It used to be that I just wouldn’t eat sushi on the Drive. None of the somewhat grungy places looked promising and there are just so many better places for sushi in the city that it didn’t seem worth trying. But my empty cupboards eventually got the best of me and I set out to see how bad it really was.
I have a pretty strong stomach, so I wasn’t worried, but to avoid disappointment and give these east side joints the best possible chance, I tried not to order anything too obscure and chose much more cooked sushi than usual. In most cases, I picked the chopped scallop cone (my favorite) when it was available and then went standard issue on the rest; California rolls and yam rolls, etc.
The following is a list of all the sushi places on the Drive, given a 10 point rating.
1. First up was Britannia Sushi at 1016 Commercial Drive, because it’s a favorite of my roommate’s. Under their red awning, Commercial Drive denizens pack into the vinyl benches. It’s been busy every time I’ve been there and with the friendly, fast service and good prices, why not?
I ordered a chopped scallop cone ($3.85), one of their special Dynamite Dragon rolls ($8.95) which is a regular dynamite roll with BBQ eel and avocado, and a White Dragon roll ($5.95) with spicy tuna and onion topped with tuna. The avocado in the White Dragon roll was a little bit mushy and soggy from the BBQ sauce, but otherwise both rolls were preety good. The fish was fresh and kudos for the creativity of the combinations.
On a subsequent visit I had a yam tempura roll and a California roll to round up out the research and both were quite tasty. The avocado was not as mushy without the sauce and both rolls held their flavour well.
Britannia: 7 out of 10. I’d go back.
2. The next attempt was at Isshin Sushi (1861 Commercial), where I had a chopped scallop cone, a yam tempura roll and a California roll. The sushi was generous; big chunks of scallops in the scallop cone (some even fell out when I tried to dip it), large California rolls and huge yam tempura rolls that came to the table still warm and very flavourful. Everything was a little on the bland side, however, and the wasabi serving was not nearly enough.
The service was a little slow. Considering I was likely waiting for the yam tempura to be
made fresh, I tried not to hold it against them, but it didn’t really pick up after that either. As long as your expectations are in order, you won’t be too disappointed.
Isshin Sushi is 6 out of 10. I might go back.
3. Ginger Sushi was dark and seemed awfully dodgy on first impression. There was a noisy fan whirring away in the background and a greasy chef that didn’t exactly inspire confidence. A note on the wall about excellent “sushi” was cause for a wry smile and some mild alarm but then tea and sushi arrived – standard order chopped scallop cone ($3.20), deep fried yam roll ($2.20), and a California roll ($2.95) – and I was placated a bit.
The tea was served in a styrafoam cup and the sushi was not very tightly rolled, but they did give me a generous dollop of wasabi, and the sushi was tasty enough. It’s the atmosphere that does this place in. Plastic chairs and layers of grime make take-out a better option, but I’m not going to be back. It’s at 1437 Commercial Drive if you want to check it out.
Ginger Sushi is a 5 out of 10. Not returning.
4. Sake Maki was probably my favorite of the bunch. At 1414 Commerical Drive, it’s taken over the space where Mekong used to be. The walls have been painted over with a calming blue mural, Mt. Fuji in the background and cherry blossoms blowing around. In the summer, the windows open to the street for some great people-watching. It has the nicest atmosphere of any of the Japanese restaurants on the Drive (Lime excepted) and the sushi is also above par.
The fish looked fresh and the kitchen clean, so I had the Pink Lady, a spicy ebi roll with tuna on top ($7.95) and the Vancouver roll, which is a California roll with salmon ($7.95). I also had a chopped scallop cone ($3.75) to have something to compare with the others on this list. All were tasty and the servings were enormous, although could have possibly done with a less mayo.
The service was decently fast the couple of times I’ve been there and while it was not overly friendly, it was efficient.
Sake Maki is 8 out of 10. I will definitely eat there again.
5. Asiano Sushi, at 1179 Commercial, is another decent sushi restaurant on the Drive. The place was empty when I arrived, but even so, I felt like I was being rushed to order and leave. Service was fast, but certainly lacking.
When I got to the food, however, it was pretty good. I had the Sushi combo B (2 tuna, 2 salmon, california roll for $6.99), and a chopped scallop cone ($3.95). There wasn’t enough wasabi, and the fish could have been fresher, but it was pretty good.
Asiano Sushi gets 7 out of 10. I might go back.
6. Sushi King is pretty mediocre. It’s got the plastic, temporary, take-out atmosphere down pat. You order from a counter and then sit down instead of getting table service, there is a space heater in the middle of the floor, and the requisite old, discoloured photos of fish on the wall. But there were smiles all around and that was appreciated even after I had to repeat my order some 3 times.
I had a California roll ($3.30), a chopped scallop with tobiko roll ($3.50) and a negitoro roll ($2.75). They tasted ok, but didn’t look the slightest bit fresh, having a bit of a uniform grey colour to both the scallops and the tuna. My roommate had the yam roll and reported it delicious. It did look good – certainly better than my greyish fish – with large colourful chunks of yam.
Sushi King is at 1431 Commercial and gets a 6 out of 10. I won’t return.
*Lime, a relatively new arrival at 1130 Commercial Drive, is definitely a 10 out of 10, but rather than a grab-and-go sushi joint, it’s an upscale Japanese restaurant with a modern twist on Asian classics. It’s really not fair to compare with the other restaurants on this list, so I’ve reviewed it over at Foodists.
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