Rainbow Sushi Express

Sushi was ok. I ordered at spicy tuna. Price is reasonable. Can’t expect much. Personally. Didn’t feel welcomed to the shop. If anything. I felt like I was being brushed off. Based on food and service. I’d rather walk over to sushi Nanaimo a block away.

Didn’t have the greatest experience at this place but I am sure things could be better since I only went once. It’s ok to try but there are definitely better places. The service was friendly and quick but it didn’t hit the spot for me. Might try it again in the future.

Delicious alaska rolls & the house roll is to die for. Great prices and the service is always quick.

Been going here for 5 years. Very good food big portions and can’t beat the price. Very friendly service.

I’ve been going here for years, ever since I went to elementary up the street at Hastings, and I love it. Owners are nice, food tastes good, (although I can’t comment on the sushi as I am not a fan of the stuff), inexpensive and quick service. The bubble tea is my favourite, milky, and chew perals, yummy. Will forever return here.

This place is my fave for salad rolls. For under $ 5 you can get pretty full on them. The sushi rice sucks but don’t go in for the sushi unless you don’t care about the rice and just want cheap filling food. I go probably twice a month and I am definitely eating there today. SALAD ROLLS.

When you can’t make the rice firm enough to hold the middle stuff, i think there’s a problem… maybe a bit one too lol…
Ordered takeout to go, can’t go wrong for 20pcs sushi (cali, yam & salmon) & miso soup for $ 5.75, simply b/​c i was nosey and paid for it.
There’s Tentatsu and Sushi Nanaimo down a few blocks, much worth the walk lol.
Casual atmosphere.
Free parking on Hastings til 3pm rush hour.

I really planned to try something new but– why mess with the perfection of the dinner combo A: wonton soup, salad roll, spring roll, salad, grilled chicken and rice for $ 8.25– sweet.

Oh if only Unilocal allows for zero star rating…
I’ve had a hankering for bubble tea for weeks. I’ve been trying to do this less sugar, less carb diet and I thought «why not give myself a break and have a cheat day?». The Drive is not exactly teeming with places that offer bubble tea and Rainbow Sushi is the closest one I could find.
What.a.waste.of.time.and.money.
It’s cheap, yes. But boy, did I pay for my frugality and the impatience to have a cheat day now, now now! It *expletive* sucks! The rice was overcooked and soggy. The sushi rolls were practically dripping with water! They were tasteless rolls of sponges, that’s what they are. I think they just used regular rice, cooked it with too much water so it would stick. Now for the bubble tea, the pearls were overcooked as well and lacked that gooey texture when chewing on the pearls. The main reason why I was here… totally disappointed me.
Fine. One would argue that for such a cheap price, I shouldn’t complain. I disagree. Even with a cheap price tag, restaurants are still supposed to serve EDIBLE food! They offered Vietnamese food on the menu that I didn’t try. Perhaps they should just stick to Vietnamese food since they are an apparent failure at Japanese food.
This place was such a waste of time and a cheat day.

Okay, so every now and then I like to try a new sushi place, because, well why not? I also sometimes just want to sit in a no pressure, small, unassuming place and just be left to mind my own business. This looked like a good place for that.
Inside is just a small, bare room. Your typical hole in the wall motif, which I have no problem with.
The food was, well, not good. I always try to state in my sushi reviews that I am a vegetarian, so I guess I’m not reviewing the *real* sushi. But I can tell you that the rice was so mushy it was more of a white paste spread around the seaweed, the inari in my roll was so chewy I was still chewing it long after I’d swallowed the rice (and it it was mostly avacado in the roll, which it said nothing about on the menu. Gr!), the cucumber role was basically fine.
The prices were actually *more* expensive than my favourite sushi place which is just down the street, and the service was no faster. If you’re in the neighborhood, I see no reason to choose this place over another, unless maybe their meaty treats are somehow better.
If you DO go, make sure to note that it’s CASH ONLY.

Awesome place for a quick lunch on a budget. I believe their sushi combos are under $ 6 for about 15 pieces of sushi (about 3 rolls of sushi). The owners/​chef are Vietnamese, so you will not be eating authentic Japanese food. But at those prices, who cares! They also serve Vietnamese food, but I have yet to try that. Their drink menu includes Bubble Tea for $ 2.50-$ 3.50/ cup, but again this isn’t the usual type of bubble tea you would get from Bubble World or those fancy bubble tea places.
I usually go to Rainbow Sushi Express every time I’m in the area and craving sushi. You COULD grab sushi one block west (by Nanaimo Street) but its so much more expensive for something so similar. So, if you do not mind inauthentic sushi, give this little place a try! For something under $ 6, you would not be disappointed.
Parking is free and along Hastings Street or around the corner.

If you wanted a quick sampling of all popular Asian food that Vancouver had to offer in one location, Rainbow Sushi Express does it all: sushi, phở, homemade Viet spring/​salad rolls, Viet subs and bubble tea. While having so many specialty food under one roof should scare you away — the Vietnamese owner/​chef clearly takes pride in being a jack-​of-​all-​trades. To any pretentious people crying about ‘inauthentic’ Japanese food, you shouldn’t care who is making it as long as the food is good.
Replacing a god-​awful yet-​another-​East-​Van pizza-​by-​the-​slice joint that used to stand here, this little place will have something to satisfy your craving for Asian food at any budget.
While I assume this place would probably make some excellent Vietnamese food, I have yet to sample it as I dare not betray my loyalty to the Bao Chau/​Le Petit Saigon duo further up the street. Maybe one day when I’m sure no one is watching.
My usual is the ubiquitous takeout ~$ 8 multi-​roll combo with miso soup — with unagi! Tasty, filling and cheap. While not gourmet by any means, the food is well-​prepared, prices are good and the service is excellent. This little eatery is run by a cute Vietnamese couple and you often see their children playing in the restaurant. A mom-​and-​pop delivering excellent value takes it from 3.5÷5 to ⁴⁄₅ for me.