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About the Business
Contemporary vision. Traditional roots. These are the qualities that highlight a dining experience at Zen Japanese Restaurant. A landmark on the West Vancouver dining scene for more than 25 years, Zen continues to thrive because of our unyielding commitment to using only the highest quality, sustainable ingredients and unmatched service. This is more than just a meal. It is a true culinary experience that is simply .... Zen.
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- Shannon K.Seattle, WA1593186Aug 6, 2020
DEF ONE OF MY TOP 5 SUSHI PLACES IN VANCOUVER! The service was great and the patio is so nice. We tried the premium hot sake and all the martinis (the asian pearl was really strong). We ordered a ton of things off the menu:
Ebi sunomono - good, nothing special, wouldn't order again.
Ebi blossoms - very different from what I expected, but very tasty.
Prawn tacos - again very different because of the daikon, but I'm glad I tried it.
Stuffed tomato - MUST TRY! I was confused by the name I didn't realize it was going to be tuna wrapped scallop, my favourite!
Hamachi and tuna nigiri - the sashimi is SO buttery smooth and melts in your mouth.
Torched scallop nigiri - MUST order
Torched sablefish and crab - both good and different
Salmon skin nigiri - pass
We also got two rolls which I can't remember the names, but super interesting that the rolls are wrapped with soy and egg crepe instead of seaweed. They were really good too but the nigiri sushi definitely was my favourite!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Steve M.Niwot, CO06Oct 17, 2023
All four of us absolutely loved our food, from the rolls to the entrees. The seafood gratin I personally had was one of the most original and best things I've eaten in a long time. Service was great and it's a nice little spot in a cool area. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good Japanese dinner spot.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - May 3, 2020Updated review
We are continuing to support local businesses by ordering takeout. Zen is usually a treat for the adults in our family. Our regular server is Chris - he's a fantastic guy. After asking us a few questions about what we were looking for, he put together a wonderful mix of a Tails Up starter and also an order of the Lobster Roll, Seafood Buckwheat Soba, and Crunchy Beef Roll. All the times were fantastic. We actually couldn't finish the soba, and had left overs. The Crunchy Beef roll was our favourite item - and is something we would definitely order again
If you are a regular here - keep supporting them. Great people and great food. They can use our support.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0Jul 23, 2015Previous reviewExcellent service and experience if you are looking for a mid to higher end sushi restaurant on the north shore - and a dining and culinary experience beyond the standard fare. Better suited for a casual date night without the kids (unless you have deeper pockets).
First - our server Chris was top notch. Excellent guy. All the servers were very friendly. Chris was just fantastic though.
We were a party of seven. My father went with the standard Salmon Teriyaki which looked good. My wife, my mom, and myself went Omakase style where you set a budget and the chefs decide what you will be served. My wife likes mangos and salmon, and oysters and eggplant not so much. With those guidelines we had a five course meal
1. Scallops, golden kiwi, raspberries in a citrus sauce served cocktail style. So divine. The blend of some salt and some citrus with the scallops and fruit were incredible. I wanted to drink the entire thing
2. Seasonal dish. Zucchini blossom stuffed with mascarpone cheese, mushrooms, and prawns. My wife's favourite of the dishes
3. prawns done three ways including a popcorn prawn roll. Delicious
4. Sushi platter included "stuffed tomato" which was ahi tuna wrapping scallops, pressed sushi with mango, and a combination of seared and spicy sushi. The pressed sushi with mango, the amaebi sushi, torched toro, and jalapeño seabream weren't favourites.
5. Finally a yakisoba seafood dish.
We were celebrating my wife's birthday. The Birthday girl treat was poke tuna in a mini ice cream cone with edamame hummus. I love that they customized the dishes for my wife. She's generally not a fan of prawns but really liked all the prawn dishes she was served.
The only down side was the kids. Our Kids are big eaters and had edamame, agedeshi tofu, two x salmon roll, two x chicken teriyaki roll, the sablefish entree. Also came with a strawberry "slushee". For the kids, given that they eat pretty standard fare, it was a bit pricey.
We will definitely be back and would definitely recommend Omakase style here. Be very clear on what you like or don't. Better yet would be to call a day before, say that you plan to go Omakase style and give them a list of what you like and don't. For $60 a person, you will have a great time and experience. But it's best to leave the kids at home if you don't want them to eat you out of house and home. The restaurant is very family and kid friendly, but the basic dishes (rolls etc) are pricey compared to other places. That's all - Gabriel H.Central, Vancouver, Canada52862Dec 16, 2018
Zen is located in West Vancouver. It's been ranked as one of the best sushi restaurants in the North Shore so we decided to try it out. It's a nice looking restaurant - not too fancy but not like your typical sushi place.
The menu is quite large and rather intimidating. It was hard to know what to pick and if what we were picking would be enough to make us full.
I started out with the Spicy Sashimi. The tuna and salmon sashimi was marinated in a spicy sauce and presented as an upside down cone. Underneath it was a circle of cucumbers. It was pretty decent.
I then tried the Seaweed Bites. It was a trio of sushi rice topped with tuna, salmon and ebi. It looked like we were eating three small tacos. While the plate was quite tasty, the seaweed wasn't large enough to wrap all the food that was stacked on top of it so it was very messy to eat.
For the main dish I decided to just have the Yam Roll and the California Roll. I received seven pieces each so 14 in total. They tasted like any other sushi restaurant in Vancouver. I was very disappointed that they don't offer brown rice.
The worst part of the restaurant was our waitress. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. People have bad days but despite my family and I being extremely courteous and friendly, our waitress was short and didn't bother to fully answer our questions. She asked if any of us wanted dessert while we were still finishing our main dishes, and when we said 'no,' she gave us the bill while we were still finishing up. I don't know why she was in a rush to get us out since the restaurant wasn't very busy and we were spending $300. We left after 90 minutes too.
My portion of the bill was $65, so it's overpriced for what you get. I'd rather spend $100 and go to Masayoshi or Miku. Service was 0.5. Food was 2.5. Overall experience was 2.0. We won't come back.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Kailie P.Kenmore, WA01Dec 16, 2022
The service was immaculate. All the staff are very well trained, knowledgable of the menu, and anticipate the needs of each guest in the restaurant. The service and ambiance alone were reason to return, but the food also was wonderful. Zen has quite a variety of dishes and rolls to choose from. We will return!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Adam S.Henderson, NV316116May 28, 2019
Amazing find! One of the best meals of my life (and I have had many!) found this gem on Yelp, almost never review, yet this place is so good, that I am compelled to share this review with anyone who really likes fine food.
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Parastou A.Los Angeles, CA96118Aug 1, 2019
Service and view at this place is 5 star. Food was quite good, it can improve. I will definitely come back.
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Vince V.Vancouver, Canada77622May 19, 2019
5/5, for the second time. Delicious, reliable, fresh.
My favourite is the spicy tuna or salmon. It comes with organic greens, which is unique and gives it a fresh, flavorful crunch. I don't think I've had a bad/subpar bite here. There are also Korean and Japanese entrees - I had the pork with kimchi on rice, which was super tasty and packed with flavour.
The ambience is nice and quaint, and the patio has a beautiful and elegant feel. Overall, recommend highly, and will definitely keep coming back over and over!Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Nov 5, 2014
One of my girl friend told me that Zen have the best sushi and sashimi in town! Really? I decided to give it a try!
I made the rsvn via Open table and found they're doing Groupon promotion $15 worth for $30. I made the trip all the way from Richmond to West Vancouver for dinner and my hubby went there with me reluctantly!
We got seated by the window and view was great. We checked out the menu and most items were pretty common. We were not even interested in any signature roll.
Toro Sashimi - It wasn't fresh enough and fatty at all!
Sushi - Eel, saba, botan ebi, tobiko and tako were mediocre.
Wagyu beef sushi - The worst wagyu beef I had in Vancouver. I suspected what grade of wagyu beef was it?
Beef sashimi - Beef was tasteless.
We didn't bother to order any dessert, we got the bill and paid to leave.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0
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