Irori Sushi

Amazing sushi, phenomenal atmosphere, and great service.
We stopped in here for a quick dinner and were so thrilled with our experience. We had the sushi & sashimi boat which had a great little selection and beautiful presentation.
The sunrise roll was really refreshing and the house roll was interesting and delicious. Highly recommend both of those rolls for first timers.

Excellent spot! My fav.
Best orders: Sashimi salads, dragon rolls, teriyaki beef rolls, prawn tempura, shrimp and crab nigiri

This is a good choice if you are looking for a light meal with incredible flavour. Living close to the area I’ve wanted I try this place for awhile. We ordered The Dragon Roll, House Roll and Dynamite Roll, with each roll we got was 5 pieces. It wasn’t a heavy meal but had great flavour. I found it to be a bit pricey for what we got, but glad we tried this place out! The service was very friendly, and every table was taken by the time we left.

I came by here to and ordered some sushi to go. I ordered a chicken teriyaki roll, spicy tuna roll and a few salmon nigiris. I didn’t find the maki to be as good as some of the other restaurants in Vancouver though. The rolls were quite small for the price. The chicken teriyaki roll didn’t have as much chicken as I would’ve liked (too much greens, I’d say) and the spicy tuna roll was definitely lacking flavour. HOWEVER, the salmon nigiri was fantastic! The sockeye salmon had the perfect cut with a good rice to salmon ratio. If you’re going to come here, order their salmon nigiri, you won’t be disappointed.
I didn’t stay to eat in, but I have to give this place points for the very cute and cozy interior. It’s a lot more appealing than some of the other sushi restaurants in Vancouver with harsh lighting. Overall, not bad but I’ve definitely had better.

Was heading to an event at UBC, but didn’t realize that food wouldn’t be provided until we were already en route. Made a quick detour to Irori since it was still on the way from where we were and had fair reviews. Please bear in mind for this review that it had to be a pretty quick in & out meal (e.g. we paid right after ordering).
We ordered a handful of nigiri (hamachi, tamago, tuna), the salmon maki, tuna gomae, and an eggy quail negitoro to be experimental. It wasn’t too busy so they were kind enough to prepare it for us quickly, knowing that we were in a rush. Enjoyed all of the food, but the eggy quail negitoro was too mushy for me — probably would’ve enjoyed it more if the rice used had more texture.
Overall, good experience and regret that it was rather rushed. Hoping to come back for a proper sit down dinner where kitchen is not pressured for time :) I suspect the rating will jump up in that case.

My friend lives close to the area, therefore, this is our go to place to eat. Sushi is reasonably priced for the area. I stuck to my basic avocado and cucumber roll. It is clean but there isn’t a stellar ambiance. We were served in a timely manner.

This is my go-​to place for a light sushi meal as their portions are relatively small. My favourites are their sunrise roll, dragon roll and unagi don. I don’t eat much sashimi but everyone who I have taken here tells me that their sashimis are very fresh. They are also nicely plated when they come.
They have a clean store front/​interior and are conveniently opened on Sundays (when some sushi restaurants are closed). Driving is convenient (for those who don’t live near here) — there are plenty of free street parking on Alma street.
On top of the food and convenient location, their service is also exceptional. I am greeted every time I come and the servers are always polite and friendly.
I will definitely suggest this place to everyone looking for something light and craving some fresh sashimis.

Ok. I live just around here and I was eager for spicy tuna roll so I decided to visit place for the first time. The rice is VERY SALTY although the sushi rice has to be somewhat sweet and sour. I didn’t blame them for the first time since I went there by myself and thought something was wrong with me. I went there again with my friend to see if I have weird taste and my friend ALSO FOUND IT VERY SALTY. We told the waitress and she said because the rice is not salty to her she can’t do anything about it AND KICKED US OUT. HORRIBLE WAY TO TREAT A CUSTOMER AND NOT SO GOOD SUSHI.

We’ve been eating here since it opened and honestly it’s one of our favourite sushi places in the city. Always fresh, always delicious and we love everything we’ve tried so far.
Very calm and quiet, this restaurant is a gem and definitely outshines the other Japanese restaurants in the area. Make sure to order the Spot Prawns, they’ll deep fry the heads for you (might have to ask, they know us ;) and they are so delicious!

They were utterly dumbfounded by gluten-​free concept (regular soy has lots of hive-​inducing, stomach-​churning wheat). Mediocre sushi for the price.

Got take out from here a couple weeks ago. Food was ready when they said it would be. It was pretty tasty but i ended up spending over $ 20 on two rolls (I guess they were specialty rolls)
Tasty but pricey. I can’t comment on the service

This restaurant is wonderful. Very nice atmosphere and friendly staff. The sushi is beautiful and delicious.

Came here for a birthday with family. Everyone seemed satisfied with the food — I had the «sashimi tower» which was really just a square of sushi rice with a (nice) assortment of tuna, salmon, ebi, urchin, tuna belly, and some other stuff I couldn’t identify. The meal itself wasn’t filling, but it was good quality and tasty.
The main problem I had with this place: It took over 30 mins for me to get my dish. Others at the table were nearly finishing up before I got my food (I encouraged them to start without me, as I figured my dish would come «any minute»). The staff didn’t seem to notice/​care that everyone was served except for me. I was quite annoyed about that.
So good food, small portions, bad service.

A cut above the usual sushi barns of the westside, Inori has a decided aspiration to poshness, from the classical music on the Bose speakers to the flat-​black uniform policy for its staff. For the most part, they succeed: fish is generously sliced and fresh, with the tempura being particular light and crispy compared to the sodden mess of most re-​fried versions.
But ohhh the service — indifferent at best, hostile as typical. I’ve given them three tries now: I let order mistakes go, I’ve sat ignored at a table for 15 mins without a menu during slightly busy lunches, and today I had to clarify my order three times for someone far too inattentive to care about what I wanted to eat.
Sorry, but with the warm bluster of Hitoe only two blocks away, I’ll pass on this artificial formality of Inori. They’re as staid as a black frock coat of a conductor. Maybe that’s why they’re always listening to Beethoven.
Note: despite the name, and the ‘whelp wanted’ notices in Japanese — the staff is primarily Korean. I tried switching to Japanese when my order in English, which I repeateded three times, had still been written down incorrectly. The waitress was demonstratively upset with me for doing so. Ooops.
Well, never coming back is a universal message.

Arrived on sat at 5pm…
The rolls were well prepared and very good… Unfortunately, the speed of delivery to the table was unbelievably slow. There were 2 chefs and 3 occupied tables. It took 30 mins for the first rolls to come out. We finished them and waited another 10 mins for the second. All in all with 3 rounds of rolls it took 90mins. I know this because I had to move the car as the street parking is only 1 hour. All rolls were ordered at the beginning.
Perhaps this place would be a good option if you ordered it for delivery to your house (do they do that?) but I got the sense that this speed with the norm. Certainly the servers didn’t indicate that what was going on was usual.
I suggest you avoid.

Excellent. Very very nice fish, good ginger (not the over sweet pink junk), reasonable but not cheap prices, and a nice atmosphere.
Our table had a tuna and salmon combo, tataki nigiri, and a California roll.
Despite the simple order, everything was SO tasty. If you are looking for a nice traditional sushi place, this is it. Here, iki, and the Eatery are my picks in kits.

This sushi place is not located in the city centre & it is actually quite a bit of drive from where I live. But it is well worth the trip for the gourmet I enjoyed :)*
I came here because I saw the positive reviews from somewhere (I think is Google or may be Urban Spoon.) When I checked out Unilocal,I find it strange coz the reviews are either 1 star or 5 stars (includes the hidden ones)… kinda extreme.
To me, Irori (unusual name) is all good from the décor, furniture, set-​up, service, food & taste, price and the ambience is the way I like. The only comment I had is the front door & the store name is a bit too subtle imo. Well that’s personal feeling, not critical.
Would I come here again? U bet!

Let me qualify my review a bit here. I have been a sushi chef since 2005 and attended a brief culinary certificate program at the California Sushi Academy. While I may not be the best chef on the block, I’ve learned a thing or two working in the industry. I hope this review will help those considering dining at this fine establishment.
Sushi restaurants are different in nature from a lot of other restaurant experiences because you have the opportunity to interact with the chef and gain his opinion about their wares. As a result there are a few test questions that I like to ask when I go to a new sushi bar: First, I ask whether they make Tamago (Chicken Egg omelet) in house; Second, I ask about the Uni (Sea Urchin Roe); Third, I ask them about what their favorite roll is.
The Tamago Test
I ask this question first because of my training at the California Sushi Academy. Most sushi bars do not have the luxury of having a nearby fish market along with a network of fish purveyors looking out for fish worthy of their bar (in other words not everyone can be Jiro). As a result, most of sushi bars rely on a few major trading companies to deliver their fish (Mutual Trading Company and Nishimoto are a few of the big names back in the States — and I suspect up here in Canada as well). I leave for another day the issue of reliance and whether Vancouver should take a locavore perspective when it comes to food.
Although I understand that there is a lovely market in Granville Island, I generally presume that most bars operate under the major distributor model when it comes to fish. As a result, I presume that most bars more or less are offered more or less the same grade of fish. At best a sushi bar can rotate the fish it gets from the distributors and may choose grade «A» over «B» when filling out their order sheet. Other than that there is little that bars may do in terms of fish quality.
Tamago is different: it requires a steady hand and some training to properly create. The recipe, when made in house, varies according to the taste of the chef. Some may use water; others dashi. Some may go for a more sweet omelet and add mirin, others may just stick with sugar. In other words in a world where bars are at the mercy of their purveyors Tamago is one of the few toppings that the chef has control over. As a result, you can get a good taste for the restaurant by trying their Tamago.
So my first question for the chef at Irori: do you make your Tamago? No.
The Uni Test
Uni and I have a bit of a history. You see I am half-​Japanese and as a lad was interested in that part of «my» culture. I remember reading a video game magazine where they interviewed the president of Nintendo and asked him what his favorite thing to eat was, his answer: Uni. Curious I wanted to try it and finally had the chance to a few years later at a Las Vegas sushi bar.
It was awful. It looked like a pale orange tongue, had the texture of a cold slimy booger, and had a stale taste. I could not understand how anyone could enjoy such a thing and stayed away from it for many years. This is when I learned a valuable lesson: bad uni is awful, good uni is fantastic. The adage that «bad uni is better than no uni at all» does not apply.
You see Uni is the gonads of sea urchin, an algae grazing echinoderm. It’s taste will vary according to the diet and water quality of its habitat. The best tends to be a vibrant orange hue with a silky soft texture. The best way to describe the flavor would be the best tasting sea water you’ve ever had. All in all it should be a pleasant experience like an ocean breeze.
My second question: Do you have Uni? Yes.
Where is it from? Right here in B.C.
I had to try it, nothing like getting a taste for the locals than trying some local urchin. It was great the chef sold me great urchin and gained my trust.
The Roll Test
While I was in school my sempai (teacher) made me do at least 10 kappa maki (cucumber rolls) everyday. He analogized it to the way a musician practices by doing scales. Facially kappa maki are simple rolls — and you would conclude that they would be easy to make. This is not true primarily because of they are made with the nori (seaweed) on the outside and have a small portion.

Rolled properly the nori will overlap — no rice sticking out and coming undone when you pick it up. The cucumber will be properly in the center and if the chef dares it will have the proper amount of wasabi on it. Furthermore the rolls will be cut into six even pieces (no steps!). That being said I’ve begun to move away from this standard. Now I have become less interested on the technical expertise of the chef and just want to see what they like so I ask:
What is your favorite roll? The house roll is pretty good. And he was right.
In summary — food quality: B; Service: C+; ambience: B; Price: B+

My new favorite sushi place!
Ever since Yuji’s on 4^th closed, I was looking for a good sushi restaurant in Kitsilano. I think I found it. The place has nice modern décor. I had goma-​ae, gyoza, salmon, tuna and saba sashimi. Everything was fresh and delicious, saba was awesome! Great service too.
I’m coming back soon!

Yes a fiver with this décor, quality, pricing in this Stoney area, why not.
Almost in a japanese garden with bamboo sprouting fr everywhere, like a Kingyo but not Izakaya. Still primarily a sushi eatery with nicer Martha Stewart-​like pillows and comffy chairs on the outside and benches along the wall.
Ordered their House Roll, a 2-​bites per mouthful, with salmon, spicy tuna, fried prawn, cucumber and avocado. Quite good. Just $ 7.75 albeit 5 pieces. Wrapped in some diazo white radish.
But I did enjoy the old fashioned Cali roll, 8pcs for just $ 3.50, sweet artificial crab meat, yummy.