Manzo Japanese Itamae

Can you believe 2 people can eat all this food (we ordered 8 dishes)? My friend wanted to go to a Japanese tapa place so I chose Manzo. I’ve been here a few times. I guess the food is ok. Well I’ll just say it’s one of the very few tapa places that I know of!
Overall the food was pretty good. I’ve only got the energy and inclination to review a few of these dishes. Hmmm… my favourite were the separate sushi we ordered on the side: Tamago and Unagi. I guess it’s tough to beat the classics! The spicy clams were really good too. Not too spicy, but they had a definite kick. The assorted sushi plater was huge. I think there was just too much raw seafood for 2 people to finish. We tried our best and I managed to try almost everything (somethings I just can’t eat raw… shrimp, and scallops for example). The platter was really good, and the seafood was extremely fresh. We also had some black cod. Hey I love black cod! It’s hard to screw up black cod!
The dish that really disappointed me was the grilled abalone. I think it cost like $ 30 and it should have been the highlight of the dinner but it was not good at all. I could barely glee anything resembling flavour from this dish. It tasted kind of like a watered down oyster. The texture was very rubbery. Imagine having trying to chew a piece of gum that is oyster flavoured… Yikes! Can I get my money back?
Ok. Outside of the abalone the other dishes were fine and pretty darn tasty! Service was good. My friend asked the waitress about a dish and the waitress did not know what it was but she brought a more experienced waitress back with her to help identify the unknown sushi. I thought that was impressive. The manager was very terse when I paid. I thanked him, but instead of acknowledging me he just turned around and left me high and dry! Come on buddy you’re in the customer service business! If you don’t like your job quit!
Ok Japanese tapas are usually not my favourite types of places to dine, but I would probably come back here again if someone held a gun to my head! Haha!

The appetizers and nigiri were not bad. I thought the service was okay. The only exception was that my tea cup was empty for big part of the night. The server should have been more attentive when checking on the customer.

Been here 4 times in the last 3 weeks and the service was phenomenal… Waitresses are awesome, blue fin tuna, aemeibi, salmon sashimi everything was fresh and amazing

This is a nice drinking place — good quality sushi and sashimi — dobin mushi was too salty and lacked deep seafood flavor. In general food lacked quantity but was of good quality and thus pricy. The hamachi was on special so we got that and we received nice fresh thick slices hamachi sashimi to our surprise.
I do like to complain about the misleading sake selection — they didn’t have half the stuff they had on drink menu.
We tried spot prawn special also — the shrimps were big and fresh — very cruchy. They gave us the choice of either deep frying the head or make soup. We asked them to be deep fried and it was good with sake. A suggestion I would like to add is that if they put the spot prawn sashimi on a small block of ice, it would make the meat even crunchier. Little things like that can improve the taste and experinece significantly. The assorted sashimi was good — not a big dish but fresh with decent selection.
If I craved sushi and sashimi, kishimoto would win hands down. But if I wanted some sake with decent sushi-​sashim and don’t want to line up, this place is a good alternative. So, go get some more sakes to add to your selections!

Have eaten here many times.
Quick and attentive service.
Lots of items to choose from. Quality of food is good and flavorful and the prices reflect that. Every time we go our bill is close to or over $ 100 for two people.
They tend to make upsell recommendations when ordering, which I’m not a fan of.
Good place to eat and drink with friends.
Their other location is good as well but less attentive service.

Horrible service. I had to sign up in Unilocal to just write this review. They gave me the food that I did not order and made me pay for it. THEN THERE WAS TRASH TALKING RIGHT BEHIND MY BACK.
They said thet I can either pay for the wrong item or pay for the both the wrong and the originally ordered item.
This was so absurd. and this waitress accused me for this mishap. She claimed that there are fault in both parties. This waitress was blondish-​orange-​haired (i couldnt get her name) and was so rude, keep demanding me to pay for the food that I did not even ordered. I could not help but to call the manager to complain about the waitress‘s attitude. He said that he will train her better and he have lowered the price of wrong item by half and offered us with ice creams. And then, this blond haired waitress back-​talked about us to other waitress (right beside our table!). She said «who do they think they are to complain?» and said how we were the foolish people. She even talked with one of the customers to make fun of me. I guess she thought I couldnt hear or something. Ridiculous.
I cant belive I had to pay for the item that i did not even order and be blamed for it. And then have to hear trash talking. That is why i am giving it one star. Food is just average compared to Suika and Guu. But then once service is bad everything goes down.
I am writing this negative review because I DONT WANT ANY OF OTHERS TO HAVE THE SAME EXPERIENCE AS I HAD.
If you want to ruin your day, visit the store and be served by this blondish-​orange-​haired waitress.

3.5 Stars but rounded up because it’s one of the best in Richmond (but not in Greater Vancouver)
Just a warning to all: This is the original Manzo and it is a lot better than the one on Alexandra road! Don’t get mixed up like my friend did =)
First of all, I want to note that both Manzo restaurants are operated by Chinese people (not that it’s a bad thing haha I’m Chinese myself) but the waitresses at this location try and interact with the customers in English and Japanese. They’ll take your order in English but also add some random Japanese words like welcome, thank you, excuse me etc. Not that this is a problem, but I just want to clear things up for people who get confused with their ethnicity.
The food here is is pretty high quality and there’s a very large selection of dishes to choose from. Manzo opens pretty late so they’re quite busy from 8pm and onwards, so you may want to make a reservation.
If you have read my other review on the Alexandra Road manzo, you may remember that I had a rant about the terrible sushi pizza I had there. Well, the sushi pizza at this Manzo is actually fantastic and made extremely well. I’ve never had sushi pizza in Japan (but I’m sure it exists… somewhere) so I don’t have much to compare with but I seriously did love the one that I had here!
The grilled skewers were also notably tasty and the sashimi was also very fresh. The décor of the restaurant was very authentic while the service was very welcoming. The only thing that I don’t like about manzo would probably be the high prices. I could easily spent $ 40 at manzo and leave without being full. I think manzo is a pretty good choice if you’re staying in Richmond but if you’re willing to travel a bit, you may want to check Suika, Kingyo Izakaya or GUU Otokomae for better food at similar prices.

Food
There is a wide selection of food, and drinks. The quality of what was put in front of us was high. Best Ebi Mayo I have had. Not because of the mayo, but the size of the prawns, and the batter it was fried in, makes my mouth water.
Service
The servers spoke clearly, and politely. Most of all they were patient with questions, and welcoming.
Parking
Lots of free parking right outside the restaurant, because this is in it’s own complex, and it’s not in a busy part of Richmond.

Well I must say I was quite impressed with this place!
I was on my way to the airport and wanted to get some sushi so I did a Unilocal search to find one close and that was open as it was quite late. About 930. I found this place and called to make sure they were open and they are until 12 week nights! She made a reservation and was very nice on the phone.
Upon arrival we said we were in a rush and they were very quick with the order.
The tuna and salmon sashimi was a little more than you would pay but the quality was top notch and the serving size was huge.
Also tried the dragon roll, which was a really nice tempura shrimp roll with avocado and spicy salmon.
The spicy tuna was great too. Something about their house hot sauce that is just awesome.
We were in and out in about 40 mins and had a feast. I would say this is a place where the price is a little higher, but it is so worth it. Am coming back for sure!

I have returned to Manzo 16 times since Jan 2011, I like their quality of food even though they are a bit pricey!
I took my girl friend there for her b’day dinner and we compared the food /​quality with Hachi and Mega. We still prefer to go Manzo!
The manger was friendly and recommended the chef special and unique sashimi to us.
We have ½ dozen of oyster, it’s so fresh and tasty! All the sashimi and sushi were good and delicious too!
The staffs were friendly and we got tea filled all the time.

Good solid Japanese meal. Udon soup and rolls were very good. Bc roll sounded interesting but was too strong. Kids were happy with gyoza, miso soup, and green tea ice cream.

Not a bad late-​night place for sushi (known more for robata), though it’s not authentic, it’s decent & good place to drink sake. Open til midnite.
It’s off the main track in Richmond so you’ll need to drive here. Lots of free parking in this strip mall.
It’s a dim, good ambience with a young crowd & it’s a place to be see & be seen.

Great food, atmosphere and menu selections. We came in with a fairly large group and a baby and were able to get seated very quickly but we were early. The place gets filled up quickly!

I came with my wife to have dinner at this place because of the good reviews. We arrived at the resturant approx. 7pm at Monday night, there are about 8 table of customer eating there. Not too bad while the other resturants are pretty quiet on Monday nights. The host greeted us right away and take us to a table. The decoration is quite nice and unique. We then read the meue to to pick our food. The price on the menu is quite high compares to other Janapese Sushi Resturant in Richmond like Aki. We picked the sushi combo which about $ 26.00 for 11 pieces of Sushi, 10 mins later, the sushi was brought to our table. The presentation of the plate is nice, and it is fresh and tasty, For $ 26 to get 11 pieces of Sushi, quite expensive. After that, we are looking at the menus again to see if there is something else that we like… the manager came and suggested the BBQ pig feet, keep saying it is very good, so we give it a try. The pig feet came out, I would say the taste is very normal and we don’t even like it. Anyway, we sit there for about one hour and we asked for our bill, the bill came at $ 50.29 including the pig feet.
The Sushi is good and the decoration is good too… not the price and pig feet. Will I come back again? I am quite doube it, there are more good options within Richmond with that price.

I live very near this place. I think this is the hottest spot for a lot of East Asian folks since the parking lot is full every night with Lamborghinis and Maseratis. And to think that this place is located by a residential area!
I’ve been here before, and although I can’t remember much of my experience, I remember that the price was premium. Sushi was very «gourmet» and fresh. Cocktails are also served.
Go indulge and feel cool in Richmond. After all of those late night car screeches coming from this place, they must be doing something right.

Came here with 6 other people. We ordered beef tongue, takoyaki, fried fish, salmon pizza (that other reviewers rave about) and a bunch of other items. The place is owned and run by Chinese people (it’s Richmond after all) so it lacked the genuine Japanese izakaya feeling.
The portions are quite small. Although considering its a izakaya it’s not too surprising. The salmon pizza was not as great as you think it is. It’s just crunchy pizza dough topped with California roll fillings and a piece of salmon sashimi. I admit it was tasty but nothing out of ordinary.
We ordered the lobster deluxe roll for $ 20. It tasted bitter and lacked any flavor. Presentation was nice but the taste didn’t follow up to how it looked.
The place is very nice though, with décor that resembled a high class Japanese restaurant. It has lighted floors. giant TV’s and comfy chairs.
There’s always a waitress/​waiter on the floor but it was a bit difficult to get their attention (maybe because we sat at the corner of the restaurant.)
Bill came up to be around $ 120. Not bad but not all of us were satisfied or full.

It is nice to find a Japanese restaurant that serves something other than what most other Japanese restaurant serves — ie: California rolls & etc.
The food is really good and they know what they’re doing — mixing things up ie: the various different types of Japanese style pizzas. Both locations makes excellent foods and it always comes out fresh and hot.
Both locations have the same menu, and they have everything from udon to fried rice, scallops wrapped in bacon to yummy raw oysters. Everything is fresh — including my favourite sashimis… mmmmmmmmm…
It is not surprising that every time I go, it is packed and there is usually a 15 – 20 minute wait. Even more for the location on Alexandra… I don’t think they take reservations at any of the locations; however, the fast and friendly service they provide will have people coming and going in no time, freeing up seats for you and your party.
The price is a bit high for the portions of their food, however, what matters here is the quality, not the quantity — therefore I dont think price is an issue.
This location is a bit better only because it offers a larger private parking lot so that you dont have to search for street parking (and pay parking at that!) and that this location is capable of serving larger groups.

It was tough for this out-​of-​towner to find a Japanese place that was open late on a weeknight, but Manzo Itamae looked like it would fit the bill. I was impressed by their service (prompt and friendly, I never felt ignored) and the atmosphere inside the restaurant.
As for the food: excellent, excellent, excellent! I kept it simple, munching on a wide selection of nigiri sushi, and all of it was wonderful. Very fresh, excellent cuts, and very generous portions. Their uni and ebi were both amazingly sweet and firm. I would come back – and bring my friends with me.

Manzo Itamae located on Capstan Way, Richmond is the upscale sister restaurant to the original Manzo Izakaya (click) on Alexandra Road since 2001. Their focus is a sophisticated yet cozy environment serving fresh seafood.
Where izakayas focus on small plates to be indulged alongside beer and sakes; itamae stands for «front of the board» where chefs cook in a larger restaurant. The apprentice (wakiita) must spend years of training before he is worthy to be appointed as an connoisseur (itamae) to stand in front of the cutting board!
As such, Manzo offers a wide selection of fresh sheet dailies to be served as sashimi or nigiri.
Fans of small tapas dishes do not fret! The popular kushi yaki and robata dishes such as Grilled Pork Toro, Saba Shioyaki, Ika Sugatayaki and Gindara Yuanyaki are still available.
If you fancy some sashimi or maki sushi, the Deluxe Assorted, Lobster (market price) or Chirashi (sashimi rice bowl) and battera (box pressed sushi) makes a great sampling choice.
Tho some people find their prices on the north of comfort, I find that I don’t mind that too much given that fresh ingredients are served alongside friendly staff. The worst thing one can experience is poor quality when it comes to raw fish. Not only is it bad to your health, also to your tastebuds.
A few of our favorites always include:
Seafood Sashimi Salad
Hamachi and Toro Sashimi
Uni Nigiri (or when they have Uni sashimi as a whole)
Negitoro Maki
Grilled Beef Rib
Hanna Sushi — Brought over from the original Izakaya location, this sushi roll is almost pure sashimi — made with farm salmon sashimi rolled with little rice, chopped scallop and sprinkled with tobiko. It is refreshing and has a lot of bite
of course, hot sake or Japanese Beer goes a long way =)

This is another one of my favourite izakya restaurants. I have come here for years and for only one thing… the salmon pizza. It is my absolute favourite. Since finding there was also a Capstan location, I frequent here only versus Alexandra. There is ample parking spots and better décor and larger space. Also, the customer service is excellent. There is way more staff on hand versus Alexandra and they come by and fill your tea and take your food away within seconds. The salmon pizza is a must and believe it or not sometimes we order the salmon AND chopped scallop pizzas! You do need to order a udon (pretty good) to fill you up. The rice dishes are ok and although crispy with the hot bowl, I would prefer something else.
This location does offer some different dishes and I noticed that this place is more expensive as well. We spend at least $ 30 per person here because the portions are small. We usually see at least one ferrari when we come to!