of that, but instead due to changing ingredients and adding more pieces to the set omakaze.

Before the move:
The QUITE COMPACT restaurant is run by a courteous husband and wife team and they only host two seatings a night at 6:00pm and 7:45pm sharp for a maximum of 8-9 guests.

**please be aware that this has since upgraded to 17 guests and one seating from 6pm to 8:30pm!!**

If you come late, they will start without you, or worse, you might not be able to order additional nigiri.

They only serve Omakaze style here, and if you're not familiar with it, it's a more upscale sushi experience where the chef is tasked with surprising you with the best cuts of fresh fish that they can offer and serving each piece to you one by one like a culinary art piece.
Fish choices are typically more unique and exotic and pieces are best eaten immediately and in one bite.
Sometimes I do two bites, but this time I ate each piece as one and it was amazing.
No pressure to follow suit, but you may see some people using their hands to pop the sushi in their mouths when you go to these places, which I was told in New York to be the traditional way, but that's only recommended at Omakaze type places.

The Omakaze consists of 11 pieces of sushi and a miso soup (left, middle). (You'll see 10 down below because I ate the scallop one before I remembered to take a photo).

At the end of the meal, I ordered 5 more additional nigiri (right) to cap off the yummy meal. I'd say I'm quite happy with the picks I chose, since my friend and I are more adventurous with our food and from observing what other people chose.
There is an extensive seasonal fresh sheet that lists out what additional fish are available, and what they do that I like here is they hand you an electronic notepad to write your order on. Talk about efficiency!

If my memory serves me correctly, the cost of this Omakaze used to be $70-80 pre pandemic/inflation, and that was considered a steal for this kind of sushi bar experience.

The omakaze at the new location now is $135 for 13 pcs + miso soup

That being said, the Sushi Bar Maumi experience is still on the cheaper end as far as examples of Vancouver omakazes go (with some being $150-300+), and you do get the taste and quality you would expect for shelling out more for sushi. VERY VERY GOOD bang for your buck here, especially with the extensive additional nigiri list for the most adventurous foodie.

But with this now going above $100, it'll be a special occasion thing for me too. I think this experience ranks quite high in terms of the Omakazes I've tried, maybe because the intrinsic taste of the fish was made so clear and effective without the need for additional sauces or garnishes.

Highlights were the Aji, Honmaguro ChuToro and Bafun Uni.

Nice fine dining experience and great services. Fresh fishes and chef explains everything.

I found Sushi Bar Maumi by literally Googling "Best Sushi in Vancouver". It certainly does feel that way after experiencing it myself. Dinner is served Omakase style or 'Chef's Choice', the chef being Chef Maumi himself. Every part of the meal was exquisitely handcrafted with care and incredibly fresh. Each piece is introduced and placed before us, like tiny plates of art. Each are eaten in one bite, a burst of flavour, and then it's gone.

Getting dinner here is not as easy as walking in. Reservations open up a month in advance and they fill up quickly. Spots are limited, with only 2 dinner services a day and 9 seats per service. Through their online booking platform, you agree to a set of rules that help to set the atmosphere. Casual (no dress code) but also quite formal (18+, no loud conversation, no parties larger than 4). It's meant to be an intimate atmosphere where you can truly concentrate on the flavours before you.

The fish is imported daily from Japan, the sauces and seasoning and hand made, and each piece of fish is prepared with forethought. Some fresh, some cured beforehand. At $80 per person, I think it's a great deal for the amount of work put into a single meal. Afterwards, each person can order one additional round of any Nigiri on the menu that's in season, even ones that weren't served in the main Omakase.

This was the first dinner I had on my first day in Vancouver. I definitely don't regret coming here as one of my first meals, but boy, it sure set the bar really high for every place I went to afterwards! What a way to get initiated into the incredible seafood scene in this province!

I was very disappointed in their omakase. For the price it's not so bad, but rather pay twice as much and enjoy the food or have a meal from a Japanese restaurant a la carte.

Nothing really stood out to me. There were 11 pieces + soup. Miso soup with prawn head which was too salty. The rice I felt was not cooked perfectly (just me being picky and comparing to other omakase) but amount of rice was good. I ended up feeling full after this and didn't order anything extra from the menu. I didn't feel like the chef cared much about who was there and would say what it is quickly and sometimes assume that the next party heard it. It is a small place and you can hear but it would have been nice if he had explained a bit more.

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Sushi Bar Mauri. The place was a lot smaller and cozier than expected, and the food was delicious! The sushi rice tasted great--the uni and toro were definitely the highlights of the meal. One small downside was that, despite the affordable price, I found myself not quite full at the end of the course. So I had to add extra sushi at the end. Unfortunately, one of the extra sushi we ordered, the Ikura, was extremely salty and was taken out of a weird container, so I'm not sure what happened there. But overall, I loved how authentic the sushi tasted and would love to go back.

Came here myself as it was very hard to get booking. I can see people booking almost a month in advance as there are only two seatings and the store is very small. Total seating of 9 people. I felt very rushed in the process...so obviously the food wasnt as enjoyable. The uni and otoro was the best pieces - so fresh and delicious. Price of 80 per omakase is reasonable.

This is an unassuming no-nonsense sushi joint in the heart of Vancouver. There are no distractions - just amazing sushi (there is no alcohol menu here)! There are only 2 seatings per night so reservations are a must.

The ingredients used in the omakase are top quality and extremely fresh. Even the uni was one of the best from Bafun in Hokkaido.

What was missing for me: I found the experience lacking more interactions with the sushi chef. For me that's an important element of a great omakase.

I had an amazing time at Sushi Bar Maumi! Every piece of nigiri was wonderful! Fully seasoned and tender with every bite. For value its hard to beat! At the time we had to to book 2 weeks in advance. They only sit 9 seats I believe so it is hard to get reservations, but its very worth it! At the end of the omakase you'll be asked if you want to order anything else on the menu.