Tokyo John

I’d like to give 3 stars for Tokyo John… I do like the sashimi here, but their ramen made me totally disappointed… I don’t think it’s Japanese ramen, I’m pretty sure the noodle they use is shin ramyun from Korea, and I don’t like it. The price here is affordable, and I’d like to try something else in the future, hope it will be good.

The worst service ever and not to mention the food was bad… I’m sure the beef teriyaki was taken from the fridge and slapped on a plate. We will never go back.

For me it’s like the fast food of sushi.
Good price.
Fresh sushi.
The décor is Ok.
The service is average.
The dinning experience is also Ok.
Nothing spectacular but well located.
Aligato! Sayonara!
I am always coming back for a quick snack.

Came here for a late lunch after catching a movie at the Scotiabank theatre. The food was ok, nothing out of the ordinary. There was a lot of empty tables at the time we went (around 3:30PM). They have some specials after 3pm everyday. $ 6.95 for a different special everyday after 3pm and 3 small hot sakes or 3 local beers in a bucket for $ 9.99 with a purchase of an appetizer. We had the lunch bento special, a chicken karaage and the spicy roll combo. There wasn’t really anything that stood out and everything was pretty much what you expected.
The service was quite bad. Our food took a long time to get to our table and the restaurant wasn’t even busy. We had to ask for everything, from water to tea, to napkins and chopsticks. I might come back for the specials if I’m in the neighbourhood but I don’t think it will be any time soon.

Went here kinda late, not too many people around. Shared a sashimi bento box which came with tuna and salmon sashimi, chicken teriyaki over rice, 6 pieces california roll, salad, & miso soup. The sashimi they give you are huge pieces, usually they are small enough to eat in one bite. The chicken was a little hard and crunchy.
Also ordered a few simple rolls– spicy tuna Philadelphia. Both rolls met expectations but didn’t exceed them. But I was just looking for something simple.
Overall I was satisfied for a pretty affordable price.

You get what you pay for at Tokyo Johns — it’s average sushi at an average price. Where Tokyo John’s stands out is their customer service, they’re genuinely happy you walked in. It’s a guarantee that every time you walk in you’ll be greeted enthusiastically, and they will maintain that level of service during your meal.
My personal favourite on the menu is the TJ California roll, not the healthiest but it’s tasty.

Reasonably priced, quick service, and good quality. Try the Negitoro Battera Aburi signature roll — a rectangular presentation of torched negitoro and balsamic sauce. They also offer a good variety of $ 6.95 daily specials after 3pm. As with most sushi joints, complimentary green tea and miso soup is provided.

A three star rating on Unilocal shouldn’t be construed as less than ideal. Quite the opposite, as Tokyo John has proven itself to be a reliable Japanese restaurant on both the food and service fronts on multiple visits.
I won’t bother going into too much detail on their food because on the whole it is all good and exactly what you’d expect. This place is no Hapa Izakaya, but if you show up here expecting mind-​blowing food that will make you curl your toes then you’ve clearly missed the point of why places like this exist. A restaurant of this caliber shouldn’t be maligned because it’s competent.
Places like this exist because they’re safe bets that will satisfy your empty stomachs without clearing out your bank account. The icing on this review cake is their service is friendly and fast which, based on their reasonable prices, is really Tokyo John’s secret ingredient.

My fellow Unilocalers don’t lie. This place is so average and boring. The restaurant looked nice and new. Unfortunately, the food was neither appealing nor tasty. Service was OK.
Dinner time: I went with something safe as it was my first time here. I ordered the Tempura Bento, which was a very basic Bento box: Miso soup, Chicken/​Beef Teriyaki, Tempura, Cali Roll, Salad and Rice. The tempura was only 2 prawns and 2 yams. It looked a little weird because the tempura slot on the box they used was quite large. The entire box just seemed a little empty and almost half-​eaten. It’s difficult to cock up a Cali Roll, but the rice on their sushi was definitely not sushi rice, which entails dry sushi rolls. So, I guess they managed that. All this for $ 11.00 — very pricey for this sort of thing! Hold on to your hats, because the Sashimi Bento (everything, but the Tempura; instead, a few lousy pieces of Sashimi) costs a whopping and undeserving $ 15.00!
The girls were quite diligent with tea refills. I sat for about an hour and had been offered at least 5 refills. There’s an upside for ya.
Unless tea refills are all you are looking for, don’t bother.

This is your standard sushi joint and that’s a good thing. It’s centrally located and close to the theater. My girlfriend and I were waiting for a movie to start and we came here for some sushi. Menu included bento boxes, sushi rolls, ramen, bibimbap, and sashimi. We ordered the All Day Special (variety of sushi) and the Golden Dragon Roll. Both were adequate. The décor is nice and spacious. Meal came to $ 30 (including tax and tip). This is a safe bet and a nice place for lunch.

I’ve seen this place renovated a couple of times, and this time, it looks brighter.
Lots of seating area inside and the service is fast.
They had a wine list, a large selection of beer, but no cocktails. Not a huge sushi selection on the menu and the food was okay. The fresh oysters were good, the deluxe combo which had a selection of rolls (uni, tempura, california, salmon, tuna) were okay. The price was really cheap, but nothing stood out, everything was just okay.

It’s a bit disappointing considering how much of reno change from previous Kimono Japanese, so in that regards, a bit disappointed. Just holds so much more promise in this area, close to the movie theatres & law courts, so it’s a fairly big place.
Service i’ve found to be slow & not overly friendly.
Not exactly authentic, usually i do support Korean-​owned sushi places like Sushi Star & Hakone Sushi, which are considerably tastes better as well as better priced too.
But if you’re in the area, it’s decent, so’s the parking, just 5 spots w/​meter parking on Hornby right on front, or on Nelson too. Actually quite hard to find parking here on cheap Tues movie nite.

Another Korean run Japanese restaurant, I find that Korean run Jp places are consistently good. Ingredients are fresh, taste is run of the mill non-​authentic, but good enough to please the average Vancouverite. Service is good as well, washroom clean.
3 stars for authenticity because to me it’s not as good as the ones that are Japanese managed. I’ve lived in Japan for many years so it’s rather obvious. 4 stars for a Korean run Jp restaurant. This place feels very spacious as the tables sit in part of the very large lobby.

We went there cause the other restaurants were closed (it was december 24^th for dinner).
The waitress were very nice and answer all our questions about the meals.
We got a Croquette Ramen and a Chicken Katsu Udon. Was very good and in big quantity, and last but not least it was a good deal (less than 10 dollars each).
we liked it so much that we went back a couple of days later :)
We recommend that place.

Not very exciting– neither the décor, nor the food.
They no longer have a full bar (no cocktails) only wine and beer.
I don’t drink beer.
However, the Pinot Gris was good.
The food was mediocre. I didn’t eat much. The sushi was rubbery and fishy.
Doubt I will return.

I stopped by here again recently for some take-​out, and was pleasantly surprised. The sashimi was so fresh and flavourful, my mind was blown. And the rolls were well-​crafted. Minimal rice, good size, and very good ingredients.
And then I came back here again. And one more time. Suffice to say I’m clearly now a fan of this place. The quality has gone up since my first visit, and the service there is great — they’re so nice and make you feel like a queen (or king) for just getting take-​out. Pretty sweet.
One thing I was a bit confused on was the crazy short skirts of their servers. Not sure if it’s a uniform thing (both girls were sporting some super-​short hems) or if they coincidentally happened to wear similar black clothes. Doesn’t seem necessary, but certainly not a deal breaker (and I guess for others it’s an added bonus?)

Definitely a step up from what it was before, but the only thing going for this place is the location.
Came here tonight before a movie and ordered a TJ roll (spicy tuna and avocado with tempura flakes… I nixed the tobiko) for $ 10 and a miso soup. We told the waitress that we were in a rush and while I can’t tell if she actually «rushed» anything, everything came in a reasonable amount of time. The roll was pretty big and I appreciated how it came with a nice vat of salad with some extra tuna, but unfortunately, the chef was WAY too heavy handed with the spicy dressing/​sauce in the roll. Now I’m usually a «would you like some (pasta/​fries/​chips/​meat/​etc) with your sauce» kinda gal, but this was taking it too far. I actually left some tuna on the plate because my mouth was on fire from the hot sauce… blasphemy!
I can see this place lasting if it markets to the movie crowd, and it’ll probably be popular at lunch with the folks who work at the law courts and the office buildings close by. It’s a quicker, cheaper alternative to Earl’s and Pacifico to catch a bite before a movie, but if it weren’t for the convenience, I wouldn’t come back.

I ordered the Sushi Bento Box and it was a pretty good value.
It came with chicken teriyaki, California roll, seaweed salad, green salad, 2 pieces of salmon nigiri and 2 pieces of tuna nigiri. The Sushi Bento Box definitely filled me up and the sushi were well made, but I’d skip the chicken teriyaki next time. The sauce tasted a little off and slightly burnt.
Service was good and I don’t have any complaints. This place has been renamed a few times already and so far Tokyo John is the latest name. I hope they stick around for a while.
#30DaysOfYelp ²⁰⁄₃₀

I agree with other Unilocalers that this place is definitely a step up from its predecessor. The décor is nothing special (a bit bland, actually) but much more open than it was before, which I thought was an improvement.
The sushi itself was definitely much improved. The rolls I tried were all very fresh and well-​prepared. I wasn’t overly impressed with the maki combo options, and ordering my own rolls worked out to the same price for the same number of rolls, so that’s what I did. However, I asked and they were willing to substitute one roll in the combo so I could avoid tempura, which is good to know.
Service-​wise, the staff were friendly and accurate but (at least during a busy Friday lunch rush) they were unfortunately very under-​staffed. We were unable to get anyone’s attention to ask for our bill so just went to the front, where the cashier signalled our server that we needed our bill.
Assuming the quality stays consistent and they perhaps improve their staffing levels, I would come back if I’m in the area.

New sushi place just opened up in downtown Vancouver. The previous sushi restaurant was mediocre at best. Decided to give this place a try — may as well dive right in. They have some standard daily specials everyday that is posted on their board.
Upon entering the restaurant, you will notice that the décor has been modernized compared to the previous restaurant. The waitress sat us down promptly and asked if we wanted tea or water. Good start so far. But, we actually had to ask for the tea from someone else as our original waitress went to help someone else.
The menu wasn’t too bad. I’m always looking at what lunch bentos are available because you always get a bit of everything. I ordered the $ 9 «lunch special bento» which came with miso soup, chicken or beef teriyaki on rice (I tried the chicken), salad, 1pc prawn tempura, 2pcs vegetable tempura and 6 pcs california roll. I was able to substitute my california roll as long as the replacement was same or less in value. I went with the alaska roll (salmon & avocado) instead. My friend ordered the same except stayed with the californa rolls.
Have to admit it. The food was pretty good and the portion size was decent too. Normally, I’m a big fan of Kamei but for something quick and cheap, Toyko John will be my go-​to place — or at least when they want to charge for substiutions.